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How often we wish we had a crack team of screenwriters scripting our lives, especially when the moment calls for a tart tongue. One of the many pleasures of the movies is that we can watch as others tackle the smack-talk for us, and revel in idealized comedowns delivered with serious relish.

We decided to look at a few of the past winners (and losers) to try to discern what might have contributed to some of the more head-scratching wins.

In our divine gathering of movies that tackle the big question of what happens when we die—or when we don’t die as planned, we immerse ourselves in fantasy. Or perhaps not. Do angels exist, and is there a heaven? If so, where do all the evil folks go? Of course, nobody knows, but visitations from angels or other spirits counter the notion that death brings only oblivion. And that's a comforting thought indeed.

It isn’t Christmas without cookie-making, candy canes and chocolate Santas. But what we forget is that all that sugar puts kids on fast forward. To counter the ill effects of too many frosted things and to captivate spun-out minds, we've put together a list of can’t-miss movies for kids that grownups can enjoy too.

Top-ten lists of holiday films abound right about now, but what about picking the top three Christmas movies ever made? Certainly there's plenty to choose from. Christmas movies are almost a genre unto themselves: between live-action and animated features, there are literally hundreds of titles out there. Inevitably, some are pretty bad, others amusingly cheesy.

Ah, that eternal question: which is better, the book or the movie? Though such comparisons are natural, even inevitable, they’re also kind of pointless, since the conventions of each medium differ so markedly. Books explore the dense inner lives of characters in a way movies can’t, while films use sight, sound and motion to create an immediacy books can’t.

I’ll never forget the segment on “60 Minutes” a couple of years ago, when Morley Safer interviewed our most famous living historian, David McCullough.

Summer is vacation season. This year, let’s presume you’ve set your sights on going abroad. First you take a deep breath and buy the plane tickets. Ouch — they’re pretty steep, an unpleasant fact explained by two little words: “peak season.”

Here’s a bold statement: Giving your children the chance to watch classic films can be just as vital as anything they learn in school.