9/2/96: School starts tomorrow so I won't be able to update as much. But I WILL keep updating. Added movie #7 to my list and the poll results so far.

About This Page

Hi, I'm Brendan. I'm 15 and I live in Indiana. On July 3rd my dad took me and my brother to see Independence Day on opening day and my life was changed forever. OK not forever. But it's the best movie I have ever seen and I have now seen it SEVEN TIMES. This page is everything I know about it.

Times I've Seen It

#	When	Who with / notes
1	Wed. July 3	Opening day, 1:00 show, with Dad and my brother Liam. The whole theater clapped at the end.
2	Thu. July 4	Duh. Then fireworks at the lake. Every firework I thought about the ships.
3	Sun. July 7	With Ravi and Matt. Ravi had not seen it yet and I did not spoil ANYTHING.
4	Sat. July 13	Big screen at the mall. Front row. Neck hurt.
5	Sat. July 20	With my grandma. She liked Judd Hirsch best and said the aliens were "not necessary."
6	Sat. Aug. 10	Drive-in, with Twister as the second movie. Best double feature ever.
7	Sat. Aug. 24	Matinee by myself. I know what happens in every single scene now.

The Characters

• Capt. Steven Hiller (Will Smith). Marine fighter pilot. Wants to fly the space shuttle. Funniest guy in the movie. Also the coolest.
• David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum). Works for a cable company in New York, plays chess with his dad, rides his bike everywhere, and is the one who figures out the signal. The smart guy.
• President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman). He used to be a fighter pilot in the Gulf War, and at the end he flies again. Best president in any movie.
• Russell Casse (Randy Quaid). Crop duster who says aliens took him once, years ago, and nobody believes him. Everybody laughs at him. Guess who gets the last laugh.
• Julius Levinson (Judd Hirsch). David's dad. My grandma's favorite. Complains the whole movie.
• Jasmine (Vivica A. Fox), her son Dylan, and Boomer the dog. The dog makes the jump. That's all I'll say.
• Dr. Okun (Brent Spiner, who is Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation!). The crazy scientist at Area 51.
• General Grey (Robert Loggia). Always yelling. Good at it.

My Top 5 Scenes

(No spoilers if you haven't seen it. Just go see it.)

1. The shadows. When the ships come over the cities and everything goes dark. I got goosebumps all 7 times.
2. The White House. You've seen it in the commercials. It's even better on a big screen.
3. The canyon chase. Hiller leading the alien fighter through the canyon, and what he does at the end of it.
4. The speech. The President talks to the pilots before the big attack. I won't say anything else about it except that people in the theater stood up.
5. Russell. You'll know it when you see it. My dad says that part gets him and my dad does not get got.

ID4 Facts

• ID4 stands for Independence Day, 4th of July. Duh.
• It was written by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. Emmerich directed it and Devlin produced it. They also made Stargate.
• The first commercial for it was on during the Super Bowl in January. That's where I first saw the White House blow up.
• The music is by David Arnold.
• It's the biggest movie of the summer, bigger than Twister and Mission: Impossible.

The Laptop Argument

My dad says there's no way a laptop can hook up to an alien computer. I say they had almost 50 years to study the ship at Area 51, so they figured it out. My dad says "whatever you say, Brendan." That means I win.

POLL: Who's The Real Hero?

E-mail me your vote! Results so far:

Coming Soon

» My review of the video when it comes out (I'm getting the widescreen one)
» My alien drawings, when Ravi's brother lets me use his scanner
» The ID4 trivia quiz
» ID5? My idea for a sequel