The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai – (1984) “One of the most genius, inventive flicks ever made. From the almost seamless inclusion of the Orson Welles War of the Worlds radio broadcast into the film’s mythology to the mannered performances and the all-synth score, it’s a classic.”

Baby, It’s You (1983) – “First time I went to the movies and thought, ‘They’re talking about us,’ was this John Sayles movie about the star-crossed school couple. She’s middle-class Jewish [Rosanna Arquette]; he’s working-class Italian [Vincent Spano].”

Cop Land (1997) – “A New Jersey I recognize. Highlands, where I grew up, was a lot like the New York policeman’s paradise in that De Niro/Stallone flick, with more bars and fewer officers per square mile than anywhere else in the world.”

Garden State (2004) – “Dug it. Natalie Portman was so-o-o-o-o adorable. Where was that girl when I grew up in Jersey? Not interested in me.”

The Sopranos – “OK, not a movie, but the ultimate Jersey experience, all turnpike and ‘burbs.”