Why Creature from the Black Lagoon has become more Horrifying with Time

Posted on by Colin McMahon

As part of my recent pandemic-inspired monster movie binge, I turned to Universal’s Creature from the Black Lagoon trilogy, released between 1954 and 1956. The three movies, all of which feature the titular creature, vary in quality. To get the review portion out of the way right here, the casual viewer is better off sticking with the first one: A film that is beautifully shot, has a spectacular soundtrack, and boasts underwater effects that are still impressive today.

Watching the movies, however, I was struck by how horrifying they are. No, the creature is not particularly scary – nor are the films suspenseful. The horror is all in the writing, and the world in which such films were created.

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Ranking Universal’s Classic Invisible Man Series

Posted on by Colin McMahon

Well, here is my first truly COVID-19 empowered post. Like many of you, I have been shut up in my home these past several weeks. Recently, the wife and I decided to do a date night in – watching 2020’s The Invisible Man (it’s pretty good, more on that later). I was so taken by the new remake that I decided to watch the original 1933 film as well.

After that…well…I decided to watch the Universal’s entire series of Invisible Man films…which I have, since I got this gem last year around Halloween when it was on sale. Not something I planned on doing but, you know, as someone who has seen the entire Exorcist, Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street franchises, this one really wasn’t bad. Let’s dive in, starting at the worst and working our way up:

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My Top 10 Films of 2019

Posted on by Colin McMahon

Well, another year, a bunch more movies. Once again I have failed to see some of the most talked about films of 2019. Films like 1917, The Irishman, and The Farewell are not included on this list – not because they’re not good, I simply haven’t gotten around to viewing them yet. I hope to correct this soon, but I also want to get this out around Oscar time. After all, they get to have opinions without seeing every movie that came out last year so I can do the same.

In total, I saw 51 films from 2019, at least that I can immediately recall. You can find them listed here. From this list, I have chosen my top ten to highlight. Are they the absolute best films of 2019? Who knows – it’s all subjective! Before I get into it, I want to give a couple honorable mentions. Highlighting ten films means that some gems get left behind – so a brief shout-out to Toy Story 4, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, Booksmart, Hustlers, and Dolemite is my Name. These are all great movies and you should check them out if you haven’t already. Okay, let’s get into it:

Continue reading My Top 10 Films of 2019