The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Some lists have this work in the top 5 movies of all time. It's certainly in my top 10 favorites.

Morgan Freeman is brilliant as usual. His unique voice serves well as narrator and character.

Tim Robbins is a man of few words but portrays one of the best characters of his career. Happy Birthday today Mr. Robbins.

They are surrounded by a great cast of diverse thieves, murderers and thugs. Then there are the inmates (nyuk nyuk). One of my favorites is James Whitmore as the prison librarian.

One of the things I find myself doing every time I watch this great movie is asking myself what I'd do in those circumstances, from beginning to end. If you are a frequent reader you know I like redemption movies, and this is on the top of that list.

Watch this movie with someone who thinks that planning ahead means putting out tomorrow's clothes, tonight.

City of Ember

I don't expect anyone over the age of 21 to enjoy this movie. Nor will anyone under the age of about 10. Kids rule in this movie and that is the target audience. Most the a-dults ARE dolts. And there are some critical thin spots in the plot. BUT, for those who see an all-things-are-possible world, this should be an enjoyable story.

In a city built underground to save the human race from some unspecified disaster on the surface, a odd cluster of descendants find themselves having to deal with life support systems which have long outlived their design. It is up to the current generation of teens to save the city and humankind in the process.

Saoirse Ronan and Harry Treadaway play the two heroic teens. Both do an excellent job with fairly weak material. No doubt we'll see more of both in future projects.

Bill Murray and Tim Robbins play two of the adults. Murray is a classic uncaring city bureaucrat and Robins plays the classic uber-nerd-mad-scientist inventor even Rube Goldberg would have been proud of.

There is plenty to laugh at as well as plenty to roll one's eyes at in the movie. But all in all I'm guessing the teen-ish crowd should have fun and find characters they relate to.

Watch this with your favorite teen, either in the room or at a distance so they don't know you are watching.

The Lucky Ones

Wounded but lucky to be alive, 3 U.S. Army soldiers return from Iraq to find the lives they thought they had completely gone, if not totally imaginary. Don't you hate when that happens? We all do it though. We project our wishes and fantacies onto our, and other's, realities.

This touching and occasionally funny story takes these troops from the flight home to the flight back. In between they learn much about each other and themselves. This interesting journey of discovery, or cleansing, and of reinvention is critical for each character. We should all do the same.

As one who has driven every mile of the route they take, I can highly recommend watching the film and then making the trip. Virtually if not in reality.

Tim Robbins, Michael Peña, and Rachel McAdams all do a great job as the wandering soldiers. Peña reinforces my opinion that he can do it all - drama, comedy, and action. Yes, I think this guy is a real deal movie star.

Watch this movie with a great deal of self introspection.