My Top 5 Favorite Movies (Plus a Bonus)

This movie is an adventure, a romance, and a geography and history lesson all rolled into one. Brilliant acting and directing with a plot that is somewhat predictable yet full of little surprises as well. Besides, what's not to like about Bogey and Hepburn? I could watch this movie weekly and never tire of it. It takes my number one spot.

Watch this old-fashioned trailer for "The African Queen" to get a small taste of the movie. I think you'll love it.

It seems that when I was little, "The Wizard of Oz" was on TV every year and watching it became a tradition at our house. Back then I would close my eyes during the flying monkey scenes, and sometimes I still do. Our family didn't have a color TV, so I couldn't enjoy the transition from Kansas to Oz quite so much as I do now, but I was happy to fall in love with this wonderful movie in living black and white.

The story has such a simple yet important message, "There's no place like home." It takes the number two spot in my top five.

"Babe" is truly a unique story, the description of which does not do the plot, nor the movie, justice at all. Briefly, Babe is a pig who is won by Farmer Hoggett at a carnival. While he is growing and being fattened up, destined for the holiday dinner table, Babe is "educated" by the farm's border collie, all the while developing a special closeness with Farmer Hoggett, who allows Babe to tag along as he tends to his sheep. In the end, Babe becomes a "sheep pig," proving his worth when he herds the sheep during a competition.

The movie's six Academy Award nominations say a lot more for the story than I can say here. Trust me, you just have to see the movie to understand the warmth of the characters and the richness of the story. The scenery and photography are breathtaking, the animals are endearing, and James Cromwell's performance as Farmer Hoggett is nothing less than outstanding. I love this movie!

Here's one of my favorite scenes.

"True Grit" takes place in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and in Indian Territory, across the Arkansas River from Fort Smith in what is now Oklahoma. Mattie Ross, the young star of the story, has traveled from Dardanelle, in Yell County, Arkansas, to meet Rooster Cogburn, a U.S. Marshall assigned to Judge Parker's territory in western Arkansas. Mattie has been told by her family's attorney that Rooster Cogburn has "grit," so she is sure that he is exactly the one she's looking for, the man who can track down Tom Cheney, the man who shot and killed her father.

I happen to know a little bit about the Fort Smith, Arkansas, area; that's my neck of the woods. Judge Parker was real and is a very important part of our local history. I know something about the area across the river, too, and I know it doesn't look at all as it's portrayed in the movie, but I decided not to hold that against the makers of this film, which is more than worthy of my top five favorites list.

I love the characters in this movie. I love Mattie Ross, partly because she reminds me a lot of myself (I think she even looks a little bit like me), and who doesn't love John Wayne no matter what character he portrays, and Rooster J. Cogburn is a character, indeed.

If you haven't seen "True Grit," you must.

"You've Got Mail" is a typical Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan matchup: totally adorable and simply entertaining. This is my favorite movie to watch on a rainy day or just when I'm feeling down or overwhelmed. It's just hard not to like this pair, and the outstanding supporting cast allows the movie to stand just a bit above the crowded genre of "chick flicks."

If you're having a bad day or just need to relax and be entertained, "You've Got Mail" is a wonderful choice, my favorite choice, worthy of my top five favorites list.

This is the movie that proved there is a Santa Claus. Now, you can believe what you want about that, but whether you think Santa Claus is a real person or not, surely you believe in the spirit of Christmas, and this movie brings that spirit to life.

There's nothing mystical about the story except for the spell that it may cast over you the first time you see it; I'm sure you'll want to watch it again and again. I hope you've seen this movie but if you haven't, please watch it. If your children haven't seen it, please watch it as a family. It's a movie that happy memories are made of.