There are three movies that I have seen many times, and I will see many times more. When I flip through the channels and stumble upon them, I simply cannot stop watching them, over and over again.

Tonight, on HBO, I watched “The Shawshank Redemption” again. It is just one of the best told stories I know. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman play the lead roles. The entire movie is acted and staged so well, every scene is a pleasure, every minute an adventure, not matter how often I watch it. I know what comes next every step of the way, and I look forward to seeing that next scene, and the next.

The Shawshank Redemption is a story by Steven King. I read it long before the movie was made, and it was a well-told story then. But this is one of the rare examples where the movie actually does do the book justice.

Another movie I feel similar about is “First Blood,” the first Rambo movie with Sylvester Stallone. The bad guys are so bad, and the hero is so beaten, but so good at what he does, it makes for a great story of drastic contrast and conflict. Corny as it may be, I can watch Rambo I over and over again.

This does not go for Rambo II and Rambo III. The magic did not continue.

The third one is “Somewhere in Time” with Christopher Reeve. I love time travel stories, and this is one of the best. All time travel stories have paradoxes in them. In this one: where does the watch come from?

Somewhere in Time does not show up on TV as much as the other two movies. I have the tape, but I don’t have a tape player anymore. Perhaps it’s time to buy one, just to keep around, like I keep the old/new turntable around for my record collection.

However, I love the theme song by Rachmaninoff, I love Reeve’s acting, and I thoroughly enjoy the story of Somewhere in Time, over and over again.

Three timeless movies: The Shawshank Redemption, First Blood, and Somewhere in Time.