Revenge of the Creature - 1955

We're almost done with the list I had printed off. This penultimate title was expected. The creature was definitely not dead at the end of the last movie, so I knew he'd be back. What I didn't know was that he was going to get dynamited out of his lagoon and taken to discount Sea World in Florida.

That's where our "heroes" decide to make some really stupid decisions. They have the press all over the place when the creature wakes up from his "coma," so there's lots of civilians there to witness the stupidity. They end up getting the creature under control and chaining him into an aquarium. Now they want to train him like a seal or a dolphin. And by the way Flippy the dolphin half-heartedly performs for the crowd, it's a probably a good thing the creature fights back.

I was Team Creature for most of the movie. There was the moment when he killed the dog, but I blame the humans for that one. I was hoping they wouldn't show the dog, and I could just imagine he'd run off to find a better owner. I mean, the woman looked for him for half a minute before Clete (seriously, who picked this character's name?) convinced her to go for a smooch fest. The next day, they went for a swim and more smooching. Never mind that the day before their friend died, and the dog disappeared. The people in this movie were the worst.

A few little tidbits I learned about the movie. My man, Ricou Browning, was again the creature under water. I suspected it might be him at one point when I watched him kind of mirror-swim under someone. It's hard to describe, but I know what I mean. Also, I kept wondering why the creature kept running into the camera. Well...this was originally a 3D movie! Now it makes sense. My last tidbit revolves around a scene that was pointless. In the lab with the animals, there was a guy with a mouse in his pocket. It was Clint Eastwood! I didn't recognize him, but when I read that, I went back and saw the resemblance. This was his film debut! 

This movie was infuriating. The people were terrible, and all the ones that deserved to die made it through. I was wondering about the BER BER BERRRRR noise, and they really leaned into it in this one. My favorite part of this movie was when some random youths stopped to try and help the extended faint woman. The creature ninjas up on them and magic-throws one over to a tree. I can't give a description that will accurately convey the beauty of the moment. If you can find just that moment, it's worth it. Other than that, the creature's just going back and forth into the water so he doesn't dry out or whatever. He should've just accidentally taken the chick in the water. Maybe she would've accidentally drowned, so we wouldn't have had to watch her just sit on the sand and scream endlessly. At the end, they just shot the creature, and he floated down into the "fade to black." No wonder we're going to see him again next time. They never learn. 

Creature from the Black Lagoon - 1954

We're getting close to the end of our Universal Monster list, and we're onto the Creature!

A guy finds a hand sticking out of a rock wall in the Amazon and just rips it out. Great archaeology technique, but it gets better. He brings back a couple more guys and some girl (for the monster), and they just attack the rocks with pickaxes. Anyway, there's nothing in the rock, so they conclude the rest of the skeleton has broken off in the past and washed into the lagoon. Let's put on our suits and go swimming!

Eventually, they come across the creature and make him mad. Mark shoots it, and now the creature's understandably out for blood. And he wants the woman with the great hair. I don't care how long she's been trapped on this scow, her hair looks great! And she also brought oodles of outfits. The creature gets himself captured eventually, and that's when the creepiest part of the movie happens. When he's just in the water and staring out of the little window in the cage.

If I put that aside, this movie was something of a slog at the beginning. There was a lot of random swimming/fish shots. Then, every time the creature appeared on the screen, the music would go BER BER BEERRRRR! Even if the creature was just chilling in the kelp, the music acted like he was murdering someone.

I want to give a shoutout to the men who played the creature. There were two of them. One for the land shots and one for the water. The land shots required the actor, Ben Chapman, to stand for 14 hours a day, since he couldn't sit in the suit. He also couldn't see, so the pretty lady got her head bopped on the grotto wall. For the underwater shots, Ricou Browning held his breath for up to four minutes at a time (when the creature wasn't moving) to get the movie classic we have today. Good job, guys!

Overall, the people in this movie were stupid. They had the doctor wrapped up like a mummy, next to an open porthole where the creature could just reach in there. Security wasn't something they cared about very much, and they paralyzed a bunch of fish for nothing. Our "hero" was a doofus, and Colonel Sanders was the worst archaeologist ever. Even taking all of this into consideration, this movie was much more enjoyable than most of the ones we've seen lately. It might just be the trash we've been subjected to, but I'm giving this one a Good Movie! review. If for no other reason than the pain the creature actors went through.

To Hell and Back - 1955

I've wanted to watch this one for a long time, and I finally found it on a combo DVD with a bunch of other movies. I can't say the title in my head without singing the Sabaton song, but it really helps to remember this movie is based on Audie Murphy's autobiography of the same name. I'm going to try not to focus too much on the man himself, but it won't be easy.

The movie has some narration to introduce it. We talk about Audie's childhood and how he ended up in the Army. Then we get to see the events that led to him earning every combat valor medal available including the Medal of Honor. The act that earned him the MoH seems like a work of fiction, but most acts of heroism do.

The movie itself was okay. I found myself being more impressed and sad that Audie Murphy was playing himself than focusing on the action itself. Knowing Murphy struggled with PTSD and the drugs he was given, and watching him reliving it all for the movie was hard. Afterward, I read he was reluctant to even do the movie, and that made it worse.

When I went into this movie, I wasn't sure what I would think at the end of it. Audie Murphy went through a lot in his life, and if you're not familiar with him, I recommend reading a bit about his life - both wartime and beyond. Listen to the Sabaton song. Read his poem about Anzio. He was a complex person, as all people are, and I wonder what would have happened if he'd been able to get the funding for the movie he wanted to make about life after the war.

So, I wasn't going to focus on Murphy, but I failed. It's just hard to disconnect them when the movie is literally based on his autobiography, and he's starring as himself! The action was decent, and the movie didn't drag. It's probably not going to rank up there as one of my favorite WWII movies, but it wasn't bad. Good Movie!

Princess Mononoke - 1997

I don't know what's gotten me so into the anime genre recently, but here I am. I can't seem to stop watching it!

In this movie, a prince kills an infected boar to save his village. He's infected by a curse as a result and has to leave his home. He can just accept his fate, or he can go and try to determine the source of the infection. He mounts his red elk and rides to the east.

He finds a town where they mine iron. The woman in charge is destroying the forest. She's come against the spirits of the forest, but she just kills them. On the other side, in the forest, is a young woman who lives with some white wolves. She tries to fight back against the town, but it's not easy.

This is basically a nature versus industry story, but it's also more than that. It's about perseverance and rebirth. It's probably about a lot more as well, but I'm not going to try and figure it all out.

I thought this was pretty good, but I was not a fan of the forest spirit. The face on that thing creeped me out a lot. But other than that, the creature designs were really well done. The characters had a real depth I appreciated. For the most part, the story was straight-forward, but there were a few moments when it went a little into the surreal. That was towards the end, and I liked it. The end was a bit sad, but I understood it. This was a Good Movie! for sure. 

She-Wolf of London - 1946

Next up on our list was this movie. We suffered through the hour it took to watch it only to be outraged at the end.

There was no monster. The hag woman was pretending to be a monster to drive some girl insane. That way, her daughter, who wasn't in love with the weird barrister, could marry the barrister instead of the penniless dude she was in love with.

Also, let's just take a moment to talk about all the stalking in this thing. Once the "insane" lady was losing her marbles, there always seemed to be some guy watching the house. Sometimes two! And then I wondered why there were so many people wandering around this park in the middle of the night. Especially a young boy! What the heck was he doing there?!

Okay, so let's talk about the motive. Hag woman wants to stay in the fancy house and have her daughter marry a man she doesn't want, so she decides to murder four (I think) people to drive her niece insane. Then, she blabs her entire plot to the girl before she gets ready to kill her, so the maid can overhear. Then she falls conveniently on her knife. The end. I just think there was probably a way she could've accomplished her goal without killing innocent people.

This movie was awful, and it doesn't deserve to be anywhere near a monster movie list.

 

House of Horrors - 1946

We're getting close to the end of our monster movie list, and this one started out super weird. We were introduced in the opening credits to the "Creeper," which started us making Scooby Doo references.

Alfred (Alan Napier) is an art critic who accompanies his friend to a sculptor's studio. While the pieces inside are super weird, Alfred is super rude and says demeaning things in front of the artist, preventing the sale. Heartbroken, Marcel heads to the river to jump in.

Before he can do it, he sees a perfect "Neanderthal Man" climb out of the river. Marcel saves him and decides he'll be the new inspiration for his art. Also, he figures out his new friend is a murderer, so he manipulates him into taking out critics who are harsh. In the end, he overplays his hand.

This movie was so boring. People were talking all the time. We kept shouting at the TV for them to stop talking and start murdering. A weird thing to do, but you have to consider what we're watching. I want to give a brief shoutout to Stella. She was my favorite character, even though she wasn't the brightest at times. "I didn't answer my phone, because I wasn't home," she says as she's answering the phone somewhere else. Ya don't say? Anyway, she was a model for hero-man, and she cracked me up every time he told her he was done. She would literally just drop her props where she stood and walk away. She even tried to run away when murder-man appeared. And she was killed by accident! So frustrating.

Heroine woman was annoying to the point where I wish someone could've pushed her hat pin into her head too far. She had the worst hats and an irritating voice. She was also stupid. "I work for the newspaper, but I had no idea the sketch I stole looked exactly like the Creeper!" Doofus woman.

And what was the House of Horrors? Only one person died at the sculptor's house, so were they referring to his art? If so, I can't argue with that. We were glad when this one ended.

Pride and Prejudice - 1940

Knowing there's a version of Pride and Prejudice out there I haven't seen is just wrong, so I tracked this down to remedy that. I won't go over the basic plot, it's a waste of time.

I can't give the movie a pass just because it's boiled down to two hours. There was a distinct lack of consistency in the characters in the movie. I'll preface this by saying I've always been of the opinion that both Lizzie and Darcy display pride and prejudice at certain times, so we'll put that out there.

Lizzie is mostly proud, but she has moments of stupidity in this movie. She's supposed to be the reasonable, intelligent one, and she fails to take that role at times. She also hangs on to her initial prejudice of Darcy, as expected, but she shows her emotions at odd times. I don't feel she'd hold her cards close to her chest and then be all smiley and pleasant when confronted by Lady Catherine of all people.

Darcy was a rock for the most part, but at the end he's suddenly all smiles and passionate. It's a 180 and doesn't fit him at all. The whole interaction with him at Pemberley is removed from the story, so that evolution of their relationship is gone. Only at Pemberley does Lizzie start to see past her prejudice. Then, Lady Catherine is the one to tell Lizzie about the Wickham affair? Why would she know? It just didn't fit. And speaking of Lady Catherine...

She was inconsistent. She might "like" Lizzie's fiery nature, but there's no way she's going to approve a marriage between her nephew and Lizzie when there's been an arranged marriage she approved all along.

I might be a bit unfair. The 1995 version exists, and I've never seen anything to top it. The chemistry in that miniseries is amazing, and Jennifer Ehle doesn't get enough credit for her portrayal of Lizzie. Everyone raves about Colin Firth's Darcy (as do I), but they both did an excellent job. In my opinion, if you want to watch the best Pride and Prejudice, spend your time wisely, watch the one with the best acting, the best music, and the happiest ending. Hunt down the 1995 version or at least avoid this one. 

Akira - 1988

I found this one hiding on my laptop. I'm not sure where it's from, but I remembered watching the first part of it and then being interrupted.

Thirty years after a devastating event, Neo-Tokyo has been taken over by biker gangs. Protestors clog the streets and it's just not a happy time. While out on the streets, Tetsuo gets in an accident when he sees a "child" and wrecks his bike. What follows is some strange stuff I'm not sure how to explain. Just know there's supernatural powers, and Tetsuo's childhood friend Kaneda will try to save him. 

I found this movie fascinating. The "children" were strange, and I never understood why they looked like older folk. But the movie would reveal information bit by bit, and it was just so interesting.

I wish I knew what put this anime on my radar. I did a little bit of reading into it, and it looks like the manga is different plot-wise. I didn't want to read too much, because now I'm interested in the manga. I don't know what's got me hooked on these anime/manga titles recently, but I do know I'm not a fan of the super bright, poppy ones. I'm drawn to the darker themes for some reason.

Anyway, I was caught up in what was going on with this one. At times, there was something different going on with the music, and I know I missed some things. I want to watch it again, and I also would like to read the manga to see what goes on in it. Good Movie!

REWATCH August 25, 2025 - I've read the entire manga for Akira, and now I have more context for the questions I had during the initial watch of this movie. I still enjoyed the movie, but I have to say, where the movie excels is where it diverts from the manga. It sticks to the plot up to a point, but when it deviates, it commits to it. The end was pretty interesting, and I enjoyed it on rewatch. Good Movie Again!

Harriet Craig - 1950

Decided to sift through the Leaving Soon on Tubi this morning and came across this movie.

Harriet is the definition of a control freak. Her husband doesn't realize she's manipulating everything until it all starts to slowly unravel one day when she goes to visit her mother. She isn't able to reach him on the phone, so she rushes back to see what happened. She finds the house a mess, and her husband has had a party without her! GASP!

Now starts the lies. She has a cousin that lives with her and acts as a kind of secretary, right-hand woman. The cousin has been dating someone for a while, and when Harriet's husband mentions it's getting serious, Harriet immediately puts a stop to it with some extreme lies.

She controls his job, who he socializes with, what he eats, and basically every aspect of his life. Eventually, the truth is going to come out, and no amount of lying will cover her tracks.

I found this one a bit disturbing. Harriet is infuriating, and you just want to trip her on the stairs or give her a hurtz donut. I was getting nervous that she wasn't going to get caught, but I was satisfied with the ending. The twist at the end, the ultimate betrayal of her husband, was just gross. It's a Good Movie!, but she's so frustrating!!

House of Dracula - 1945

Next up in our Universal Monster torture, I mean movies, was this film. We didn't have high hopes going into it.

Dracula just wanders into this doctor's house hoping to find a cure for being a vampire. The doctor doesn't believe in superstitious nonsense, but he knows all the lore somehow. While waiting for his cure, Dracula decides it will be a good idea to hypnotize one of the live-in nurses of the castle. I guess you can't blame him too much, they do dress up nice for no reason. Except for the hunchback one.

For some reason, Wolfman shows up, also wanting a cure. I'm not sure why he's there, he's supposed to be dead. Last I saw, he was murdered by true love's bullet. And we can't say the movies aren't connected, because they find Frankenstein's monster underneath this castle. Apparently, the swamp mud carried the corpse of the monster and his doctor friend wherever we are in this movie.

So we use some mold spores to make a plaster to soften Wolfman's skull and heal him (or something), and then Dracula (who is also supposed to be dead - a few times now) reverses his transfusion and infects the doctor. I was kidding at one point when I said the Invisible Man was going to show up, but then the doctor was disappearing. It was just from the mirror, and it was the vampire stuff, but it was still pretty funny.

Big shout out to my guy Lionel Atwill. This was one of his very last movies, since he died soon after. I've enjoyed him in these films, and I'm sad he won't be around anymore.

This movie was ridiculous. The hunch on the woman's back changed shape all the time, and everything Dracula did made no sense. The very first thing he did was land as a bat on a balcony and walk down the steps. Just land on the back porch! Geez. Okay, so we should be done with Wolfman. He's been cured by mold. I think our next one is another House of...something. Oh my.

RIP Lionel!

 

Three Days of the Condor - 1975

I'd read an article mentioning this movie as one of the better espionage films. I was intrigued and got it on sale from Amazon when I was picking up another movie. It's based on a book called Six Days of the Condor by James Grady. I'm not sure why he has less days in the movie, but maybe one day I'll read the book and find out.

A covert CIA section is reading random books and looking for patterns and networks hiding within other countries. One day, while Condor is picking up lunch, someone comes in and murders everyone inside. He calls HQ, but something seems off, so he doesn't come in. Now, people are trying to kill him, and he doesn't know who to trust.

This movie was really good. I liked Robert Redford's acting, but the weird love interactions were a bit strange. The jazz musical interlude, and the whole love scene was just weird. Putting that aside, I liked the twists and turns. The zinger at the end was really cool, and this was much cooler than I was expecting.

It's still eerie to me to see the Twin Towers in movies. It looked like they were trying to suggest the CIA had offices in there, but when I tried to look that up, it seemed like the CIA only had a clandestine office in Tower 7, which was revealed after 9/11. I went down a whole rabbit hole with that. I didn't realize there were so many towers in the WTC complex, and I certainly don't remember it collapsing on the 11th. So much was going on that day, since it wasn't part of the attacks, maybe there wasn't as much attention on it.

Back to the movie. There are people in it that I wasn't sure how I felt about them at the end. During certain points of the movie, it seemed like there were "good guys" and "bad guys," but at the end, the waters were a lot muddier. This one easily earns a Good Movie! review.

Merlin - 1998

This isn't a new watch for me. I've seen it a couple times in the past, but it's been a while.

This miniseries is a different take on the character of Merlin. The wizard is created to be a pawn to bring the humans back to the old ways. Without people believing in magic, Queen Maab, the Lady of the Lake, and others will fade from history. What Maab didn't expect was that Merlin wouldn't comply with her wishes. He vows not to do magic, but Maab will force his hand on occasion. Merlin finds love, but Maab interferes with that as well. It will all come down to a showdown when their "sons," Arthur and Mordred, both die.

I really like this show. Are the effects really dated? Yes. Are some of them super bad? Well, yeah. But I think the story is unique, and the thing that has really stuck with me over the years is the music. I have the soundtrack, and I listen to it at least once a year. There's just something about the sweeping music that gets me every time. The acting was good, and even with the rough effects, I'm all about the characters and give it a Good Show! review.

Dead Ringer - 1964

I was scrolling through the classics on Tubi and saw this one was leaving soon. It had an interesting premise, so I decided to put it on.

Edith goes to see her sister, Margaret, after 18 years. Margaret stole the man Edith loved, and now he's dead. Edith has a new man, but she's about to lose her bar. She comes up with a plan to change her life, but she doesn't really know what she's signing up for when she gives up one life for her sister's.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side, and Edith found that out fairly quickly. I had an idea of where it was going even before Tony popped up. Even if Edith wanted to come clean, she was in a position where her fate would be the same no matter what. She may as well leave Jim with his rose colored glasses about the woman he loved.

I liked the movie. They were doing the bare minimum when the twins were on the screen together, and I can't blame them, It was 1964 after all. The story was slightly predictable to me, but maybe in 1964, it would have been surprising and new. Henry and Duke were the real heroes and of this movie, and I believe Duke was taken in by a loving family and lived a long, happy life. He rid the world of a smarmy, wretched cretin that would've gotten a death sentence anyway.

Anywho, it was unfortunate Edith made the decision that she did. Margaret was a poo and Edith could've just carried on with her life and married Jim. She just had to reach for more...Good Movie!