David pokes his head out of his office and sees his shadow...

Well, I've been blog-silent for quite a long time, having been trapped under not one, not two, but (count 'em) three deals. And not little ones, either. Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything about them yet. But if and when they hit the papers, I'll let you know, so you people won't think I was neglecting you for no good reason.

Anyway, Peter having thrown down the gauntlet, here are my top movies of all time:

1. A Little Romance. I know what you're all thinking. "What the hell is A Little Romance?" (Since I'm certain you think in italics.) It's a fantastic movie, a sleeper hit (Oscar winner for best score) from 1978. It stars Sir Laurence Olivier, who gnaws on the scenery in a French accent, Diane Lane, all of 13 or so in her film debut, and a French kid with the unfortunate name of Thelonious Bernard, who went on never to be heard of again. Rent it. Trust me.

2. The Godfather. I love this movie. Love it. My wife knows not to bother me when this movie is on. If my viewing is interrupted, I tend to remain stuck in the film, walking my dog while watching out for Solozzo's button men and working out how to simultaneously eliminate the heads of the other families, along with Moe Green and Fabrizio, who blew up my wife and lovely car. (You don't get to see the assassination of Fabrizio in the movie, but if you read the book it's there, and it's one of the "extra scenes" in the DVD collection, which includes Part II (see below) and the excrable Part III.)

3. Charade. It is a truism that all Audrey Hepburn movies are terrific. It is a truism that all Cary Grant movies are at least very very good. Accordingly, a movie with both Audrey Hepburn (sigh.) and Cary Grant must therefore be near-perfect. Add Walter Matthau, James Coburn and George "Cool Hand Luke" Kennedy, stir briskly. Then combine talents from guys who are into musicals, of all things: Hitchcock-like scripting from Peter Stone, who also wrote 1776 and Hitchcock-like directing from Stanley Donen who also directed Singing In The Rain. It just works.

4. Casablanca. One of those magical movies where everything just comes together brilliantly.

5. Raiders of the Lost Ark. I'm seriously wondering about you, Peter, that there's even a question in your mind as to whether it should be included.

6. Dude, Where's My Car? Yeah, right. Just checking to see if you're paying attention.

6. (Really.) The Sting. I'm a con game freak. I can throw the three card monte. I collect cheater dice. Like this movie wasn't making my top 10.

7. Operation Petticoat. One of the funniest movies ever made. And it has the Cary Grant bonus multiplier.

8. The Godfather, Part II. This might rank higher, I'm just too lazy to go back and renumber everything. The Robert DeNiro scenes are better than the Al Pacino scenes.

9. Citizen Kane. OK, I have a confession to make. I've never actually seen Citizen Kane. But I kinda get the feeling that, by law, you have to put it on any top-10 movie list. So here it is. Rosebud was his sled. Now you don't have to see it either.

10. Star Wars. Sue me.

OK, that's the first 10. I'll think about it more and add some more later, probably, unless I get hit with another 15 tons of paper...