You know how I say on my about page that I am not an expert in literature or literary criticism? Well, I’m a freakin’ genius in those fields compared to what I know about film. But that doesn’t stop me from having favorites. And because it’s my blog, I thought I’d share.

All of these are films I loved, and still love, films that made a huge impression on me, a very strong reaction I can still summon in the dark recesses of my memory, films I want my kids to see. I’m not claiming these were all great films, and I am not sure I would love each of them as much today as I once did. But, boy, I love(d) them and they mean(t) a lot to me.

Star Wars (1977)

Star Wars gave me an amazing heroine to root for, something I still look for in my fictional pursuits.

Blade Runner (1982)

It wasn’t the action or the violence as much as the question: what makes a human being a person?

The Terminator (1984)

I *did* thrill to the violence in this one, I admit. The scene in the gun store, the scene in the night club … pure awesomeness. But it was the time travel paradox and the way it was wrapped up in a human love story that really interested me. (Road Warrior gets an honorable mention)

Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

I am not a Woody Allen fan, in general. But I love this film, because of Martin Landau, Anjelica Huston, and Jerry Orbach. I remember being floored that good did not win out in the end. Evil pays, if you can get away with it. Glaucon posed this challenge to Socrates thousands of years ago. Nietzsche took it up memorably a couple of centuries ago. I think it’s the toughest most interesting question to ask: why be moral?

Wings of Desire (1987)

This film made a bigger impression on me than any film I had seen before or since. Surprisingly, given my love of romance, it wasn’t so much the love story that I was drawn to. I had seen and enjoyed foreign films like My Left Foot, Room with a View, Jean de Florette, etc., but was still pretty new to “foreign film” and “independent cinema”, so there was all of that. Then, the subject matter: angels wandering around Berlin to testify to and preserve reality. Rilke. Finally, the exquisite performance of Bruno Ganz.

The Graduate (1967)

I first saw this in college, around the time of graduation, so it had obvious resonance. I was never thrilled with the portrayal of women in the film, but Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock just does it for me. In fact, if I had to bring this list down to one, this might be the only movie standing.

The four full length films of Krystof Kieslowski. Love.

No, I don’t think Tom Tykwer is anywhere near as accomplished as some of the other directors on this list, including Kieslowski (Heaven was written by Kieslowski, meaning I was bound to love it), and none of these films, except maybe Winter Sleepers, stands on its own the way the other films do, but when I think about how much enjoyment I’ve gotten out of Tykwer’s body of work, the pleasures in each of these films, however imperfect (one of them being that they each feature very strong women), I have to put them on this list.

The Seventh Seal (1957).

I show this one in Ethics, and have seen it probably thirty times. It never loses its impact. This is the truly existential film of the bunch. Like Crimes and Misdemeanors, another unflinching ending, but with incredible visual impact.

I Heart Huckabees (2004)

I’m a huge fan of the director, David, O. Russell, and I love both Shwartzman and Wahlberg, and god are they funny in this movie. I love, love, love Naomi Watts, and she’s here, too. And the role of a sleazy Wal-mart type executive is perfectly played by Jude Law (an actor I can take or leave depending on the part). I definitely do not watch this movie for the “existential detectives” played by Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin. I don’t think there’s an ounce of real philosophy in this movie. I just love it.

Rushmore (1998)

Bill Murray has had a great “later” career, and I love, as you know, Jason Schwartzman. I’ve never understood why Olivia Williams is not a big movie star. This one is another visceral love. I just love everything about this movie, I find it hysterically funny, and sweet and unique. Wes Anderson is a director, like Sofia Coppola, who I love as a director, without actually loving any of his movies…except this one (ok, and Fantastic Mr Fox.)

All About My Mother (1999)

I really like Almodovar, but I have felt emotionally estranged from all of his films. Except this one. Maybe because I saw it right after I had my first child, but I felt that what it had to say about motherhood, about grief, and about friendship was profound. I guess film buffs have lots to say about the intertextual nature of this movie, but for me it was all about the straight ahead drama.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Gene Wilder delivering the line,  “Help. Police. Murder.” when Augustus Gloop fell into the chocolate pretty much makes this movie for me, but there is so much more.  Don’t even talk to me about the remake. It’s all about Gene Wilder. (And Young Frankenstein is a runner up here!)

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

I’m actually not a huge Hepburn fan at all. For me this is all about Cary Grant. The film plots a romance trajectory I really love, even though in the cool hour I recognize problems with the “strong woman brought down to size” trope.

Welp, this is going to have to be enough for now. I’ve left off directors I adore, like Atom Egoyan, Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorcese, John Sayles, Mike Leigh, and Sofia Coppola. I’ve left off movies I really enjoy, some of which are guilty pleasures, such as Dumb and Dumber, Center Stage, Scott Pilgrim, Elf, Zoolander, and Dazed and Confused but that I don’t exactly marvel at. Some great movies aren’t here — Au Revoir Les Enfants, Raise the Red Lantern, Citizen Kane, Blue Velvet, Schindler’s List, etc — because as impressive as they are, they don’t feel like “mine” in the ways these do. And then there’s the large chunk of movies that, in my dotage, I could not bring to mind for the purpose of writing this post.

This post was offbeat, but it felt good to take a bit of a break from books. Thanks for reading!

1. I’m heading off for the weekend to the southern part of the state in a giant Suburban with some fellow “soccer moms” and our 12 year old sons. My older son has been invited to try out for Maine’s Olympic Development Program (ODP), which is supposed to identify players who will eventually play for the national team. Before anyone gets excited, bear in mind that we live in Maine, a state of 1 million people. What usually happens is that the Maine ODP team gets crushed the second they step out of the state to play other teams in our region with a population ten times larger. We think of it more as a chance for him, if he makes it, to play with some talented players around the state and get some superior coaching. So that’s my weekend, mostly.

2. But before that, I’m meeting Kristen of Fantasy Cafe for coffee. We’re giving a talk at our awesome local library on how to have a successful blog. I’m going to focus on the personal and social aspects. More on that next week. I made a joke about it on twitter that got RTd by Juan Cole. My brush with greatness for the week!

3. Speaking of the Bangor Library, they have an awesome book group that meets monthly to talk about “edgy” (mostly genre) fiction, PNR, SFF, YA, straight romance. I’m reading their last month’s choice, A Certain Slant of Light, by Laura Whitcomb, a ghost YA-ish love story, very slowly, but really enjoying it. It’s one of my 2012 goals to actually make it to one of their meetings.

4. I’m also reading, just as slowly, Lily by Patricia Gaffney. Proper review later, but Gaffney is one of those writers you pick up, and say “this is how it’s done”. I just think she is in a class by herself. The Kindle edition is just $2.99 right now.

5. And I’m also reading this PNR/sci fi series by Nina Croft. I plan to review (well, the two books I’ve read) but, while there is nothing new here (basically, it’s a PNR version of Star Wars) it’s a very enjoyable, very fun little series.

6. It was a big week on the blog, thanks wholly to my post on 50 Shades of Grey. Based on my stats — by far, my best days ever –  and the linkage in to RRR, this phenomenon is just getting underway. I’ve decided to create a new blog called “mommieporn”, fill it with ads for (a) sex toys, (b) wrinkle cream, and (c) yoga mats, and write short reviews of self-published erotic romance, the angstier the better.  I’ll be rich in two weeks. (And yes, I find it annoying the way this phenomenon is getting reported. I’m delighted there are women who are feeling “naughty sexy” as a result of reading 50SoG, but many middle aged women readers knew erotic romance quite well before reading this book, and, moreover, felt pretty sexy already, and I wish we heard those voices too.)

7. In the classroom… I just love my classes this semester, making it two semester in a row. I do have some things to work on in feminist philosophy. I’d like a better vibe in the room (the five men all sit in the back, for one thing), and I need to get a better sense of the balance to strike between discussion and lecture. In ethics, we spent some time discussing the Komen fiasco in connection with Kantian moral philosophy, so interms of pedagogy, it was fortuitous timing. I was invited to sit on a master’s committee in English by a student who is working on a feminist analysis of urban fantasy (hopefully that topic will be nice and shrunk by the time she actually writes her proposal). We plan to do an independent study this summer on urban fantasy, which I’m looking forward to as I haven’t read much UF nor have I read much of the critical literature (wonder how much there is?) on UF. My lowest moment was telling a student she was wrong, and then realizing as the words were emerging from my mouth that she wasn’t  (not only was she not wrong, but she had a better and more creative answer than the one I was seeking) and apologizing to her in front of everyone.

8. Most of you know I am married to a historian. Last night my older son said “Philosophy rules, history drools”. My work here is done.

9. I plan to write a review of A Wrinkle in Time, because my younger son and I just read it. Little did I know it is the fiftieth anniversary of its publication. Check out the Book Smugglers list of all the bloggers who are participating. Lurv a la Mode also recently reviewed it.

10. I liked this post from Red Hot Books: Give Readers Some Credit and Stop Working the System. I’ve been talking about this with many readers: we now view “all 5 star” ratings on GR or AZN with deep suspicion, and a lack of range in reader response is a huge red flag. Yes, authors, I’m saying what you think I’m saying: you’ll need to ask your minions to write you some 2 star reviews.

11. I’m definitely going to Book Blogger Con and Book Expo America in New York in June. Recent news (after I registered, naturally) is that the bloggers who founded BBC a couple of years ago have sold it to the company who runs BEA, which has said, “We are pleased to be able to take this responsibility over for them and to build even greater recognition for the Book Blogger Convention by fully merging it with our BEA marketing efforts, programs, and attendee outreach.” Nobody is asking what this means for BBC, to not have the event owned by bloggers, and I don’t want to go to those threads full of “Congratulations!!!!” and be the ant at the garden party by asking this question. All I know is that there is no news at all of speakers or events for BBC, nor of who is going to be putting the event together (will it still be bloggers?). Registration is a complete nightmare, with many bloggers paying different amounts and getting different answers as to why.  Book bloggers are increasingly viewed not as a varied group of independent voices on books with wide ranging agendas, but as marketing tools for publishers. It’s hard for me not to worry a bit about this development given the current climate.

12. I’m sorry there is not more linkage here. I’ve been busy (a sick child in the earlier part of the week, which *should* mean lots of time to get stuff done, but in fact means jumping up every five seconds to fetch something for said child). I’ve also been trying to eat more healthfully which always makes me a complete crank. That said, I’m delighted it’s the weekend and I hope you are too!

13. Go Pats!