I am ashamed to admit this but...

We all have them, those dvds that sit in our collection feeling a little uneasy about the company that they are keeping. Those films that we shouldn't love and have no place sitting alongside the likes of The Shawshank Redemption or The Usual Suspects but we just can't help ourselves. They are our guilty pleasures.

As I was looking through my dvds today I realised I had quite a few of these 'guilty pleasures'. If I'm honest I think there should be a whole genre of these films. You go to a film store - hang on, does anyone actually go to rent films anymore? Does anyone in fact own a Blockbuster card?! That's a whole other subject right there, I remember as a kid one birthday having friends over, we went to the local film store and picked three films to watch for our planned 'all nighter', Lake Placid (terribly entertaining), Scary Movie (the first was genuinely funny) and Bring It On (yes you read that right, we chose this as it had Kirsten Dunst and Eliza Dushku in cheerleader outfits, yes I am ashamed...actually I'm not, strangely?!) - anyway, again I am wittering on, my point was (I think) that there should be a genre of guilty pleasures. I am sure some films are made to be just that.

So while I am aware that I have just named three guilty pleasures above in my little walk down memory lane, those were not the films that came to mind when I was considering what my GPs (now for anyone who read my blog on QT, you will of course laughed at my shortening of guilty pleasures to GPs there, and yes, you are welcome).

So first up, the film that jumps out to me straight away as a guilty pleasure in my dvd collection, mainly because it is sandwiched between The Dark Knight and The Pianist, is Stuck On You. A totally ridiculous comedy staring Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear. I actually don't know anyone else who likes this film, or in fact who found it funny. Yet for me, it makes me laugh. Now I don't find conjoined twins funny at all, I'm not THAT guy, but there was just something about this film that I really enjoyed. I actually brought the dvd for one scene alone. When Matt Damon is describing where his girlfriend is from, it's just one line but I absolutely couldn't stop laughing for like an hour. My friend who watched it with me thought I had problems - and I probably do. I'm not going to quote the line as I won't do it justice and I want you all to watch that film, just to see if anyone else likes it.

Zulu is next up on my guilty pleasures. While it is a classic, for a guy of my age it probably shouldn't be in my dvd collection. As a kid I LOVED this movie, I'm not even joking this and Memphis Belle were literally on constant playback during school holidays. So Zulu, I actually wanted to be in that film. So much so I used to act it out. I regret to say this is no joke, I would pick a character and act it out as I watched it. I had a plastic table I used to turn on its side and pretend I was defending the sofa...and yes I had a red tunic I used to wear also - I really can't work out why I'm single?! - The thing that I never used to do was pick someone who actually survived the film. I was never Michael Caine...I always died!! My own game and I always died. The definition of pathetic right there Ladies and Gentlemen. To this day I still get a little excited when I hear those opening titles, brilliant film.

Scooby Do is another film that resides in my dvd collection and it shouldn't - as I'm not five years old. This one I blame on Sarah Michelle Geller, as a teenager from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer generation SMG (done it again) is THE woman for many guys my age. She looks very hot in this film no doubt, but I actually really like the film too. I think it's a really good version of the classic cartoon and one of the rare times you watch a remake or reinvention of something that really works on its own. The second film wasn't as good, and I don't own it, but again I quite enjoyed it.

So while I have yet again admitted some embarrassing things here, which is seemingly becoming a regular occurrence here at The Armchair Director (I never promised to write hard hitting movie content to be fair), I ask what are your guilty pleasures? Don't act like you don't have any. Everybody does!!

While you consider that I am off to watch The Godfather Part II to reaffirm I do know what is a truly great film.

The crying game

Now I'm man enough to admit I cry when watching some movies. There are some scenes in films I still have to skip through so as not to end up in a blabbering wreck - the scene where Mufasa dies in The Lion King, truly horrific. Cannot watch that scene otherwise I'm sobbing like a baby. I think we can all relate to that, unless you are dead inside!

From an early age I was having to hide the fact I cry at films, E.T - the ending, again in tears, snot everywhere! It's not pleasant. I used to walk out the room, pretend I was going to the toilet or something. It fooled no-one, everybody knew what I was doing and the mockery started!! Joy!

So I started to ask myself is there something wrong with me or am I infact just becoming immersed in films and finding that connection that so many people don't?! - now of course I didn't ask myself this after watching The Lion King, I was nine, but you catch my drift.

So I gave into the whole crying like a child thing and let it happen. I opened a gate and now it's impossible to shut. Literally a flood of tears has happened since.

Good Will Hunting, the whole 'it's not your fault' scene. Yep, streaming tears. Now they way I see it, if Matt Damon is crying his eyes out, it's ok for me to as well, right?!

Now when Titanic came out, everybody was crying at that film so I figured I was probably going to too. You know what, I didn't! At all. That was a big breakthrough for me, showed I only cry when a film is that powerful. I'm not an unstable person who cries when they forget to turn the light off on their way to work. Progress!!

The last film to have me in tears was Up - clearly animation is a weak point for me - but I defy anyone to watch that opening scene and not shed a tear. That is a magnificent opening to an animation film, hell any film! It's beautiful, moving and very poignant and I read in Empire they were crying too so I knew I was in good company!!

Well thanks for letting me share that little, if you know me badly kept, secret and I'm sure I'm not the only one to cry at films. Just know it's not a bad thing! It shows you have a heart.

Unless you cry at Serendipity.

That's just pathetic!