They Live (1988)

Director: John Carpenter

Writers: Ray Nelson, John Carpenter

Composers: John Carpenter, Alan Howarth

Starring: Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster, George 'Buck' Flower, Peter Jason, ramond St. Jacques, Jason Robards III, John Lawrence, Susan Barnes, Sy Richardson, Wendy Brainard

More info: IMDb

Tagline:  You see them on the street. You watch them on TV. You might even vote for one this fall. You think they're people just like you. You're wrong. Dead wrong.

Plot: A drifter discovers a pair of sunglasses that allow him to wake up to the fact that aliens have taken over the Earth.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again? Absolutely.

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass...and I'm all out of bubblegum."

This is loads of fun.  Not only is it great sci-fi but there's plenty of action and humor.  The fight between Nada (Piper) and Frank (David) is six minutes of epic.  Parker & Stone aped it in the Cripple Fight episode of SOUTH PARK a bunch of years ago.  I didn't see this picture until years later and it was wild realizing it as it was happening.  The special effects of the 'glasses on' reality are great.

Roddy Piper does a great job considering he was largely a non-movie actor coming into it with few credits.  I saw this picture knowing nothing about it.  I don't think I even saw the trailer until after.  And John Carpenter's output in the '80s is nothing short of remarkable.  Great stuff.