The Fourth of July is one of my all-time favorite holidays. I'm patriotic, and there's something nostalgic about celebrating your heritage, spending time with family and friends, and remembering the fight for freedom. I hope everyone has an amazing holiday weekend here in the US, and everyone who isn't can find time to enjoy themselves too!
Today, we're talking aliens and freedom. Specifically the movie Independence Day. I love this movie -- we own it on VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray -- because it came out 17 years ago when my husband and I were first dating. I think going to see it in the theater was one of our first handful of dates. So I have memories there, all entwined with the movie.
Second, and this needs no explanation, Will Smith. I mean, come on. As a teenage fan of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, anything with Will Smith was going to be viewed. (I may or may not still have this attitude.)
I also really like Jeff Goldblum, and I thought he added a layer of comedy to what could've been a scary, alien movie. Okay, it was sort of a scary, alien movie. But the cast of characters from Randy Quaid to Bill Pullman, really pulled off a great movie, I think.
And last year, Twentieth Century Fox announced that they're making a sequel. I think that may be the longest time ever between sequels, but don't quote me on that! The second movie won't come out until next Independence Day (2015), and it won't have Will Smith in it, but still. I think I'll be seeing it.
With the recent emergence of aliens in YA fiction (I'm thinking specifically of The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey), I think it's a great time to be in the extraterrestrial business. So yay! More alien lifeforms!
What did you think of Independence Day? Do you think you'll see the sequel?
