Patrick Grant (pccpgrant)

Braveheart R

Be warned forthwith there is very little in common between this epic biopic of William Wallace and the true history. The Battle of Stirling was fought on a bridge. There was no way Wallace could get close to the Princess of Wales. Wallace and Longshanks died years apart. That being said, this is a stirring portrayal of a man all but crushed under the rule of Edward I (known as 'the Hammer of the Scots') and was all the stronger for it. Gibson's portrayal of the legendary Scottish hero covers the gamut of emotions...subtle to shy, loving to angry, mischevious to murderous. He keeps his friends (Gleeson as Hammish and O'Hara as Stephen) close for the comic relief and his enemies (the great Patrick McGoohan as Edward) closer for the plot to continue. The battle scenes are among the most true-to-form for the graphic and gory violence of medieval warfare. Now if only they could have filmed the damn thing in Scotland, it would have been perfect.

The Shawshank Redemption R

How far down is rock bottom? If you're a banker, falsely accused (and convicted) of killing his wife and sentenced to the prison hellhole that is Shawshank Penitentiary for the rest of your life, you've pretty much reached it...so where else is there to go but up? In this adaptation of a story from Stephen King's 'Different Seasons', Tim Robbins, as Andy DuFresne, seems to be a little more wise to the ways of the prison world than he lets on and quickly latches up to the yard's go-to guy, 'Red' Redding (Morgan Freeman). Together they eek out an existence somewhere between the 7th and 8th Levels of Hell, making deals with Malebolge like the sadistic Capt. Hadley (Clancy Brown) and the hipocritic Bible-beater Warden Norton (Bob Gunton). I was particularly moved by the side-storyline of poor prison librarian Brooks Hatlen (James Whitmore), who has been incarcerated for so long that his freedom, in the form of parole, becomes a Hell of a different kind that he cannot deal with. When it becomes apparent that Andy in indeed innocent and the prison officials cover it up with murder, his means of escape is among the most satisfying in movie history.