My first favorite film (at least as far as I can remember) was Old Yeller. Also from the early days, I had a serious crush on Hayley Mills of Parent Trap fame. But I’ve always been a bit off center when it comes to movies. My mother introduced me to musicals like Show Boat, Porgy & Bess, Silk Stockings, An American in Paris… and I loved them all.

The two films I remember best from high school are Romeo & Juliet and Jeremiah Johnson. Night and day, but both romantic in their way. Side note: Jeremiah Johnson was the only film my father and I saw together — just the two of us — in a theater. That makes it special.

Memorable films from college or shortly thereafter (70s)… Chinatown, The Godfather, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Taxi Driver, Harold and Maude, Young Frankenstein, All That Jazz, Breaking Away, Heaven Can Wait, Apocalypse Now.

During the 80s and 90s there were so many great movies that I couldn’t begin to list them all, but as time passed, I did find myself being drawn to smaller, independently produced films more often than not. I also love a lot of foreign films.

But all this said, I still enjoy a lot of mainstream movies. My taste is eclectic, and I’m a walking contradiction. For example, I generally don’t like overt violence in movies (Scarface gave me nightmares), but I really liked Man on Fire and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I was never a Kristin Scott Thomas fan until I saw I’ve Loved You So Long.

I love movies that make me cry… which actually is amazingly easy to do. I also love movies that make me laugh… which is a little harder but not that hard. I’m an easy audience… just give me a character to identify with and a story that makes any sense at all, and I’m all there… popcorn in hand.