109 Lifeforce

Vampires in space! Oh the high concept! Matt and Mark find the thin blue/green/red/gray line of our mutual tastes with this week's review. While Matt picks at the film's contrived ideas and its poorly thought out feasibility, Mark gives Lifeforce a pass, enjoying the dry wit of the British characters and B-movie silliness. A movie that really should never have been made, Lifeforce, like many megaplex flops, is a film artifact, and for that reason, I/we suppose it is worth a watch.

Download: 109 Lifeforce

108 Predator

A simple twist on the "Most Dangerous Game", Predator extrapolates big game hunting into the interstellar. When compared with the chicken-shit style of hunting ala Dick Cheney's "fish in a barrel" Texas ranch shoot-your-friend-in-the-face or the deservedly maligned Melissa Bachman lets-blow-away-an-endangered-cat-because-I-can nonsense, the Predator plays fair, allowing its prey to shoot back. So when Ahneld asks the question "What da' hell ahr you?" and the Predator mimes back the question, the exchange is more poignant than it may seem.. 

Download: 108 Predator

107 Alien

The Dan O'bannon-othon continues this week with the 1979 classic Star Beast (original title) aka Alien. Matt and Mark discuss at length Mr. O'banon's hand in making this film and his purity of vision compromised for better-or-worse by the deft hand of Ridley Scott (probably for the better). While the alien xenomorph is a beautiful monster designed by H.R. Giger, its ingenious biology was not as much a consequence of stylistic creativity than it was plot necessity, which may have worked even better.

Download: 107 Alien

106 Blue Velvet

David Lynch's proto-Twin Peaks film Blue Velvet lays the groundwork for many of the quirks that define the film maker. A tale of curiosity, sex, trauma, and torture, Blue Velvet deals in darkness, but not in an exploratory way which many have criticized as giving the heavy subject matter short shrift. However, to take anything else out would be to leave the film bereft of its powerful imagery and atmosphere. Crack a Pabst Blue Ribbon you fucking fucks, and enjoy, because this... is... it!

Download:  106 Blue Velvet