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Fiend Without a Face (1958)
Fiend Without a Face (1958)
1958 | Horror, Sci-Fi
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of meeting Richard Gordon and his brother Alex (who passed away a few years ago) knows what a rich vein of film history the brothers represent. A conversation with either might include stories of producing films with the likes of Ed Wood, Gene Autry, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, and B-movie director Eddie Cahn, to name just a few. As a producer, Dick’s best-known work is the fondly remembered low-budget science-fiction staple Fiend Without a Face. It’s a great tribute to the Gordon brothers that Criterion has released not only Fiend but also the four films included in the Monsters and Madmen box set."

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The Last Starfighter (1984)
The Last Starfighter (1984)
1984 | Action, Sci-Fi
Guilty 80s pleasure still sparkles!
I have made several "Andy's Guilty Pleasures" lists in my life and Flash Gordon, Krull and this film are always at the very top. I'm sure it's because this movie was a childhood favorite, but also because it hits everything just right. It's not complicated, scary, or deep at all. Just a campy good time.

When local teenager trailer park handyman Alex Rogan finally beats his favorite video game "Starfighter" he gets more than he bargained for when it's owner comes calling and invites Alex into outer space to help the star league defend itself against its enemies.

It was one of the first movies to use any sort of CGI images as we think of them today. I'm sure nowadays people would say it looked a bit dated, but I would argue the characters and story are what keep it relevant.

There have been many stories and attempts to remake or reboot this film, even from Steven Spielberg, and thus far it hasn't happened.

Keeping my fingers crossed it never does.

  
<b> My summary: </b> Alex was like any other boy. Go to school, hang out with his group, and control the monkey bars. But when he started stealing, his life changed for the worse. Out of nowhere, his best friend is murdered, and he is framed for it. he is sent to the child prison: a Hell hole. Worse than Hell. Furnace. When he’s there, he is disgusted with the way people live. Kids do hard labor like chipping rock. Gangs kill kids. and he isn’t the only innocent person who was framed. But there’s no hope of escape. Nobody can escape furnace. Or at least, that’s what they all say. <i> But that’s only because nobody ever has… </i>

<b> What I felt: </b> Personally, the first time I looked at the cover, I found it just a little disturbing. I thought “eh, I doubt very seriously I’ll like that book. But hey—they want to send me a free book? I’ll take a free book.” So no, I didn’t really like the cover. They could have done much better, either artistically or graphically or even with the colors. But that’s just me as an artist and a girl :D so I did judge it. boy was that a mistake.
The first sentence of this book seemed to grab me by the neck: “If I stopped running, I was dead.” From there, the entire book held me and wouldn’t let me go, from that first sentence to the very end. In fact, it held me after the end, too. I distinctly remember my blood racing, heart beating, sweating, adrenalin searing through my veins while I read this book! It was breathtaking and riveting to the last word. And even after the last word. I sat there, staring at the blank page, gasping and panting like a dog from lack of oxygen from reading a book. (that doesn’t happen very often, people.)

<b> Characters: </b> The characters in this book were very relatable. They weren’t super people, they were real. They handled the horrific experiences of Furnace the same way I would have—screaming in their sleep, crying, throwing up from the horrors.

<b> Writing: </b> the writing was very good—not one of those books where the author just says what he wants to say. Alexander Gordon Smith followed my creative writing teachers’ first rule: Show, don’t tell. It was an amazing thing to read, the language was very full in vocabulary, and it had good prose. There wasn’t any really bad foul language either, like some of the other teen books I’ve been reading lately.
Recommendation: this book is a thriller, not a horror book, even though it’s mildly graphic (mildly. Not really that bad. Descriptive enough to be kinda gross at times… but hey, it could be just because I’m a girl.). It’s not the most horrific book I’ve ever read, but it’s certainly not for an eight-year-old. Personally I’d recommend it for anyone fourteen and up (but that’s just me).

Here is a link for a giveaway for this book! http://haleymathiot.blogspot.com/2009/09/win-lockdown.html