We’re getting ready to close up shop and celebrate the Fourth of July properly. And so should you! Our office will close at noon today and will remain closed tomorrow, but we’ll be back in the office on Monday.

We put our heads together over here at WF and compiled a list of our Top Ten Films for the Fourth for your viewing pleasure this weekend. We even took some picks from our Facebook followers and from our local filmy friends and came up with a pretty unique and worthwhile collection that will satisfy any patriotic itch you have this weekend. Enjoy!

Top Ten Films for the Fourth
All photos courtesy of Amazon.com

Best On-The-Nose Pick: Independence Day
It’s right there in the title – you simply can’t leave this one off the list. Enjoy Will Smith, disagreeable aliens, and a story line I once convinced a friend in college was “based on true events.”

Best Oscar-Winning Pick: Forrest Gump
If you have three hours to spare this weekend, this is the way to spend it. This one never gets old: Forrest sweetly runs, fights, and Jennies his way through a series of some of the most iconic events of the last century. And he does it all to one of the most glorious soundtracks of all time.

Best Nostalgic Summertime Pick: The Way, Way Back
At least for me, this one makes you feel things. Step back into the reality of what it’s like to become a teenager and take a trip at the peak of summertime to a beach house with mom and her new boyfriend. You’ll get angry, feel awkward, sad, excited, nostalgic, proud. It taps into what makes summer so powerfully transformative and why we value that feeling of finding your independence and stepping into yourself.

Best Fabric of America Pick: Anything Ken Burns
This pick comes to us from Ken Burns aficionado, documentary filmmaker, and Managing Director of the National Film Festival for Talented Youth, Stefanie Malone. “One of the first things that I thought about was Ken Burns. Really you could take so many of his films and devour them over the course of the Fourth of July weekend and feel satiated and patriotic! His films document and delight us in the stories that contribute to the fabric of this country. From The National Parks: America’s Best Idea to The Civil War to Prohibition, his films entertain and educate, inspire and enlighten. He’s a great pick for the Fourth of July!”

Best Biographical Pick: All The President’s Men
This is another pick that comes to us from Malone. “The account of journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein about unraveling the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post. Starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. I love this movie!”

Best Musical Pick: 1776
This pick was recommended for the musical lovers out there. It’s an adaptation from the hit 1969 Broadway musical by Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards. This pick came to us from our Facebook follower Emilie Rommel Shimkus. Thanks, Emilie!

Best Ridiculous Pick: National Treasure
If you’re feeling conspiratorial over the weekend, why not be patriotic about it? In fact, why not be patriotic while treasure hunting with Nick Cage?

Best Facebook Pick: Nashville
Our Facebook follower Greg Carlson voted for you to watch Nashville “because of the Bicentennial-themed song at the beginning and all of the American iconography throughout the film.” Cheers, Greg!

Best Kid-Friendly Pick: The Sandlot
This is a classic coming-of-age film that centers around our American pastime: baseball. Our Facebook follower Shannon Freeman voted for this one and it’s a keeper. Good call, Shannon!

Best Documentary Pick: Freedom Riders
Another Malone pick. “This is a Stanley Nelson masterpiece. A historic documentary that chronicles the six-month period from May through November of 1961 when some 400 black and white Americans joined together to combat racial segregation in the south. A powerful film.”