three on thursday...favorite movies

Taking a page from another blog I frequent (have to get permission before I can link it here, though), I thought I'd take time every Thursday to share with you a "Top 3" list of some sort. Sometimes I'll tie it in with an upcoming holiday or event, other times (like today) I'll just throw 3 of my favorites out there. So, if you don't visit any other day...at least make sure to check out Thursdays!

Without further adieu, here's this week's edition: My 3 favorite movies of all time.

1. Airplane!
I've watched this one so many times, if you were to put it on and hit the "mute" button, I'm fairly certain I'd be able to give you every line. Simply the classic of all comedy. I mean, how can you argue with such lines as, "Surely you can't be serious?" "I am serious, and don't call me Shirley." So many great jokes that it's impossible to list them all.

2. The Godfather (parts 1 and 2)
It seems these movies are on AMC every weekend, and, almost every weekend, I manage to watch at least a few minutes of them. The ultimate guys films, in my opinion. And full of life lessons, too: "Leave the gun. Take the canoli." Words to live by.
Don't get me started on Godfather 3, though. As so often happens, that's way too much of a good thing. They should have left us with the indelible final image of part 2 with Michael in his garden, finally realizing that what he had been trying to avoid all his life had finally consumed him. Classic!

3. Cast Away
This was a tough one, because I really like a lot of movies, and they all could be here. But this one makes the list because of superb acting by Tom Hanks (one of my favorites), an incredible story, and compelling cinematography. This movie is so good that, for the key section where Hanks' character is on the island (at least an hour of film time), there's not a single note of music played. That's highly unusual, and, because we're so engrossed in the film, we don't even miss it. Great commentary, also, on just how much we are tied into "busyness" and forget to take time to smell the roses...until, often, it's just too late.

Others that just missed the list: Hoosiers, Field of Dreams, Remember the Titans, Shawshank Redemption, Lord of the Rings (the whole trilogy), Napoleon Dynamite.

So, what are your favorites?