CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

.

The Shawshank Redemption [1995]

starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown
directed by: Frank Darabont

Release Date September 01, 2003
Very difficult to say anything which has not already been said about this film. In my view one of the very best ever made and fully deserves five stars.

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

.

Demolition Man [1993]

starring: Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Sandra Bullock, Nigel Hawthorne, Benjamin Bratt
directed by: Marco Brambilla

Release Date May 24, 1999
For me, the movie itself is a nineties' classic: action, adventure and humour blended together seamlessly to provide a thoroughly enjoyable (if untaxing) two hour break from reality.

Unfortunately, this DVD release is WOEFUL. I could forgive the complete lack of extras (not even a trailer or production notes) but the picture looks like a poor transfer from VHS: it may be anamorphic, but it suffers from clear macro-blocking, colour shifts, artifacing and wholly excessive grain from the opening Warner Bros logo to the end credits. The entire disc takes up less than 3.5gb: given the complete lack of additional material, I find it perplexing that Warner Bros didn't at least use up the remaining free space to give the video a much-needed boost in ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

.

Glory [1990]

starring: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman, Jihmi Kennedy
directed by: Edward Zwick

Release Date June 19, 2000
A rousing story about a black platoon facing prejudice and annilation during the American civil war. Matthew Broderick's finest performance as the leader of the first all black regiment fighting the confederates and racism from their own Union army. Supported by the fine Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington. The plight of these brave men will emotionally move you, possibly to tears, although mine was more of a controlled welling, though my lower lip did quiver when the credits rolled.

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

.

Dead Silence [2007]

starring: Amber Valletta, Dmitry Chepovetsky, Keir Gilchrist, Steven Taylor, David Talbot
directed by: James Wan

Release Date October 29, 2007
I wasn't sure what to expect from this as the other reviews are fairly mixed. I thought it had some quite creepy bits in it - I'm never really convinced by dolls possessed films so I wasn't on the edge of my seat. However the twist at the end was a mouth open moment cos I had no idea. Definately worth a watch on a dark night!

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

.

The Perfect Storm [2000]

starring: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane, John C. Reilly, William Fichtner
directed by: Wolfgang Petersen

Release Date November 27, 2000
This film is absolutely abysmal. They know i giant storm is out there but those fish just have to be caught. The moments of sentiment between the fishermen and their wives are utterly unconvincing and when the storm finally arrives its a complete disappointment. I love extreme weather conditions (in particular large waves) and was hopeful of at least some good effects and late drama in an otherwise hopeless film but even the perfect storm itself was a disappointment. The camera flicks from a computer generated wave to a boat where it looks like stage hands are just throwing buckets of water over the cast the back to the CGI rubbish and so on with occasional corny lines and cast member dying to mix it up. The idea for this film is great and it could have been so good but then came the script ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

.

Patch Adams [1999]

starring: Robin Williams, Daniel London, Monica Potter, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bob Gunton
directed by: Tom Shadyac

Release Date September 08, 2003
Mawkish to the point of being gruesome, each scene without exception is sunk by a tidal wave of faux sentimentality. The script is awful, the characters feeble. Utterly painful.

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

.

Ace Ventura - When Nature Calls (1995)

starring: Jim Carrey, Ian McNeice, Simon Callow, Maynard Eziashi, Bob Gunton
directed by: Steve Oedekerk

Release Date January 24, 2000
Not surprisingly, this sequel is not as funny as the first Ace Ventura movie, but it is still hilarious and well worth seeing, especially if you like Jim Carrey and his physical comedy. The first Ace Ventura movie is an absolute classic of maniacal physical comedy, so it would have been very hard to top that. Nonetheless, if you liked the first one, you should get a lot of laughs out of this one too. Plenty of wacky nature scenes, funny animals, and car driving like only Ace can do it. Where does it rank with Carrey's other comedies? It's not as good as the top four: the first Ace Ventura, The Mask, Dumb and Dumber, and Liar Liar. But it's not that far behind either. Author of Adjust Your Brain: A Practical Theory for Maximizing Mental Health.

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

.

Dolores Claiborne [1995]

starring: Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Plummer, Judy Parfitt, David Strathairn
directed by: Taylor Hackford

Release Date August 21, 2000
Who is Dolores ? - a greedy monster and a murderer or an unhappy woman for whom an accident is sometimes a best friend? Kathy Bates received the Oscar for her portrayal of a psychotic nurse in another King's adaptation, "Misery" but I believe that Dolores Claiborne is her best role. She carries the film and I don't think that any other actress could fit the part as well as Bates did which brings the question - maybe King wrote the book with her in mind, who knows? Judy Parfitt is extremely well cast as Vera Donovan, an arrogant ice queen, who was capable of understanding and care for Dolores and her daughter and who knew too well about loneliness and despair. David Strathairn deserves high praise for his Joe St. George, Dolores's abusive husband and Selena's father from hell.

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

.

The Shawshank Redemption (3 Disc Special Edition Box Set) [1995]

starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown
directed by: Frank Darabont

Release Date September 20, 2004
Very difficult to say anything which has not already been said about this film. In my view one of the very best ever made and fully deserves five stars.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

.

Broken Arrow [1996]

starring: John Travolta, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Delroy Lindo, Bob Gunton
directed by: John Woo

Release Date March 01, 2004
If the word "contrived" hadn't previously existed, it would have been invented for this film! It's as predictable as it's possible to get with so many glaring errors in the "plot" (and I use the word loosely!) that it could quite easily be classed as a comedy. The story gets dragged out time and time again by creating ridiculous situations, just to keep things going, and by the end I was actually hoping the bomb would go off and get rid of the entire cast.

I wasn't expecting a Hitchcock style thriller, but when the writers have to resort to making the baddies so dumb, that even a completely dumb "goody" can defeat them, you can't help but bang your head against the wall in frustration!

Grab a bowl of popcorn, pull up your favourite armchair ... and stare at a goldfish tank for an hour ... Read More: