I’m putting a little twist on Fay Paxton’s Open Call of 12 movies we watch over and over again, because I’d have several dozen dozens if I were to answer that call.  Nor is this a list of my favorite films, or the ones that have meant the most to me, or even of those I’ve seen the most often.

No, the list I made is 12 movies that if I stumble upon them while channel surfing on TV, I am powerless to resist.  Once I come upon them, I must keep watching until the credits roll.  It doesn’t matter that I’ve seen all of them many, many times, or that in fact, I own four of them on DVD and could watch them any time I want, without commercials or edits thrown in by those dastardly TV monkeys.  For reasons both that I’m aware of and (I'm sure) ones that I’m unaware of, these 12 movies have some hypnotic power that I cannot resist once I glimpse even a single frame of them.  

To keep this current (and limited to 12!), I’ve restricted my list to movies that actually pop up on TV fairly often these days.

Good Will Hunting
If I said that this movie about a working class, borderline criminal guy from South Boston who’s also a mathematical genius told my life story, it probably wouldn’t make any sense, but there are at least five ways in which this film hits major themes of my own life.  I first saw it at a weekday matinee with only one other person in the theater, and while I had walked in with very low expectations, it worked me over like a prizefighter. Only that solitary person sitting three rows away kept me from sobbing loudly through most of it. I could tell you exactly how this movie is emotionally manipulative or predictable, but it doesn’t matter.  The “It’s not your fault” scene still makes me weep every time I see it.

Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
A sentimental favorite that I saw at age 11 in the movie theater with my older sister all the while feeling like I was getting away with something naughty.  (Ditto Bonnie and Clyde, which would be on this list if it appeared on TV.)  One of the best buddy movies ever made (and for this we can forgive it for launching a thousand terrible imitators), with Redford and Newman at their charming peak.  Strangely, despite ending with the death of the two heroes, it’s still one of the most effervescent, “feel good” movies I’ve ever seen.

To Kill a Mockingbird
Second favorite film of my childhood, and the best film ever about childhood itself. A perfect film, in every way, from the opening titles and musical score to the casting of even the smallest parts, but especially in the realism of the children’s roles and performances.  I always weep at “Miss Jean Louise, your father's passing” as well as at the last line about Atticus staying with Jem “till he waked up in the morning.”  Scoff at AFI lists, but in naming Atticus Finch the best movie hero of all time, they got something right.  As a child, I thought Atticus was what Jesus would be like if he was walking around among us.

The Big Lebowski
My favorite Jeff Bridges performance, my favorite Coen Bros film, and perhaps my favorite movie comedy ever.  Brilliantly written, directed and acted, especially in its inversion of the buddy movie, with John Goodman’s hilariously tense rants as Walter playing against Bridges’ laidback Dude-i-tude.  Deceptively simple and goofy, it gets richer on repeated visits.  While I loved it the first time, I find it funnier each time I see it.  If I feel depressed, this is the DVD I pull out to watch.

The Godfather (Part I)
It’s one of the greatest films ever made, but also one of the most enjoyable movies to watch. It’s achieved the status of Greek myth for its commentary on the history of American culture and power, but the pure pleasure to be had in watching it springs from being caught up by the masterful cinematic storytelling and great performances, especially the subtle brilliance of a young Al Pacino showing how a good person turns into a monster.

The Shawshank Redemption
For some reason, I never saw this in the movie theater, but have made up for it by watching it every single time it’s been run on TV since – which is, uh, approximately a tremillion (there’s essentially a Shawshank Channel  on basic cable where it runs continuously).  Great storytelling, one of the best voiceover narrations ever, wonderful relationship between Tim Robbins’ and Morgan Freeman’s characters, a perfect balance of pain and hope. And it gave me a phrase that I could adopt as a personal motto: “Get busy living or get busy dying.”

Dr Zhivago
I first saw this at far too formative an age and found it tremendously exciting, mysterious and disturbing, especially all that business with Lara and Komarovsky.  Still one of the great epics and love stories, directed by that master, David Lean.  Sweeping and yet personal with juicy tidbits such as Klaus Kinski in a tiny role, and (I swear) Richard Burton doing an uncredited priest’s voice.  Alec Guinness has some of the best scenes as Zhivago’s droll half-brother  Yevgrav (including some darkly funny thoughts about brothers).  His uttering of the last line of the movie, “Ah, then it’s a gift.” brings tears to my eyes every time, as all great movie endings do.  Finally, two words:  Omar Sharif.

Chinatown
Part of a trio of movies, along with Nashville and Cabaret, that I saw as a teenager in the 1970’s that made me realize that movies could be art, not just entertainment.  A perfectly realized neo-noir that still stands as one of the best cinematic treatments of corruption, both personal and societal.  Fitted together by Polanski with clockwork precision, it also pulls at some deep often nameless fears and hopes that lurk around the edges of our ordinary lives.  And best of all, it has Nicholson at his peak, in a quintessential and yet very specific performance as a cynical romantic, establishing him as the Bogart for Boomers.

The Wizard of Oz
Favorite movie of childhood and still my favorite movie ever made, for purely emotional reasons.  Stuffed with archetypes that would make it easy to analyze, but I prefer to just take it as I did as a child – as speaking deeply to any of us who feel misunderstood or ill-treated, and who long for a place that we can truly call home, where we feel loved and safe.

Pulp Fiction
It’s lost the power to shock us the way it did when it came out, but time has only been good to Tarantino’s meticulously crafted screenplay. Intermittent and shocking violence aside, it’s a dialogue movie. Famous for its one-liners, its real glory is in the longer speeches and exchanges between characters.  Someone once told me they’d rented it to see what all the fuss was about but ended up fast-forwarding impatiently, trying to get through all the talking “to the good parts.”  I said that was like fast-forwarding through Shakespeare.

Silence of the Lambs
I first saw this in a hotel room while on a business trip.  I made sure to order a salad (not meat) to eat while I watched it, and even so, hurried to get it down before the movie got as grisly as I knew it would.  Afterward, I looked in the closet and under the bed before trying rather futilely to sleep.  It’s funny to recall how terrifying this was on first (and maybe even second or third viewing) because now it’s almost a campy comedy, especially Anthony Hopkins’ delicious turn as Hannibal, which compels me to keep watching every time, just to catch all his scenes.

Bull Durham
I should scratch this from the list simply because the last few times I saw it on TV, they cut out the sex scenes at the end between Costner and Sarandon, which are on another “top” list of mine. I suspect this was less censorship (since the scenes are mild vs. what you can see on TV these days) and more about thinking this is a sports movie and so it’s the baseball stuff that’s important and can’t be cut for the time slot.  Feh!  Even though I’m not a sports fan, I still love that aspect of the movie because writer/director Ron Shelton shows us that world through the lens of unique and appealing characters that we want to follow around. But c’mon, TV monkeys, how can you cut out the bathtub scene??