Now, certainly, McDonald's is an "any port in a storm" sort of eating establishment. I think we went there only because the mall food court was ridiculously crowded, we were hungry, and it was easily half a mile or so to someplace better (our other choice being a place that advertised having "Sub-licious" sandwiches). So, better the devil (you think) you know.
But this particular McDonald's wasn't a port by any means. No, to continue with the analogy, the choice to eat there turned out to be the choice a ship's captain would have to make if his badly damaged, storm-wracked ship, taking on water and listing heavily, realizes that the closest port is at Zombie Monster Pirate Island.
Seriously, that McDonald's would've had Dante penning a new circle of Hell. Although I'm just not sure who they'd stick there. For whom would the appropriate punishment be to spend eternity in such a pit of anarchy, despair, wrong orders, dirty tables, and cold food? I leave this as an exercise to the reader.
Now, switching tracks: Pakeha seems somewhat embarrassed regarding his love for Aliens. Well, maybe more like his obsessive viewing of it. But who can fault him? Not I. If that movie is on, I'll watch it. The whole sequence of the marines looking for and then finding the aliens is just great to watch, and one hell of a visceral thrill. The actors do a respectable job of portraying badasses who have just been out-badassed. When Apone shouts "Marines, we are LEAVING!", oh yeah, you agree. When the most sensible plan is to leave and nuke the entire site from orbit, well, things are Bad.
I think my enjoyment of the film has to do with the fact that as an (unfortunately, mostly ex-) roleplayer and miniature wargamer, that's exactly the sort of game that I'd like to run, and maybe even play in (though that's questionable). The players are facing an unknown (but large) number of sneaky, clever, incredibly dangerous monsters, they're acutely aware of the hopelessness of their situation, and they have to come up with a damn good plan just to not die for a little while longer.
And Paul Reiser plays a smarmy, evil corporate stooge who gets his comeuppance! Bonus!
Now, as for Predator, it's certainly an entertaining film. Pakeha hits on all the points that I would make, except that I also enjoy the insanity of the big ol' gatling gun. That thing doesn't strike me as something you'd take along on a rescue mission. But it's just so huge, and excessive, and loud, that I can't resist a bit of gunfondling. Heck, a long burst from that gun and Jesse cut down more of the rainforest than most loggers can do in a month. Plus, it reminds me of the miniguns in Syndicate. Mmm...nothing was more satisfying than turning four miniguns on an enemy agent as he tried to sneak up on you. Oh, sure, the laser rifle was a hugely effective "one shot, one kill" weapon, but the minigun embodied just the sort of high-volume, wide-area overkill that you wanted to use to smack down the nefarious little computer-controlled bad guys.
Yes, when you're a gamer, everything relates to gaming.