Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The Changeling, 300, Tell No One

Neal Hallford
Director, Witch Creek,
witchcreekmovie.com

The Changeling (not to be confused with Angelina Jolie’s Changeling) is a very suspenseful old-school horror movie that relied on atmosphere over gory theatrics. Stellar performance by George C. Scott as a grief-wracked father moving into a haunted house. Without providing a spoiler, there’s an important plot point that I sincerely believe must have directly influenced part of The Ring. An old, old favorite, and very influential.

Despite its made-for-television origins, Gargoyles used to scare the hell out of me as a kid, and it still delivers the chills. Features remarkably good makeup effects by Stan Winston and a very early film appearance of Hollywood staple Scott Glenn. Just don’t plan any trips into the desert in a station wagon after watching this.

  • The Changeling (Canada) 1980, HBO
  • List price: $5.98
  • Gargoyles (USA) 1972, VCI Video
  • List price: $35.98


Clint August

Rock 105.3 midday DJ

Sponsored
Sponsored

I love the fighting in 300; it’s a total guy-meets-fantasy movie. King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) leads 300 Spartans into battle against the Persian god-king Xerxes and his million-man army. Meanwhile, Queen Gorgo attempts to rally support in Sparta for her husband. Fantastical creatures are introduced, and the dudes are just plain badass.

The Heartbreak Kid is about a guy (Ben Stiller) with a ton of baggage when it comes to relationships with women. After many break-ups, he meets a woman (Malin Akerman) that he decides to settle down with but then realizes she’s not the right one while on their honeymoon. But while celebrating his nuptials, he meets the perfect woman (Michelle Monaghan) and comedy ensues. The Farrelly Brothers direct, so it’s extremely inappropriate. I laugh every time I watch it. I also love Jerry Stiller’s performance.

  • 300 (USA) 2007, Warner Brothers
  • List price: $14.98
  • The Heartbreak Kid (USA) 2007, Dreamworks
  • List price: $12.98


Michael C. Burgess

Cinephile

Funeral in Berlin is the world’s most underrated movie, probably because it’s the second in Michael Caine’s series of Harry Palmer films. I take every opportunity to recommend it to friends, and they always tell me they’re thankful. It’s an intelligent spy movie with heart. It gives a stylish, whimsical, and very cool glimpse of the ’60s, and all of the historical and political details hold up very well in the light of subsequent revelations. The metaphors never hamper the action. “Roses are out. Weeds are in.” Evan Jones’s script makes a witty soufflé out of Len Deighton’s rambling spy novel to give us the seedy antithesis to the James Bond nonsense, long before Austin Powers tried to shag it.

Tell No One is a first-rate action thriller that loses none of its pace, even if you have to read subtitles.

  • Funeral in Berlin (USA) 1966, Paramount
  • List price: $28.99
  • Tell No One (France) 2006, Music Box Films
  • List price: $27.98

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Mang Tomas, banana ketchup barred in San Diego

What will happen to Filipino Christmas here?
Next Article

Aaron Bleiweiss: has guitar, has traveled

Seattle native takes Twists and Turns to assemble local all-stars

Neal Hallford
Director, Witch Creek,
witchcreekmovie.com

The Changeling (not to be confused with Angelina Jolie’s Changeling) is a very suspenseful old-school horror movie that relied on atmosphere over gory theatrics. Stellar performance by George C. Scott as a grief-wracked father moving into a haunted house. Without providing a spoiler, there’s an important plot point that I sincerely believe must have directly influenced part of The Ring. An old, old favorite, and very influential.

Despite its made-for-television origins, Gargoyles used to scare the hell out of me as a kid, and it still delivers the chills. Features remarkably good makeup effects by Stan Winston and a very early film appearance of Hollywood staple Scott Glenn. Just don’t plan any trips into the desert in a station wagon after watching this.

  • The Changeling (Canada) 1980, HBO
  • List price: $5.98
  • Gargoyles (USA) 1972, VCI Video
  • List price: $35.98


Clint August

Rock 105.3 midday DJ

Sponsored
Sponsored

I love the fighting in 300; it’s a total guy-meets-fantasy movie. King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) leads 300 Spartans into battle against the Persian god-king Xerxes and his million-man army. Meanwhile, Queen Gorgo attempts to rally support in Sparta for her husband. Fantastical creatures are introduced, and the dudes are just plain badass.

The Heartbreak Kid is about a guy (Ben Stiller) with a ton of baggage when it comes to relationships with women. After many break-ups, he meets a woman (Malin Akerman) that he decides to settle down with but then realizes she’s not the right one while on their honeymoon. But while celebrating his nuptials, he meets the perfect woman (Michelle Monaghan) and comedy ensues. The Farrelly Brothers direct, so it’s extremely inappropriate. I laugh every time I watch it. I also love Jerry Stiller’s performance.

  • 300 (USA) 2007, Warner Brothers
  • List price: $14.98
  • The Heartbreak Kid (USA) 2007, Dreamworks
  • List price: $12.98


Michael C. Burgess

Cinephile

Funeral in Berlin is the world’s most underrated movie, probably because it’s the second in Michael Caine’s series of Harry Palmer films. I take every opportunity to recommend it to friends, and they always tell me they’re thankful. It’s an intelligent spy movie with heart. It gives a stylish, whimsical, and very cool glimpse of the ’60s, and all of the historical and political details hold up very well in the light of subsequent revelations. The metaphors never hamper the action. “Roses are out. Weeds are in.” Evan Jones’s script makes a witty soufflé out of Len Deighton’s rambling spy novel to give us the seedy antithesis to the James Bond nonsense, long before Austin Powers tried to shag it.

Tell No One is a first-rate action thriller that loses none of its pace, even if you have to read subtitles.

  • Funeral in Berlin (USA) 1966, Paramount
  • List price: $28.99
  • Tell No One (France) 2006, Music Box Films
  • List price: $27.98
Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

East Village Tree Lighting & Holiday Market, Holiday Gondola Cruise

Events November 30-December 4, 2024
Next Article

Thanksgiving Lunch Cruise, The Avengers and Zeros ‘77, Small Business Saturday In Escondido

Events November 28-November 30, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader