This is my current set of DVD movies. I have some others, but they are technical, so I sort of don't want to put them here. For those of you that are interested in that stuff, the technical DVDs include Siggraph Review Vol 61 (Electronic Theater 2002) and ACM Transitions on Graphics. The 2003 Siggraph Electronic Theater will join my collection this summer.

61*. Barry Pepper, Thomas Jane. Directed by Billy Crystal. I love Baseball. I love the Yankees. I was mildly amused by "Analyze This" What more could you ask for?

American Beauty. Kevin Spacey, Anette Benning. Directed by Sam Mendes. Written by Alan Ball. The first movie to ever make me cry. Simply Amazing.

Blue Submarine No. 6 - Volume 1: Blues. Produced by Sunrise / Bandi Visual. Saw an edited Version on Cartoon Network. I want the whole movie, but it costs $20 per half hour, and is 2 hours long. A bit pricey at this point. Features some great CG, though.

Cowboy Bebop - Volumes 1 - 6. Written and Directed by Sinichiro Watanabe. Saw this on Cartoon Network's Toonami, The Midnight Run, before it was changed over to Adult Swim. Possibly the most fantastic, amazing superb (Action Sci-Fi Cartoon Comedy Drama - Those of you with cable will understand this) Anime ever produced. Excellent!

Donnie Darko. Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone. Written and Directed by Frank Kelly. The best movie of 2001. The most overlooked, underrated, unheard of movie of all time. Simply amazing. Breathtaking performances from Jake Gyllenhaal and Jena Malone. American Beauty Calibur.

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Voices of Ming-Na, Alec Baldwin. Directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi. Square Pictures USA. Unfairly panned by movie goers, this film is an amazing breakthrough in CG. Made with Maya and Renderman, this is a testiment to what I want to do with my life. Oh, it has a good plot too, but only if you're into spiritualism.

Gladiator. Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix. Written by David Franzoni. Directed by Ridley Scott. It's crap. I bought it for the making-of/special effects disc. Really, it was good the first time I saw it, but every subsequent viewing makes me wish it was more like Donnie Darko. And by that, I mean, I wish it was good.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Daniel Radcliffe, Alan Cummings. Written by J.K. Rowling (novel)/ Steven Kloves (screen). Directed by Chris Columbus. I have this one, minus the "fluffy" collectible. It's just cute. Plus, I bought it for my sister.

Kiki's Delivery Service. Voices of Kirsten Dunst, Phil Hartman. Written and Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. A gift from my girlfriend, this is another of Miyazaki's magnificent anime films. Not scary like Spirited Away or violent like Princess Mononoke, this is a lighthearted tale of growing up.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Elijah Wood, Sir Ian McKellen. Written and Directed by Peter Jackson. This movie kicks Star Wars' ass. I have the extra-mega-deluxe-superfluous edition, featuring over an hour of extended footage. This is just cool.

The Matrix. Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne. Written and Directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski. Every man in America loves this movie. I am no exception. Not the best of stories, but so thoroughly entertaining that I tend to forget that.

The Animatrix. Written by Larry and Andy Wachowski and Sinichiro Watanabe (Detective Story). Nine short films about the Matrix, providing background and further insight into the world of the Matrix. My favorites include "Kid Story" and "Final Flight of the Osiris". This is damned cool.

Monsters Incorporated. Voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman. Written and Directed by Pete Docter. Until "Finding Nemo" is released in summer 2003, this is the Gold Standard for what 3D animation can be. Side-splittingly funny, touching and action-packed. Just beautiful.

Ocean's Eleven. George Clooney, Andy Garcia. Written by Ted Griffin. Directed by Steven Sodebergh. This was one of the most entertaining live action movies I have seen in a while. Plus, you get gems like "i'm gonna drop you like third period french."

Red Dragon. Edward Norton, Anthony Hopkins. Written by Thomas Harris. Directed by Brett Ratner. Mildly entertaining and featuring Emily Watson as a blind floosie and waaay too much of Ralph Fiennes' ass, my sister bought the Canadian version of this movie on E-Bay for $10 more than she could have gotten it at the store. D'oh.

The Royal Tenenbaums. Gene Hackman, Luke and Owen Wilson, Anjelica Huston, Danny Glover, Gweneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Bill Murray. Written by Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson. Directed by Wes Anderson. Possibly the funniest movie of the past twenty years. Under-appreciated and beautifully acted and directed, this is a comedic and somewhat dramatic triumph for Wes Anderson, whose movies I have been watching since his directorial debut, Bottlerocket.

Signs. Mel Gibson, Joquin Phoenix. Written and Directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Another one of my sister's purchases, this movie was mildly entertaining but ultimately disappointing. I expected a lot more from Shyamalan, and even thought that Unbreakable was a better movie than this.

Spirited Away. Voices of Lauren Holly and Michael Chiklis. Written and Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki's latest triumph from Studio Ghibli. This is a moving, rich tale of a spoiled young girl who learns the meaning of hard work, and eventually grows up just enough to learn to think for herself and the value of love.

Tenchi the Movie:Tenchi Muyo! in Love. Created by Masaki Kajishima. Produced by Pioneer/Bandai Visual. It's like a season of Tenchi compressed into an hour and a half. Features Kiyone, so you know it's from the Tenchi Universe continuity.

Tenchi Universe. Earth Volume I, Space Volume III. Created by Masaki Kajishima. Produced by Pioneer / Bandai Visual. This is the second continuity of the Tenchi series, featuring Kiyone and Nagi as supporting characters. Dr. Clay and Lady Tokimi do not make an appearance in this series. This series has 26 episodes, of which i have 6.

Toy Story 2. Voices of Tim Allen, Joan Cusack and Tom Hanks. Written by John Lasseter, Pete Docter and Andrew Stanton. Directed by Andrew Stanton. A beautiful movie, plot and visual wise. Funnier than the first, with a more clever story. Features the heart-wrenching "When She Loved Me" performed by Sarah McLachlan.

© 2003 Aaron Romero.
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