Independence Day not-so-liveblog

The nearly-20-year-old movie. The holiday can take care of itself.

• Ripping off the Star Destroyer shot from Star Wars. Is this a model? It looks like a model.
• Hey, the Secretary of Looking Shifty knows about Area 51, right? Why is he not saying, "hey, we kinda have this thing, we know what this is, you need to evacuate the cities now?"
• Why do the aliens use human satellites to relay their signals? Why don't they just synchronize their watches before heading out from the mothership?
• Come to think of it, how come it took so long for them to "position their pieces?"
• Composer David Arnold can't go two seconds without filling our ears with score.
• Will Smith at his Will-Smithiest. Which is fine because Jeff Goldblum is at his Jeff-Goldblumiest too.
• Hey, I don't know, when the aliens start showing up, maybe listen to the guy who has been yammering about aliens for the past decade. Just a thought.
• I know that he's based on Clinton, but I would totally vote for Bill Pullman for President.
• TIL the Empire State Building is in the middle of a street. Blocking traffic. Yes, aliens, please do destroy it.
• Plastic baby head!
• Some of the fireballs look really good. Others look alarmingly terrible.
• Is Will Smith's wingman bro gay? Jeff Goldblum's boss was definitely gay. All the gay people in this movie die.
• Ah, yes, the CGI looks a wee bit fake. So that ship at the beginning was definitely a model, then.
• Holy shit, Adam Baldwin is in this movie!
• So wait, Data knew that the ship had lit up with lights and gizmos after the aliens arrived... did he tell anyone? 
• Thank goodness these kids are only in the movie to the extent necessary. Managing to avoid the T2 Horrible Child Actor curse.
• Aaaaaand once again Mary McDonnell spends her time in a post-apocalyptic story slowly dying. Seriously, she's a proto-Roslin here.
• Hmm, invincible sky monsters destroying all our cities. Where's Dorne when you need it?
• I haven't seen this film in years. First time I saw it, my older cousin told me to plug my ears during the dissection scene. I'd assumed for years that it was because someone said a very naughty word. 
• Goldblum's kinda one-note in July 3, isn't he? "No nukes." Beginning and end of his characterization.
• Will Smith can fly it because he's "seen it in action." Guess I'm qualified to fly a space shuttle, then.
• The mothership looks like a cross between a Death Star and Kabuto.
• "Must go faster" was apparently spliced in from Jurassic Park.
• Thank goodness this film never, ever tried to take itself seriously.