I haven't rented a movie in years. At least two, maybe pushing three years. This wouldn't be a problem if we had HBO. But we don't. Luckily I get out to the movies often, so I see pretty much everything that I want to. But you know there are always those movies that you just dismiss with a, "Ehhhh, I don't want to spend nine bucks to see it in a theater, I'll rent it when it comes out."

So for the past, well, two to three years, I've built up a "To Rent" list a mile long.

I guess what got me thinking about this is all fall people have been talking about Memento. Heck, all spring people were talking about it! The night that my friend Mike and I were going to see it we changed our minds at the last minute and saw something else. I think it was that one with Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sigourney Weaver and Gene Hackman. What was the name of that one?!?

Thus I've decided to physically write down all of the films that I've been meaning to rent, in hopes that I'll be at your house this holiday season and you'll rent them with me.

The Big Carnival (1951) - Written and directed by Billy Wilder. Compare him to Cameron Crowe and I'll pop you on the nose. Anyway, supposedly Wilder called this film "the runt of the litter". I want to see what he thinks sucks. Probably solid genius.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978) - Written by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis. First feature directed by Zemeckis. Something about the Beatles? Dunno. Still, I'd watch them write and direct cardboard.

Used Cars (1980) - Written by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis. Directed by Zemeckis. Starring Kurt Russell and Jack Warden. Jack Who? You might know him as Pops from Dirty Work. Aaaaahhh...

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) - Directed by Leonard Nimoy. You know, I haven't seem most of the Star Trek films. This one I really want to see, cause I'm writing a bad time-travel film.

Embrace of the Vampire (1994) - Alyssa Milano gets naked.

Touch (1997) - Directed by Paul Schrader, the writer of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and The Last Temptation of Christ, among others. Based on a novel by Elmore Leonard, the writer of Get Shorty and Out of Sight, among others. Soundtrack by Dave Grohl, musician in Nirvana and Foo Fighters, among others. What more do you need to know? Skeet Ulrich, Bridget Fonda, Christopher Walkin and Tom Arnold are in it? Good enough for me.

Jack Frost (1997) - No, not the Michael Keaton one. The B-grade horror flick. "He's Chillin' and Killin'." Yeah. Daniel told me to rent it.

Memento (2000) - The film everyone's talking about.

Dude, Where's My Car? (2000) - The other film everyone's talking about.

Tigerland (2000) - Directed by, shudder, Joel Schumacher. The first big role for Colin Farrell, who also starred as Jesse James in American Outlaws and in some upcoming movie called Minority Report with some guy named Cruise directed by some dude named Spielberg. Oh, back to Tigerland. It's supposed to be good. Vietnam Boot Camp in 1971 or something.

Screwed (2000) - Written and directed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, the writers of Ed Wood, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Man on the Moon and, yep, the Christina Ricci remake of That Darn Cat. Starring Norm Macdonald, David Chappelle and Danny DeVito. I like them.

61* (2001) - Directed by Billy Crystal. All about Mickey Mantle and Roger Marris trying to break Babe Ruth's home run record. With Barry Pepper as Maris.

So my hope is that in 2002 I can rent most of these, and then build up an even bigger "To Rent" list.

- Josh Edwards