A scene from The Vow, where Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams compare chapstick. (Kerry Hayes/Columbia Pictures/Sony/Associated Press)

The Notebook versus Out of Sight. High Fidelity versus The Family Man. CBC film critic Eli Glasner faces off against arts producer Ilana Banks about the best movies with which to woo your sweetheart on Valentine's Day. And they ask: What's your favourite romantic movie?

Eli: Alright, folks. Here's a list of my favourite movies about love. Not romance, not schmaltz, but love -- warts and all. In no particular order:

• I Am Love
• Out of Sight
• Pride and Prejudice (the 2005 version)
• Australia
• Before Sunrise
• High Fidelity
• Splice
• Big Night
• Like Crazy
• Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind
• Wall-E (and a tip of the hat to Canadian cartoonist Scott Chantler for that one)

Some specifics:

I Am Love

The amazing Tilda Swinton plays a Russian wife, transplanted to Milan, who falls in love with food and a certain chef. It's a movie about an affair, about one's senses and about sensuality. It's the perfect digestif to savour after seeing the formidable actress in We Need to Talk About Kevin. I Am Love is big, bold and bodacious: Big Night meets TheTree of Life.

Out of Sight

Really, all you need to do is watch the above clip of Clooney and J.Lo. Out of Sight is a heist film with a love-hate romance at its chewy centre. You can have your Notebook and The Vow. This one is my guilty pleasure.

High Fidelity

If you want to talk about true romance (no, not that film), you need the other side of love. I chose High Fidelity because, for guys of my generation, John Cusack was the guy we wanted to be. This is a movie about break-ups and bitterness, but also real love -- love of music, love of a person's scent and the sounds he or she makes when sleeping. It's a great adaption of Nick Hornby book.

Ilana: It seems appropriate -- on a day devoted to strong emotions -- to passionately debate Eli's choices. His picks sparked quite the debate in our morning meeting, complete with eye-rolling and snarky comments. So here is an alternate take on romance and love for Valentine's Day.

The Notebook

Schmaltzy? Maybe, but is there is anything more romantic, sexy or gut-wrenching then watching Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling fall in love onscreen (and off)? How can you ever forget the kiss? "It wasn't over. It still isn't over!" That smooch was so popular, they even re-enacted it for the MTV Movie Awards. Sigh. I miss them as a couple.

50 First Dates

I know, I know. How can Adam Sandler and romance go together? Still, there's something so romantic about the way his character woos Drew Barrymore's Lucy -- who can't remember him because of her short-term memory loss -- every single day and reminds her of their love over and over. I cry every time.

The Family Man

This falls into the Christmas flicks zone and it does star Nicholas Cage, who these days is a liability. But as a high-flying businessman who suddenly finds himself in an alternate life and married to his college girlfriend (Téa Leoni), he gives such a touching performance. Don't get me started on Leoni -- where has she disappeared to anyway? You can see why Cage's character is so taken by her.

What's your favourite romantic movie? Share your pick in the comments below or tweet it to @glasneronfilm and @ilanabanks.