Last night I caught the end of "The Straight Story" on cable...it has such an amazing ending, it inspired me to list my Top Five Favorite Movie Endings:

1. "Say Anything" -- "Where's the ding?" "It's comin.'" [Pause.] *Ding!* The perfect touch of hopeful ambiguity. This is probably the only movie without a sequel that could use one...yet it, like "Casablanca," might be better left alone.
2. "Being John Malkovich" -- "Hot lesbian witches" in a swimming pool with their mysterious little daughter: neato!
3. "Big Night" -- This famous sequence, almost an epilogue, is an improvised, real-time silent breakfast. Beautiful and moving.
4. "The Usual Suspects" -- "And then, poof! He's gone." WOW!
5. "Some Like It Hot" -- My favorite comedy bubbles over with madcap, gender-bending glee as Jack Lemmon pulls off his wig and announces to his unsuspecting (?) fiance, "I'm a man!" His poised reply? "[*Shrug*] Nobody's perfect."

Honorable Mention goes to "Raiders of the Lost Ark," the final clip of which is a great visual zinger -- but the last scene with dialogue isn't so hot, so it doesn't quite make the cut. Sorry, Indy.