5 Movies Everyone Should See

1. Casablanca - Casablanca is a movie set in wartime Casablanca. The main character is an American named Rick Blaine, who for some reason cannot return to the United States. He runs a nightclub that is one of the social centers of Casablanca. From people escaping war-torn Europe, to the scam artists who try to take advantage of them and the Germans who chase them, Rick's nightclub plays host to everyone who lives in or passes through Casablanca. Rick has the undying loyalty of all of his employees because he treats them well, but he is closest to Sam, the piano player. Their relationship goes back many years to when they were in Paris. Paris holds particularly painful memories for Rick because of lost love, and Rick's new life in Casablanca is turned on its ear when that lost love, Ilsa, walks through the doors of Rick's place. Does the now married Ilsa still hold a candle for Rick? Will the Nazis capture and detain her husband? Can Rick orchestrate the ending that his heart desires?

2. The Shawshank Redemption - Andy Dufresne has been mistakenly charged with and convicted of the murders of his ex-wife and her lover. He has been sentenced to a life term in Shawshank Prison. This is where he meets Ellis Boyd Redding, also in for murder, but for a murder he committed as a teenager in a foolish rage. "Red," as they call him in prison, is now much older and apparently much wiser. He has made the best of his present existence and appears to be fairly well-adjusted. Red and Andy become friends and help one another deal with the disappointments and struggles (sometimes violent) of life behind bars. Throughout the movie we see the contrast between Red, who has become the master of adapting himself to circumstances, and Andy, who is continuously trying to change his circumstances. Sometimes Andy enjoys very moderate successes, like sitting with some of his friends enjoying cold beers in the summer sun, and sometimes these efforts are fruitless. But Andy never gives up hope. And it becomes apparent that the theme of this movie is indeed hope.

3. Double Indemnity - Walter Neff is an insurance salesman, but more to the point, he is a victim of circumstance. Fate brings him to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Dietrichson, and worse than that, Mr. Dietrichson is not home. Let in by the housekeeper, Neff is a goner from the moment he sees Phyllis Dietrichson standing at the top of the stairs. At that moment, he steps onto the express train to doom and there's no getting off. For her part, Phyllis Dietrichson is unhappily married and not at all pleased that her stepdaughter, Lola, is the beneficiary in Mr. Dietrichson's will. Phyllis sees the affable insurance salesman as the perfect vehicle to facilitate her escape from her unsatisfying marriage with the wealth to which he believes she is entitled. As the plot begins to percolate, the two begin to formulate a plot, first each in their own mind, and then together, to kill Mr. Dietrichson. But Neff's boss, Barton Keyes, becomes the fly in the ointment and their plot begins to unravel. Will they get away with it? Will Walter Neff get the girl? Will Phyllis Dietrichson get away with the cash? It all makes for a thrilling ride.

4. Tombstone - I am not normally a fan of westerns. But this movie is more than a western. This mostly historically accurate retelling of the story of the gunfight at the OK Corral (which actually happened in an empty lot off of Fremont Street) is also a story about friendship. The visuals in this film are spectacular as they often are in western films, from the accurate depiction of period attire to the panoramic views of the big country. The underlying theme of this movie is the story of the friendship between Wyatt Earp and John "Doc" Holliday. Holliday, played magnificently by Val Kilmer, though obviously and deeply flawed, is shown to be a fiercely loyal man who will do anything to protect his friend. In this film, the friendship between Earp and Holliday endures gunfights, gambling and even women. If you hate westerns, this is the one western that you have a chance to like. And if you love Westerns, this will be a must-add film for your collection.

5. Finding Forrester - I might be biased because I am a writer and this is a film about writers. But for me Finding Forrester is a film about a lot of things. My first instinct was to turn this movie off. It seemed as though I had accidentally rented an ethnic film, and I do not typically like ethnic films of any sort. But I was thrilled that I chose to stick with this film. It's a film about the friendship between the famous but reclusive writer, William Forester (modeled after JD Salinger) and the talented, yet undiscovered young prodigy, Jamaal Wallace. As often happens in movies, their relationship starts out to be quite adversarial, but over time they discover that they have their great love for writing in common and become very close, close like family. It's also a film about persistence. Wallace, a brilliant inner-city black teenager with average grades but impressive test scores finds himself in a prestigious, all-white uptown prep school. Gaining acceptance and learning to accept others prove to be difficult propositions in this unfamiliar environment. Lastly, this is a movie about taking chances. Everything that happens to Wallace and Forrester happens because they chose to take chances. Sometimes taking chances leads to failure, rejection and hurt, but sometimes when we take a chance, we have success, happiness and fulfillment beyond our wildest dreams.