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Independence Day (1996)
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Krel
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 10:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

When the movie came out, the producers said it was actually a disaster movie.

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orzel-w
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
The obvious conclusion is that Independence Day chose to be entertaining at the expense of being realistic. That being the case, the inaccurate geography is certainly forgivable.

Compare, for instance, the freedom from geographic accuracy in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2019 3:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Here's a nice 30-minute "Making of . . . " documentary.
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_The Making Of Independence Day, Hosted by Jeff Goldblum


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Last edited by Bud Brewster on Wed Jan 20, 2021 12:08 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Bogmeister
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PostPosted: Wed May 29, 2019 5:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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This is a consistently entertaining piece of entertainment from start to finish.

Take the arrival of the huge ships, halting to hover over the big cities. Yes, not really new. But, it's done right. The filmmakers could have blown it — having various people ignore the ships or act really stupid, or having foolish fainting scenes or people vomiting. But, they did it right — there was a sense of awe about these scenes. There was a later home video release (LD & DVD) that had an extra 8 or 9 minutes to it, btw.

___

The first thing that hostile critics of this film point out is the whole issue about hacking into the aliens' computers.

Everyone from Harlan Ellison to would-be computer programmers raised hell about this, and I think many just jumped on that bandwagon.

There's an alternative view on this and it's why I was not too upset about it. I had a debate with a friend a dozen years ago about this and other "silly" (my friend's words) stuff in the film; by short reply was — this is was a popcorn flick, a crowd-pleaser. My friend was really in 'serious' mode back then (which means he was in a bad mood most of the time, looking for a job, etc.) and has since mellowed out. Could that be the reason for the different approaches to this film? I'm not sure.




But, in my view, the main reason this was such a success and is so watchable is the cast. It's a big cast (meaning many speaking roles) and there are no weak parts, except maybe Randy Quaid — I guess I never liked drunks in film; it's tiresome. Goldblum is usually singled out and is a standout. Will Smith first showed his star power here.



Pullman was good as the Prez, a former soldier & pilot, so an ideal version of that sap Clinton; he wasn't as good as most of the others, but I liked his speech near the end — it worked, it was inspiring. Margaret Colin was almost my favorite actress back then. Loggia is another favorite and just right as the general. Rebhorn was superb as the weaselly defense secretary. Hirsch was funny with every line of his dialog. Vivica Fox was... quite foxy. The list goes on & on; even the small, brief roles were nicely done, such as Adam Baldwin as the Area 51 officer.



There are some minor problems and one of those — the first that springs to mind — is the loopy character played by Brent Spiner, who is almost as bad as the idiot played by Quaid. There is funny (Hirsch) and then there is painfully unfunny and way over-the-top. I like Spiner as an actor but here, though he's supposed to be the preeminent scientist of the late 20th century, he comes across like some goofball, pretending to be a scientist. Goldblum's character makes a fool of him and I guess that's easy to do. How the hell did this guy (Spiner's scientist) stay in charge of Area 51? In most of his scenes, he's making some stupid remarks and the other characters either roll their eyes or tell him to shut up.



There were no dopey characters interrupting the flow of more serious invasion tales like the original War of the Worlds (or the remake for that matter).



So, it's a bit uneven in places, maybe a little lopsided here-&-there. But, there are reasons why I watch this once a year. It goes well with popcorn and makes you forget about the real world for a couple of hours.


BoG's Score: 8 out of 10


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed May 29, 2019 5:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

By God, I've said this repeatedly, but now I'll say it again!

The people who keep complaining that Jeff Goldblum somehow hacked into an alien computer have got it all ass-backwards! He did NOT do that!

Hell, he didn't have to! Shocked

The movie makes it very clear (for the viewers who are smart enough to get it) that the aliens programmed their computer to be fully capable of understanding OUR computer languages . . . and they started doing that decades ago by studying Earth and its technology!

That's why we've had one of their ships in Area 51. They did extensive reconnaissance on Earth all the way back into the 1940s, so they could use our technology against use when they invaded.

If you didn't know that, watch the movie again and play closer attention. Rolling Eyes

Think of it this way. If I wanted to talk to a Frenchmen, and he spoke both English and French, I wouldn't have to learn French to talk to him. He's ready to speak to me in my language.

That's the simple explanation for what happened in this movie.

The aliens' "multilingual" computer was designed to use our computers and satellites against us when they arrived. So all Jeff had to do was feed them something they were fully capably of understanding, but did NOT expect — a simple self-replicating virus that clogged their system for a few minutes.

The laughing gif was the self-replicating virus. That's all it took! Shocked



The arrogant, over-confidant aliens didn't think of this, so it worked because they hadn't expected it. Simple.

Guys, please pay no attention to the people who think they "understand computers" and claim that what Jeff did was impossible.

It wasn't impossible. It was easy. Any good sci-fi writer could have thought it this. Computer skills have little to do with it.

Again: The aliens made it easy for Jeff to shut the computer down briefly, simply because they had an advanced computer which was programmed to understand all the languages of the civilizations it was designed to conquer. So, we used that against them.

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Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun Jul 11, 2021 10:23 am; edited 1 time in total
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Wed May 29, 2019 8:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You've got it absolutely right Bud! Jeff's character linked into the interface that the aliens had set up with our internet system to load in a trojan virus to screw up their system. Maybe it was only effective for a brief time....But that was all he needed to get in and do his shenanigans! Brilliiant!

In the deleted and alternate scenes there is a clip of Randy Quaids character flying into the mothership with his biplane cropduster to set off the final bomb. I so wish they had used that piece in the final cut.

Original scene :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyOTaHRBTXc

DELETED SCENE :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls2CwZjQ9es

It would have shown that even our "primitive" technology could have persevered over even the advanced supposed technology of the aliens.
The whole point of the film is that humans...be they all so primitive and humble...have the special ability to overcome. Heck, we survived ice age over ice age to emerge as a special breed of survivor!

We overcame here....when we came together and fought as a single species. The Presidents' speech here said it all...We would NOT go quietly into that dark night!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVW3wCm3BLA

If it was anything, this was a homage to the Human spirit!

This is a film I've watched MANY times. and have NEVER tired of it. It is a modern classic of it's genre.

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Last edited by Gord Green on Thu May 30, 2019 12:42 am; edited 2 times in total
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Wed May 29, 2019 8:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Critisism of Brent Spiners character is not so valid.

Many, if not all, great scientists are . . . at the least . . . a bit quirky.

I've met Carl Sagan in person and had a discussion with him and found him to be a bit "eccentric" to say the least.

I've talked to Neil De Grasse Tyson about climate change and found him also to be "over the top". I can't help but wonder what Sir Isacc Newton would have been like.

Considering what Spiner's character had been exposed to, it's a wonder he was as lucid as he was portrayed!

Not at all unrealistic...but very valid as a portrayal of a very special and unique individual!

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PostPosted: Sun Jul 11, 2021 10:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Gord, I just re-read the two fine posts you made above, and I was impressed anew! Very Happy

I happened to know that (based on the test I took in high school) that my IQ is ten points below the minimum "genius" level of 140.

However, we all know that I'm definitely "quirky"! So, if I can just get a little bit smarter then I'll fit right in with Sagan, Tyson, and Brent Spiner's quirky long-haired weirdo in this fine movie!

Hey, maybe I'll try some of those "memory enhancement" pills I've seen ads for on TV. Perhaps they'll raise my IQ! Very Happy

Gord, you're obviously a smart guy . . . .but I haven't gotten the impression from your posts or our phone conversations that your "quirky" enough for the unofficial super-genius club.

However, perhaps there's a new dietary supplement that enhances "quirkiness"! Shocked

If so, try taking those pills. If they work, you might make into that elite inner circle of true eggheads!

Sidebar: While watching the movie today I realized that Roland Emmerich chose to have the alien mother ship hover over the Empire State Building and blast it . . . instead of the World Trade Center.

That very fortunate decision prevented our nation from feeling extremely negative feelings about the New York scene when they watched this dramatic and somewhat lighthearted science fiction classic. Very Happy

I was also aware of the fact that many of the FX are "practical special effects", and in this age of pure CGI, they make this movie stand out in a manner that few of us would have expected!

It's actually become surprising to see exploding fighter planes which fragment into physical pieces, and demolished buildings that send real chunks of the miniatures flying towards the audience! Shocked

The more recent sequel to this movie is rich with CGI and has a dramatically different look.

I'm delighted to be living in an age where I can appreciate the differences between great movie released over 20 years ago, and more recent movies that use newer technology.

Second Sidebar: Just for fun, imagine Will Smith picking a large rock and savagely clobbering the pilot of the crashed alien fighter to knock him out . . . instead of the highly unrealistic and unpopular scene where Will simply "bare-knuckles" the alien's hard exoskeleton! Rolling Eyes

The scene would still have the same . . . impact. Wink

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