Blu-ray | The Athletic Nerd

10 Flicks: If I Could Only Own 10 Movies

October 19th, 2010 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in 10 Flicks | Featured Posts | Movies - (0 Comments)

I love collecting movies.

I take great pride in my growing collection of DVD’s.

The other day, I was looking over my modest collection of Blu Ray discs and got to thinking about which ones I would upgrade first.

This isn’t the first time I’ve thought about it either. Remember VHS tapes?

This edition of 10 Flicks is kind of based on that idea. What if I had to restart?

Here are the top 10 movies I’d own if I could only have 10.

My initial fear was that this list would simply become my top 10 favorite movies but you have to put some thought into these lists!

If you could only own 10 would you really want the same types of films? You have to think long term.

So this list factors in special features and documentaries as well as the film itself. (Also, series & box sets count as one. Yes, I’m aware that may or may not be cheating. I don’t feel bad.)

The Lord of the Rings

Featured Post: Why Special Features Inspire Filmmakers

Star Wars

Transformers

Good Will Hunting

The Shawshank Redemption

Signs

The Matrix Trilogy

Featured Post: What The Matrix Screenplay Taught Me

The Dark Knight

A Few Good Men

Why Special Features Inspire Filmmakers

April 14th, 2010 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in Filmmaking | Movies - (0 Comments)

DVD changed everything by including remarkable and inspiring special features and documentaries along with the film. While Blu Ray raised the bar significantly, a simple fact remains…

Special features truly inspire the aspiring filmmaker.

I bought my first 2 DVDs the day my dad installed a DVD-ROM in our home computer. We didn’t even have a DVD player but that didn’t stop me from purchasing:

Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace
The Matrix Revisited

Why did I choose these particular DVDs over hundreds of other films?

The making-of documentaries.

To this day they are some of my favorites. I find special features captivating and enormously entertaining because they remind me of why I wanted to become a filmmaker in the first place.

Since you’re asking, I want to be a filmmaker because there is nothing more gratifying then working creatively with people you respect and seeing an audience react to your hard work.

That’s the text book response.

Basically, making movies is fun. Watching people make movies in inspiring THUS causing me to want to make more movies… Which is fun…

Still with me?

What I love about Star Wars and Revisited is how they focus on every single aspect of the production process. I love hearing about the screenwriting process but I’m also a fan of editing featurettes and having access to both along with everything in between is what it’s all about.

The best collection of special features ever?

Which brings me to my all time favorite: The Lord Of The Rings Extended Editions.

Oh man. If you’re hungry for film making documentaries these discs should be at the top of the stack. Most documentaries you find are short and only detail 1 or 2 aspects of the film. LOTR provides 50 billion hours chronicling the entire production but also the journey of those involved, how passionate they were about the project and how they became a family.

It’s profound stuff. Inspiring to anyone but super-inspiring to this young filmmaker.

I’m about to direct another short film (The Climb) and I’ve been watching my favorite special features for weeks. As a director, nothing inspires me more than watching a good documentary about making movies.

Here are some of the best special features and documentaries in the history of the world:

Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace – The Beginning & All I Need Is An Idea
Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge Of The Sith – Within A Minute
Lord Of The Rings Extended Editions – Appendices (Of Course)
The Matrix Revisited – Documentary
Signs – Looking For Signs
Overnight – Documentary (Have The Boondock Saints on standby after viewing.)
Star Trek (Blu Ray)
Hellboy 2 – In Service Of The Demon
Finding Nemo – Making Nemo
Garden State – Making Of
Hatchet – Making Hatchet
Mission Impossible 2
The Devils Rejects – 30 Days In Hell
Waiting – That Little Extra

These are just a few of the favorites in my collection. There are so many more that I left off the list. Insane amounts of inspirational featurettes and docs. I can’t get enough.

What are your favorite special features and documentaries?

10 Flicks: VHS Movies I Should Upgrade

March 17th, 2010 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in 10 Flicks | Featured Posts | Movies - (2 Comments)

Anyone who collects movies probably has a chest or shelf somewhere full of VHS tapes.

I have a large number of DVD’s in my collection but there are few that I own on both VHS and DVD. I simply haven’t gotten around to updating my collection yet.

I have a fairly new VCR so why not just wait until the tapes shrivel up and die?

DVD and Blu Ray purests will argue that the picture, sound and special features definitely make the upgrade worthwhile. I couldn’t agree more.

Here are 10 of my favorite VHS movies that I should upgrade:

Honorable Mentions: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Scream Trilogy, Men In Black

Snatch

“Five minutes? It was two minutes five minutes ago.”

When I first started collecting movies, I didn’t have a shelf so I simply made stacks with my favorites on top. For some reason, when I think of Snatch, I think of those wonderful stacks that I was so proud of. It’s one of the best bad ass movies out there.

Sneakers

“Be a beacon”

One of the main inspirations for this post. I watched this movie for the first time in a long time a while back and it’s still as entertaining as ever. Read my Rainy Sundays post here.

Bad Boys

“Now THAT’S how you’re supposed to drive! From now on, that’s how you drive!”

Action movies have certainly evolved in the last decade. There haven’t been many decent buddy cop movies that have found success. In my opinion, this is one of the best comedic combinations of all time and the movie is loaded with action.

Bad Boys 2 is a better flick but I own that on DVD so it doesn’t belong on this list.

Gone In 60 Seconds

“Low Rider Donny… Donny? Low Rider?”

I don’t understand why so many people seem to dislike Nicolas Cage these days. Granted, he hasn’t released a fantastic movie in a long time but you have to give him credit for some of the awesome action movies he’s been a part of.

Fight Club

“I am Jack’s complete lack of surprise.”

I’ve had a DVD copy of this movie in my hands so many times I’ve lost count. Who can resist? The movie tells one of the most original and disturbingly entertaining stories ever. Period. Why don’t I own this on DVD yet? Not sure but I welcome gifts. That is all.

Training Day

“You wanna go to jail or you wanna go home?”

Denzel definitely deserved the Oscar. His performance is incredible but really, so is the movie. One of the best.

Crimson Tide

“If I’m wrong then we’re at war… God help us all.”

Crimson Tide is another movie I’ve written about recently. It’s the best kind of movie to curl up with when you’ve got a couple hours to kill on a lazy afternoon.

The Rock

“Welcome to the rock.”

Another Cage classic. Team him up with Sean Connery and you get one of the best action movies of all time. I remember renting this movie on a friday night, watching it, rewinding and watching it again before going to bed. I believe I owned it a week or so later. I just don’t own it on DVD yet.

Remember The Titans

“I want them to remember, FOREVER, the night they played the Titans.”

For some reason, I really love watching movies with lengthy training scenes. Movies that show the hardwork and dedication that goes into being successful. There is something inspiring about that. I’d have to say that inspiring is an understatent in this case.

Pulp Fiction

“Mmmmmm, this is a tasty burger”

This is probably the biggest outrage on this list. There’s really no reason why I haven’t upgraded this movie yet. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I feel like I should apologize… I’m sorry.

PS: The lesson I learned from writing this post? Jerry Bruckheimer rules when it comes to VHS movies I need to upgrade.