They Live
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Movie Reviews of They Live
Movie Review: Poor maligned space bugs
Summary: 5 Stars
Roddy Piper, a top pro wrestler, happens to star in a movie classic. I'd place this movie on my all time list of the 100 greatest movies ever made. And it's carried by Roddy Piper. He's not just the star. He's the movie. He, and the director, and the writer, and the costume designer. He carries every single scene on his shoulders.
It is a 1984 type story, about an evil repressive government that just needs to be overthrown. Your good guys and bad guys are very easy to delineate, if you have the special sunglasses. Put them on, and your bad guys look like who they really are - ugly space aliens. I love it.
My very favorite scene is the closer, the one they shock you with just before blacking out and going to the credits. A whore is in bed with one of the space aliens. She sees him as human. Then all of a sudden the matrix-like illusion is gone and she sees him as he really is - an ugly giant bug. It's great.
I think it would be fun, if you were an ugly giant bug yourself, to take over a planet as they did. However, the writing is definitely from the point of view of the Earth creatures that we have taken over, hahaha.
My favorite character in Men In Black is "Egger", the giant bug who is the villain and is pestered unmercifully by Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. When will we stop being so one-sided in these movies, these Earth-centered propaganda flicks, and let our hair down and have some fun taking over a planet for a change. In a few hours I have to get up and start another work week. Is that really a way of life worth preserving? Earth be damned, let's root for the space bugs.
Obviously this movie is dark with criticism of the wealthy capitalists who rule our planet. We learn, here, that they are really extra terrestrial space bugs. Okay. I think Bush is the Earthling who collaborates with them in this movie. I see a resemblance. They are both slick talkers with a southern twang, and I wouldn't buy a used car from either of them. I would typecast George Bush in that role. As for the Roddy Piper part, who would be better than the macho and colorful Ralph Nader, or Al Gore. Can you just see Nader or Gore breaking a trash can over Jim Brown's head in the sequel?
Movie Review: elite, parasitic sub-society exploits American workers
Summary: 5 Stars
Elite, parasitic subsociety exploits American working class--reflects real American society?This movie is not so much about aliens who are hiding among us, but instead it taps into the deeply submerged suspicions of most of us that we are being manipulated and taken advantage of by the elite of American society, by our leaders, by the rich, etc. Also, we sometimes feel that we are manipulated and programmed (in a subtle way) to respect hierarchical authority ( e.g., the "OBEY" subliminal command from the movie).
Some leftist thinkers might say that human societies are in a way being parasitized by the elite of their societies, and that the elite operate as a parasitic sub-society, living off of the lower classes. America might be said to be operated more in such a fashion (i.e., parasitized by the elite) than are the countries of western Europe. Obvious examples of this parasitic behavior are the "golden handshakes" and backscratching exchanged between corporate CEO's and the Boards of Directors of their companies. But it is far more pervasive than just that.
_They_Live_ uses the invisible alien elite as a proxy for our suspicions about how we are all being exploited by the elite of our real-life society, and how these elite are subtly programming us to accept this exploitation.
So, the major theme of the movie is not, as another poster correctly pointed out, about being manipulated to be good little consumers in a crassly commercial world. No, it is far more profound than that. Instead, it is more about how the working class Americans in _They Live_ are being exploited by the elite upper crust, who, in the movie, happen to be aliens. Also, this movie is not relevant ONLY to Reagan's time, or to Reaganomics, but it is more relavant today than it was when it was released.
Unfortunately, this movie only explores this exploitation theme in a somewhat superficial way, and the movie itself has an unintentionally comic air to it sometimes. Still, the exploration of that theme is so rare in pop culture, and that theme is so profound, and reaches so far into what American society is, was, and is becoming, that this movie is a Must-See for anyone with an interest in politics and sociology.
Movie Review: Do you dare to see the truth?
Summary: 5 Stars
Oh man what a fun movie, I saw this a few months ago and still marvel at how much I enjoyed it. This is one of those eighties movies that borderlines on silly and cheesy at times but overall there is so much to enjoy that in this case it barely stands in the way. Basically this is a story of an accidental discovery by a construction worker down on his luck. Trying to find some work, Nada arrives in LA and quickly makes some "friends" and gets in trouble on his first day of work. Eventually he tries to settle in but things seem strange, how strange he has no idea until one day he stumbles on a whole box of black plastic sunglasses. He soon finds out that they are made by a resistance group that send out announcements on TV channels about aliens and warns people that things aren't as they seem. Deem lunatics, they hide and act in secret, but when Nada puts those glasses on he discovers just how much what he believed in is true.
Driven by money and power, people will do anything to have more, even sell out their own species to aliens who are willing to exploit and use them. Those special glasses let Nada see the real aliens, disguised as human to unprotected eye and upon looking at TV shows, magazines and billboards he sees the true message that is meant for the average human; to buy and to obey. One has to see this movie to get the full gist of the idea, but it's something that I have actually felt about today's world for a while. Everything revolves around money, ways of making it, using people for it and luring others to spend their. This movie does a fantastic job of shedding some light on real life and mixes in some ultra terrestrials with incredible twists.
Nada is soon discovered by those who pretend to be human and chased through some really fantastic adventures. There are a few more secrets that make this movie so fun but spoiling them would be a shame, it's best to watch it without knowing too much. I highly recommend for a few hours of shameless fun and the ending is super, very well driven to the point.
- Kasia S.
Movie Review: Really brilliant film; Intelligent, deep, funny, entertaining...
Summary: 5 Stars
This is definitely one of my favorite cult films, They Live is based on a pulp sci-fi story about aliens who live among us and manipulate us through subliminal advertising, other mind control techniques and sometimes guns and bulldozers. Like most Carpenter films, its artistic, fun, intelligent and does not take itself too seriously. As usual Carpenter's casting is brilliant. Roddy Piper plays the good-hearted but not very bright construction worker who is both the hero and protagonist of the film. Keith David, whose character is just a little bit brighter, is his unwilling sidekick. Piper's character sees some strange goings-on in a local church, hears some weird paranoid ramblings from a street preacher, and becomes especially curious when the church is raided by 30-40 police officers and the vagrant camp where he lives is bulldozed one night. Soon after he finds a pair of sunglasses in the now abandoned church, that literally changes his view of the world around him. The fight scene between David and Piper, while straight out of TV wrestling, is one of the best I've ever seen (and there are also some other great and memorable scenes in the movie) - it goes on for a very long time - which nicely and subtly points out its significance in moving the plot forward. When Piper finally gets the sunglasses on David's face, he is vindicated and the last shred of doubt about his sanity disappears. From that point forward, they are both committed to saving the world from the alien menace, the movie moves along at a nice pace with lots of shoot outs and a bank heist. They Live was also an attack on the Regan era in the U.S. and on the rampant consumerism of the 80's. This flick was always a favorite of mine when I was a kid, til this day it still remains a thoroughly entertaining sci-fi/action/B-movie. The poor special effects actually accentuated the experience. I can guarantee you also that this is most likely the best film you will ever see starring an ex-WWF wrestler.Movie Review: Still Out Of Bubble Gum After All These Years!
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me start off by saying that They Live is based upon the short story "Eight O' Clock In The Morning" by Ray Nelson. With that being said John Carpenter has spun a great little piece in movie history by adapting this Cerebral Sci-fi-Horror Movie!
They Live in my opinion should be preserved in the National Film Archive at the library of congress as being culturally significant. Even if you are not 1. A deep thinker 2. A person who believes in conspiracy theories 3. Anti-government (1 applies to me), I have a feeling you will enjoy the film. There is plenty of action in this movie and the concept is really cool. Aliens are controlling our minds through subliminal messages making us sheeple so they can take over our planet. Although they look human, a drifter discovers a pair of spectacular shades that allows him to see the appalling truth. It May seem like an out there movie but do yourself a favor and watch it! As for the DVD no extras on it (kind of a disappointment since it would be cool to have some behind the scenes stuff or interviews.) I have heard rumors that John Carpenter is doing a Remake of They Live, which if he keeps to the same concept and it is his baby he is tending I would gladly pay to see it. I just hope that nobody else in Hollywood does it just to milk off of a great movie and produce something that is bubble-gum (To all reading this know about movies that should never have been remade or were remade and turned out horrible.) Bottom Line: 1. Worth a watch 2. Intelligent and cool concept 3. Great visually 4. good dark humor 5. A good popcorn flick or If you are like me a great movie to discuss with friends. 10/10 BE A GOOD CITIZEN PURCHASE THIS MOVIE OBEY!