Episode 7 – They Live

Good friend and John Carpenter fan Justin Sills joins us after his first time watching They Live (1988). We talk about the director’s unique style, the best improvised lines and the brilliance of Keith David. And what They Live discussion could be complete without the wrestling moves of the late, great “Rowdy” Roddy Piper? We also dive into what makes a bad action movie… well… GOOD.

Clarifications:

Somehow we get through the whole thing without acknowledging the recent death of Roddy Piper. It was a sad day, and it inspired me to watch this movie for the second time (the third was for this podcast). He will be missed.

Adam G. chastised us for our dismissiveness towards “wrestling acting”, AKA, kayfabe. It’s actually an interesting art, though I will still insist that in this case, it translates strangely to film. And it’s brought us such celebrities as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Governor Jesse Ventura and… President Trump. Hmm…

Here’s the required link to the extended fight sequence in They Live. And here’s the comparison to the South Park fight scene. There’s a cut conversation in this episode about the South Park documentary 6 Days to Air. It’s a pretty interesting watch, especially if you stupidly think Trey and Matt’s job is easy. Or if you like hearing Bill Hader go into laughing fits.

There’s another cut conversation about Shepard Fairey too. TL;DR, he made that Obama poster and he likes this movie too! He’s a pretty prolific artist and you can visit his page on artsy.net and take part in auctions and the like.

And finally, both Justin and Adam referred me to this article about the last frontier for Blockbuster Video. Would you give up fast internet speeds for the ability to browse physical copies of new releases on a Friday night? For those of us who have nostalgia for our childhood movie nights, it’s a tough call!

And also:

Next Episode: I dunno. Either The Godfather (1972) or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) maybe? We’ll keep you posted!