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End Of An Era: VHS Movies Are Now In Storage

August 11th, 2010 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in Movies - (4 Comments)

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I finally did it.

It’s something I’ve put off for far too long now.  I really don’t know what I was holding onto..

Maybe I just had trouble letting go.

Still, I stood in front of that old dresser with several brand new storage bins resting beside me.

It was time to pack up my VHS collection. It was time to move on.

Perhaps I’m being a little dramatic.  It’s not like I’m throwing them out.  (I’m definitely not there yet.)  I’m simply throwing away my dresser and putting them in storage.

Why am I upset?

I love my movie collection and while some people may have abandoned their old VHS tapes long ago…  I still look back at the movies I grew up with fondly.  I love my VHS collection.  I love my VCR.

Also I’m lazy.  How often am I really going to unlock my storage locker and search through the bins looking for a movie I simply have to see.

Would you?

I think certain movies will inspire me to make the journey down to storage to retrieve them.  But then I have to put them back…  It might be too much!

Maybe I’ll think more about upgrading some of them to DVD or Blu Ray for that matter.

READ: 10 Flicks: VHS Movies I Should Upgrade

Lets face it, I’m also a technology nerd and a high definition snob so it’s probably time to experience these films in a higher quality format.

Either way, it’s the end of an era. They may have resided away from view inside dresser drawers but I knew they were there.

I’m going to miss having them accessible…

It’s been a tough day.

PS: I’m only kidding.  I have no problem getting those bins out of storage every once in a while.

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Why Special Features Inspire Filmmakers

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

Inspiring DVD & Blu Ray Special Features

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?

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The Irresistible Future Shop $5.99 DVD Bins

March 30th, 2010 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in Movies - (0 Comments)

Future Shop DVD

Ah cheap DVDs…  The best way to buy the movies you never knew you always wanted…

I can’t resist a bin full of DVD’s for $5.99 or less.  This section of electronic stores like Future Shop and Best Buy just seem to shine brighter especially when you only go in to buy an ink cartridge.

This is whyI went into Future Shop last week.  I’ve got some new screenplays on the horizon that need to be printed out and I was hurting for ink.

So I went in to purchase some paper and a new cartridge but the tractor beam of the cheap DVD bin got me again!

I walked out with 5 new DVDs to add to my collection.

Who doesn’t love rummaging through cheap DVDs hoping to find that one classic you’ve been scouring the planet to find.

The only thing better?

Used DVDs at Blockbuster.  It’s like a candy store!

It’s time to reorganize my DVD shelves.  A nerdy thing to do but a nerdy thing I love…

Oh and what about those 5 new DVDs?

  1. Garden State
  2. I Am Sam
  3. The Mask
  4. JCVD
  5. Jerry Seinfeld: I’m Telling You For The Last Time.
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10 Flicks: VHS Movies I Should Upgrade

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

10 Flicks Movie Lists: VHS Movies I Should Upgrade

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.”

Snatch Movie Brad Pitt

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”

sneakers movie 1992

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!”

Bad Boys Will Smith Martin Lawrence

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?”

Gone In 60 Seconds Nicolas Cage

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.”

Brad Pitt Fight Club

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 Washington Training Day

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 Movie

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.”

The Rock Movie

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.”

remember the titans victory

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”

Pulp Fiction Tarantino

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.

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10 Flicks: Terrible Movies I Own

February 1st, 2010 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in 10 Flicks | Featured Posts | Movies - (3 Comments)

10 Flicks Movie Lists

Like many film fans out there, I have a pretty large collection of DVD’s.  I’m extremely proud of the diversity of my collection as there are films from virtually every genre you can think of.  Most people organize their movies alphabetically or by director.  Some organize them by genre or actor.  Some probably alphabetize those sections as well.

I’m different.  My movies are organized in a rough order of which ones I like the most.  The system works like this:

You stand in front of my shelves and decide the type of movie you feel like watching.  Something may jump out at you right away.  Surrounding each movie are dozens of similar films thus giving you more options.  Get it?  Lets move on.

Guess what’s on the bottom shelf?

The “Why the hell do I own this” shelf.

For this post, I consulted the least visited section of my collection and came up with 10 movies I have the misfortune of owning.

Why do I own them?  Here are a few reasons:

  • Buy 2 get 1 free.  At least it was free!
  • Bulk purchases off eBay. Back in the day, I’d bid on collections of 10 or 20.  There were always a few duds in there. (Surprises too though)
  • I had a hunch and was let down.
  • Someone gave me a glowing review and I shouldn’t have listened.
  • I buy bad movies on purpose.  How else can you learn to write better movies without identifying why you DISLIKE certain films.

Regardless of how I acquired these films, they are still treasured additions to my collection.  Just for the wrong reasons.

Honorable Mention: The Simple Life Season 1…  It was 3 bucks! Leave me alone…

Dragon Wars

I absolutely love monster movies.  I basically bought this hoping it would be a companion film to The Host. (Which was awesome.)  I just hope Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus is better.  I’ll probably own that someday too.

Reign Of Fire

Great cast, great concept.  Really, really bad movie.  I really wanted to love it too!

Shadow Fury

Still not sure why I have it.  I don’t even remember buying it.  Maybe I stole it.  That’d be sweet.

Note: I don’t steal things.

Cradle 2 The Grave

I should’ve known that an action movie with DMX would suck but I thought I could put it beside Romeo Must Die which also features DMX and Jet Li.  I loved Romeo Must Die.  Cradle 2 The Grave…  Woops.

The Nines

I’m a big fan of Ryan Reynolds but this movie confused the crap out of me.  I got it eventually but whew, I forced it.

P2

I have an entire selection of awesome B-Thrillers.  P2 is no where near that section.

Anacondas

This is the only movie on this list with a chance of escape.  I turned it off after about 25 minutes and never looked back.  Someday, I will revisit and hopefully it won’t be terrible.  Nah it probably still will.

NOTE: A J-Lo clone? Really?

Dragonball: Evolution

I don’t even want to talk about it.  One of the worst movies of 2009. Click here for my thoughts.

Revolver

Who cares who the oppenent is!  That conversation was terrible.  Guy Ritchie…  I still think you kick ass but this movie was awful.

Darkness

The worst movie I’ve ever seen in my life.  I bought it willingly as a constant reminder to work really, really hard on my scripts.

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