An Introduction: 298 DVDs

Hi everyone. My name is Ki. I'm 29 years old, and I've been a movie buff since I was very young.

We all know that time changes, and technology changes. As a collector of films in an ever-evolving digital era, I've done my best to keep up with the latest formats for consuming films. And while I've bid farewell to my VHS tapes, I haven't been able to say goodbye to my DVD collection.

But a few years ago, in anticipation of moving across the country from New York to California, I decided to toss everything except the actual discs of my DVD collection. I lined up every DVD I owned in alphabetical order, counted the titles, and discovered I had just shy of 300 films. I bought three 100-disc storage units and turned 10 cubic feet of DVD cases into just under 2.

Since then, I've dipped into the collection as needed, favoring a few key titles. But as the technology continues to progress, I've come to the realization that this collection may not last forever. DVDs get scratched, or get heat damage, or just go unwatched for so long that they're eventually discarded.

So I've challenged myself, over the course of the next year, to get through all 298 DVDs in my collection. For the most part, these are films released between 1980 and 2011. They represent a lot of time sitting on my ass, learning what I liked and didn't like, and turning myself into the person I am today.

As I watch them, in alphabetical order, I intend to write about the experience. How I obtained the disc, why I kept it, how I've perceived it in the past, and - after viewing it - how that perception might have changed in the intervening months or years since I last watched it.

Here are the 298 DVDs:

1. Accepted
2. Across the Universe
3. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
4. Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
5. Aeon Flux
6. Airheads
7. Alex + Emma
8. Along Came Polly
9. Always
10. American Beauty
11. American Pie
12. American Pie 2
13. American Wedding (Yes, this ignores the alphabetical order, but I kept movies in a series listed together - get over it)
14. American Psycho
15. An American Tail 1 & 2 (Family double disc - awww yeah!)
16. Anchorman
17. Atonement
18. Away We Go
19. Baseketball
20. Batman & Robin
21. Batman Begins
22. Beauty and the Beast
23. Beauty Shop
24. Because I Said So
25. Bedazzled
26. Bewitched
27. Big Trouble
28. Bill Cosby, Himself
29. Billy Madison
30. Black Snake Moan
31. Blades of Glory
32. Blazing Saddles
33. Boys and Girls
34. Brady Bunch Movie
35. The Breakfast Club
36. Bridget Jones' Diary
37. Bring It On
38. Bringing Down the House
39. Brokeback Mountain
40. Brokedown Palace
41. Can't Hardly Wait
42. Casper
43. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
44. Charlie Bartlett
45. Charlie's Angels
46. Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
47. Chasing Amy
48. Chasing Liberty
49. Children of Men
50. Chicago
51. Choke
52. Chronicles of Riddick
53. Cinderella
54. A Cinderella Story
55. Clerks
56. Clerks II
57. Click
58. Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
59. Constantine
60. Corpse Bride
61. Cruel Intentions
62. Daredevil
63. The Dark Knight
64. Dear God
65. D.E.B.S.
66. Devil Wears Prada
67. Dick
68. Dirty Dancing
69. Disturbia
70. Dodgeball
71. Donnie Darko
72. Down With Love
73. Dude, Where's My Car?
74. Dumb and Dumber
75. Edward Scissorhands
76. Elizabethtown
77. Empire Records
78. Employee of the Month
79. Encino Man
80. Epic Movie
81. Eurotrip
82. Ever After
83. Evita
84. Excess Baggage
85. Evolution
86. The Faculty
87. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
88. Ferngully
89. Ferris Beuller's Day Off
90. Fight Club
91. Final Destination 3
92. First Wives' Club
93. Fools Rush In
94. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
95. Four Rooms
96. Freaky Friday
97. Free Willy
98. Freedom Writers
99. Fried Green Tomatos
100. Fun with Dick and Jane
101. Fur
102. Garden State
103. Ghostbusters
104. Ghostbusters 2
105. Gia
106. Girl, Interrupted
107. The Girl Next Door
108. The Golden Compass
109. Good Burger
110. Good Luck Chuck
111. The Goonies
112. Gothika
113. Grease 2
114. Hairspray
115. The Hangover
116. Happy Feet
117. A Hard Day's Night
118. Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle
119. Harriet the Spy
120. 'Head'
121. High Fidelity
122. High School Musical 3
123. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
124. The Holiday
125. Home Fries
126. Hot Fuzz
127. How to Deal
128. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
129. I Love You, Man
130. I, Robot
131. Idiocracy
132. The Incredibles
133. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
134. Interview with the Vampire
135. The Island
136. It's A Wonderful Life
137. The Jacket
138. John Tucker Must Die
139. Josie and the Pussycats (Family-friendly edit; didn't realize until I took it home...)
140. Juno
141. Just Like Heaven
142. Just My Luck
143. Kate and Leopold
144. Keeping the Faith
145. Kill Bill: Volume 1
146. Kill Bill: Volume 2
147. Knocked Up
148. The Lake House
149. Land of the Dead
150. In the Land of the Women
151. The Last Kiss
152. Legally Blonde
153. Legends of the Fall
154. Liberty Heights
155. The Lion King
156. Little Miss Sunshine
157. Little Nicky
158. A Little Princess
159. The Lost Boys
160. Mallrats
161. Martian Child
162. Mary Poppins
163. Mask of Zorro
164. Matilda
165. The Matrix
166. Me, Myself, and Irene
167. Mean Girls
168. A Midsummer Night's Dream
169. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
170. The Mod Squad
171. Mona Lisa Smile
172. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
173. Monty Python and the Life of Brian
174. Monty Python and the Meaning of Life
175. Moulin Rouge!
176. Mr. and Mrs. Smith
177. The Mummy
178. The Mummy Returns
179. Music and Lyrics
180. My Best Friend's Wedding
181. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
182. My Fair Lady
183. My First Mister
184. My Girl
185. Mystery Men
186. The Negotiator
187. Never Been Kissed
188. The New Guy
189. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
190. Now and Then
191. One Fine Day
192. Orange County
193. Orgazmo
194. Out Cold
195. Outside Providence
196. The Others
197. Overboard
198. The Pagemaster
199. Penelope
200. The Perfect Score
201. Phantom of the Opera
202. Pineapple Express
203. Pirates of the Caribbean
204. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
205. Planet Terror
206. Playing By Heart
207. Pleasantville
208. Pocahontas
209. Powder
210. Practical Magic
211. Princess Diaries
212. Princess Diaries 2
213. The Producers
214. Pulp Fiction
215. Queen of the Damned
216. Rent
217. Resident Evil: Extinction
218. Road Trip
219. Robin Williams: Live on Broadway
220. Rocky Horror Picture Show
221. Romeo + Juliet
222. The Rundown
223. Save the Last Dance
224. Saved!
225. Scary Movie 3
226. Scoop
227. Scream
228. Scream 2
229. Scream 3
230. Scrooged
231. Secretary
232. A Series of Unfortunate Events
233. Shallow Hal
234. Shaun of the Dead
235. She's the Man
236. Shoot 'em Up
237. Shrek
238. Shrek 2
239. Shriek! If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th
240. Signs
241. Simply Irresistible
242. Sin City
243. The Skulls
244. Sky High
245. Something's Gotta Give
246. Spaceballs
247. Spice World
248. St. Elmo's Fire
249. The Stepford Wives
250. Stepmom
251. Stranger Than Fiction
252. Stuck on You
253. Superbad
254. Superstar
255. Sweeney Todd
256. Taking Lives
257. Tank Girl
258. Team America: World Police
259. Thank You For Smoking
260. There's Something About Mary
261. Three to Tango
262. Titan, A.E.
263. To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
264. Transformers
265. Trapped
266. Tropic Thunder
267. Trouble with Angels
268. Two Weeks Notice
269. Ultraviolet
270. Unbreakable
271. Under the Tuscan Sun
272. Underworld
273. Underworld: Revolution
274. Unleashed
275. Uptown Girls
276. V for Vendetta
277. Waiting...
278. A Walk to Remember
279. Wedding Crashers
280. The Wedding Date
281. The Wedding Planner
282. The Wedding Singer
283. What Lies Beneath
284. Whatever It Takes
285. When Harry Met Sally
286. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
287. Without a Paddle
288. The Wizard of Oz
289. X-Men
290. X-Men 2
291. X-Men 3: The Last Stand
292. Young Frankenstein
293. 9 to 5
294. 13 Going on 30
295. 40 Days and 40 Nights
296. 40-Year-Old Virgin
297. 100 Girls
298. 300