FAVORITE MOVIES:

5. Gorillas in the Mist

Sigourney Weaver stars in this true story as renowned naturalist Dian Fossey who dedicated her life to studying the rare mountain gorillas of the Congo jungle. Fossey gets up close and personal with the gorillas, often working within feet of them and even develops a way to communicate with the beasts. She takes up their cause with the Rwandan government, hoping to put an end to the horrendous poaching in the area, but is dismissed. Fossey then sets out on a personal crusade to take care of it herself -- even staging a fake execution of one of the poachers in an attempt to frighten away tribesmen that would continue the practice. On December 26, 1985, Fossey is mysteriously murdered in the bedroom of her cabin.

4. Project X

If the monkey section of your DVD library doesn't include Matthew Broderick's 1987 film, Project X, then you're missing one of the essential films in the primate genre. Broderick had made a name for himself a few years earlier playing "global thermonuclear war" in WarGames, but this film from The Accused director Jonathan Kaplan sees him trade Ally Sheedy and "Joshua" in for Helen Hunt and a chimpanzee named Virgil. He plays Jimmy, an Air Force soldier who learns of an experimental military project involving chimpanzees trained to operate flight simulators. The chimp at the center of the film, Virgil, is sent to the program after the research grant of his hottie caretaker (Hunt) is not renewed. Unfortunately, the project, which involves exposure to massive pulses of radiation, has a nasty side effect for the primate participants: death. Can Jimmy save the chimp and bag the broad? We don't wanna ruin it... but yes.

3. Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, directed by Chariots of Fire helmer Hugh Hudson, is notable for taking the Tarzan story back to its roots and ditching the campy trappings that the tale had taken on over the years. It's a more serious spin on the classic story of a boy lost in the jungle and raised by a family of apes. The 1984 film is also notable for the incredibly realistic apes -- even by today's standards -- created by effects guru Rick Baker. The ape-effects are great, but if you're looking for a Tarzan flick with some guy swinging around in the trees, this might not be for you. Just as in Burroughs' novel, the apes in the film have primitive language skills.

2. Curious George

The 2006 animated Curious George film takes a few liberties with the classic stories created by H.A. and Margret Rey, but it stays true to the playful tone of the tales about a curious little monkey named George and his frequently exasperated owner, The Man in the Yellow Hat. The Universal Animation Studios adaptation is overwhelmingly cute at times, but never unpleasantly so. Will Ferrell voices Ted -- yes, The Man in the Yellow hat gets a name. He also gets a love interest in Drew Barrymore's Maggie. And while big-name voice actors usually equal annoying shtick, this is the rare contemporary animated film that's completely free of irony, gross-out moments, and witty pop culture references. It's sweet and simple -- the perfect animated kid flick.

1. Bedtime for Bonzo

As President, he ended the Cold War. But Ronald Regan's greatest cinematic accomplishment saw him dealing with a conflict of a completely different kind: the question of nature versus nurture, as explored through the upbringing of a kooky, pajama-wearing chimpanzee. The 1951 comedy Bedtime for Bonzo starred the then-future leader of the free world as Professor Peter Boyd, who attempts to raise a chimp and teach it human behavior to solve the age-old quandry of whether an individual's innate qualities or life experiences matter most in their personal development. And of course there's a lady-friend that gets mixed up in the shenanigans... Boyd hires a woman (Diana Lynn) to pose as Bonzo's mother, while he plays the father.