The Changeling (1980)

There are some movies, especially in the horror genre that don't age well. What would have scared people back in the 50's just looks kind of silly to us today. Some movies however are kind of ahead of their times and when you watch them 30 years later, it is hard to see it with an open mind cause you are thinking "I have seen this a million times." The Changeling is one of those movies.
George C. Scott stars as John Russel, a famous composer who witnesses his wife and child dieing in a terrible car accident. At the urging of his friends he moves across the country to Seattle into a huge sprawling mansion and teaches at a local college. Soon after he moves into the house strange things start happening. He hears loud banging sounds, people whispering and people walking around when he is the only one home. It also seems that not everyone wants Russel to rent this house. Some of the locals are less than friendly, and for a guy who just saw his wife and daughter get run over by a snow plow, this gets him a little fired up. Russel and his real estate agent (I think, I was kind of flipping back and forth to the Sugar Bowl, so I wasn't really paying the attention that I should have) start to uncover some pretty dubious goings on at this mansion and eventually discover a cover up that goes all the way to the US senate.
I know that it doesn't sound very exciting or groundbreaking, and truth be told, I felt a little bored watching it (hence the Sugar Bowl). I am usually pretty good at watching older movies in context, but this one really just seemed to drag and didn't hold my interest. Don't get me wrong, it is a very well made movie, it is shot well, the acting is top notch, and there is a very creepy seance scene that is actually scary. However, some of the haunted house cliche's have been done to death at this point and even though this one probably predates a lot of them, I couldn't help but be bored.
The Changeling is one of those movies that I can't even remember why it is my Netflix queue. It isn't directed by a big name director and it isn't exactly a genre classic so I am not sure what brought it to my attention. While it isn't terrible by any means and does have some redeeming qualities, I just couldn't get into it. Maybe it is worth another watch some day, but I am not wasting another Netflix spot on it.

I Declare, The Sugar Bowl.

So I don't think it is a shock to anyone that I don't have anywhere near the passion for college football that I do for pro ball. I think there are several reasons for this. First off, I went to a tiny D-III school where my football team was pretty much an afterthought. It didn't help that being located in Columbus Ohio, there were more Buckeyes fans at my school than Cardinals fans. I just never had that much school spirit so it never really carried over. I think that College ball is a lot more unpredictable and crazy than the NFL, so I really do understand how people love it so much. I also understand that if you did go to a Big 10 school or some other big football conference that your passions would run really high. I just can't relate.
I think the main reason is that I feel uncomfortable getting as violently angry with college ball as I do with NFL players. Now I realize that the real solution should be "Hey Adam, maybe you shouldn't be a crazy asshole who jumps up and down and throws shit and have physically hurt yourself over a fucking game that you have no control over" and you might be right. However, you can also go fuck yourself because I am not a very emotional guy, and football gives me a chance to get those emotions out. Again, this probably says more about my mental stability than it does my love of football, but again, you can fuck off Sigmund Freud. At least I am recognizing that it is crazy, and I make myself even more uncomfortable hurling insults at a kid that is two years out of high school than I do screaming at the millionaire NFL players that drop passes or miss tackles because they are fuCKING NO GOOD PUSSIES....sorry, got a little out of hand.
Well, go Buckeyes I guess and I am going to watch The Changeling with George C. Scott, so that should give me something a little nerdier to talk about.

New Computer, New Blog!!

Since I got a new computer for Christmas and I actually have a "G" button now, I want to start writing an actual blog. No real reason other than I am a nerd and I like writing and talking about nerdy things. I used to do movie reviews a lot on Myspace, but since only Mennonites use Myspace any more, I will start this. This is not going to be all movie stuff maybe some music, football, and whatever other nerdy things come into my world on a daily basis. Since I want to start watching more movies again it will focus a lot on movies though, just not exclusively. I would like to actually post once a day, but I'm going to be honest that probably wont last too long. I have a plan to review most of the Batman movies (I did all of the Superman movies on Myspace, and that was fun) and I'm sure football will give me a lot to talk about for the next month, so I should start off pretty strong. Well if you can consider writing about movies and sports with no readers and no money strong then I will start out strong. I hope everyone (both of you) who reads this enjoys it and please feel free to comment or give me ideas for movies to watch.