The Creature Walks Among Us - 1956

This is it. The last film on our list of Universal Monster movies. It's been a long, and sometimes rough, journey.

We wrap up with the third installment in the Creature from the Black Lagoon series. This time, they grab him and somehow make him an air breather (?). First though, they use some weird tech to track him down, get into a fight, and wound him. I guess the creature doesn't understand gasoline, because he dumps a bunch of it all over himself and then gets set on fire. The "scientists" manhandle him onto the boat and mummify him into bandages.

Apparently, the burns he sustained removed the scales from his body, and he has a layer of skin underneath. Now he just looks weird. They make him some clothes, take him back home, and stick him in a boring enclosure with some goats and sheep. They don't even give him any enrichment toys! Anyway, he has a sad view of the water, but he breathes air now, so he'll drown if he tries to go back to the water.

The rich guy who is really possessive of his wife decides he's going to frame the creature for murder, but the creature is NOT having it. He goes on a rampage and heads off to the ocean. I mean, it's not fresh water, and we never see him enter the water, but I wish him the best.

Dang, this was weird. Every time I think they can't get stranger with these movies, they surprise me. What was up with the underwater ballet thing the woman did? It was weird, and I hated it. She was so unnecessary. The creature didn't even want anything to do with her. The soundtrack was still leaning into the BER BER BEERRRRR noise, so there's that. I did like the over-the-head body slam the creature would do. 

I'm still going to praise the hero of this franchise, Ricou Browning. My favorite part of these movies was watching the creature underwater (I'll admit to some joy watching him rage at the end of this one, but it's a different type of enjoyment). Ricou played the creature during the underwater scenes in all three movies, and he deserves major props for the great work. I didn't see his name in the credits, and I think he should have more of the spotlight. Forget the stupid women who swim in the water while hunting dangerous creatures. Team Ricou!! The movie...hmm. With the fate of the creature unknown, it's hard to give it a good rating. 

The journey gave us a lot of laughs. Ricou has a new fan, and I imagine the creature has reverted back to his original form and is living happily with his creature wife and children back in the lagoon.

Ricou Browning is the best!

Monster (anime series) - 2004-2005

This came on my radar a while back when it was on a list of the best anime. It sounded interesting, so I started trying to hunt it down.

I'm not saying much about the plot. There are 74 chapters, and they run about 20 minutes a piece. The most I'm going to say is what you'll find in a general search. Dr. Kenzo Tenma puts his career on the line to save a little boy. The consequences result in the mayor dying, and Dr. Tenma growing to realize he's saved a serial killer.

This is the type of show I haven't got the chance to watch in a long time. It sucked me in, and I had trouble keeping away from it. I recommended it to my kids, and now they're invested in it. They've been trying to ask me questions, but I don't want to spoil anything. When I was watching, I kept wondering how the story could spread out to 74 chapters, but when it ended, I wanted more. It was wrapping up all nicely, then ZING!

I'm not sure what the deal is with the English translations of Monster, but I couldn't find a DVD of it. I was able to get the complete set of manga, and I'm reading through it at the moment. So far, it's a very faithful adaptation, and I like that. Sometimes things move quickly, and it's nice to be able to slow down and process what's happening. Beyond that, I found a follow-up novel called Another Monster, but they didn't translate it into English. I found a PDF of it, so I'll get to it after I read through the manga. It's such a great, in-depth story, I was bummed to find it wasn't translated into more languages.

If you can find it, and you are interested in psychological crime stories, I think you'd enjoy this one. I was invested from Chapter 1, and I just really enjoyed this one. Great Anime!

My Santa, My Dad - 1998

My oldest daughter and I were a little braindead last night, so we wanted to watch something weird. The little blurb that popped up on Tubi showed a guy getting zapped, so we were instantly on board.

Gordon is terrible. He's a terrible dad, husband, used car salesman, and just a terrible person in general. He's constantly breaking promises to his family, especially Teddy, his son. This year, he's promised to take Teddy to have a white Christmas, but Gordon's boss is dangling the CEO position in front of him. So Teddy is pushed aside.

Lillith the elf pops up and tells Gordon he's been chosen as a Secret Santa. She gives him some electric shocks to show him she's serious, and then he grows the iconic gray beard and long hair. He gives a bell ringer $40 for his suit, and Gordon is ready to con people out of their money on the car lot. Or something.

Honestly, this movie has so many things going on, it's ridiculous. There's the plot of Gordon and his terrible personality. Then he has the shady boss. The Secret Santa thing is a whole other thing. When Gordon is in the North Pole, there's real animals mixed with fake ones. Gordon is confronted with the fakest looking owl I've ever seen (Barney Hooter) and called a mook. Then, Gordon delivers presents in a weird way (throwing the wrapped puppy over the side of the sled was disturbing), takes his kid to confront his boss, and talks to Santa, who in his underwear and boots.

In the end, Gordon rushes to stop his family from leaving for Phoenix while getting chased by the most uncaring policeman ever. They have a moment, and the movie ends. The credits are awkward and hilarious. My daughter told me this came out after The Santa Clause. It surprised me a bit, but after thinking about it a bit, I guess I can see it.

This movie was really weird. It made us laugh at the ridiculousness, but we were in a weird state of mind. It's not something I would recommend, but for people that like certain bad movies, they might be able to get some laughs out of it. I'm not giving it a positive review. If I'd been watching it alone, I don't think I would've made it to the end. I probably wouldn't have even started it. It's one of those movies that I'd only enjoy in certain company and in a certain state of mind.

Doc Savage - 1975

I've been wanting to watch this one ever since I saw the trailer on YouTube. I had to spend some money on this one, so I was a bit nervous. Also, we were all watching it together, so the pressure was on. I read the book a while ago and enjoyed it.

Doc Savage is something of an indestructible man. Other than exercising two hours a day, I'm not sure how he's able to do the superhuman things. He's super strong, super smart, and super bulletproof. He has branded vehicles made of bronze and his own theme song. Thank you, John Philip Sousa!

Savage returns from his Fortress of Solitude when he feels the upset thoughts of his friends. His father is dead, and they've gathered to tell Doc the news. Things escalate when an assassin tries to kill Doc, and the Amazing Five (plus Habeas Corpus) head off to South America to solve the mystery.

I really liked this movie. It was campy and fun. We had a lot of laughs, but there were a lot of weird things in there as well. One of the villains sleeps in an oversized rocking cradle. It was weird and distracting. I loved how Doc Savage went through this whole story about why he couldn't fall in love with the lady because of his past, and then he just chucks her on the chin and says, "You're a brick." Amazing.

At the end, they tease a sequel, but it never happened. I read they thought it was too silly and ridiculous, but I loved this one and mourn what never was. Good Movie!