But does he take off his shirt?

Well, I went to see Independence Day, Resurgence last evening and... it really wasn't that bad, for the most part.  You do need to park your brain in the lobby otherwise you begin to ask questions like "why would a supersize alien ship plow up the surface of the moon?"  And that's not really a spoiler if you're wondering.  Speaking of that alien ship, someone needs to tell Wright and Woods (the writers) and Emmerich (the director) sometimes bigger is not better.  You can only wonder if they might have size issues because this baby stretches from Paris to Washington, and it lands....
A lot of time is wasted introducing the new characters.  Nobody really cares about the backstory of the Helmsworth / Usher angst.  Everybody is waiting for the old characters to show up, in fact, they are the ones who actually carry the story, and of them, Brent Spiner steals the show with his 'see through' underwear and original characterization.
There's an alien queen, too, who looks a little too much like the alien queen in... well "Aliens," in fact, during the last great Boss sequence I kept expecting Sigourney to show up shouting "Stay away from her, you bitch!"
And I'd like to say you ignore all of the flaws because this film does have that pretty boy Liam.

I'm so pretty

That's not true, because as your sitting there in your seat you realize this is really nothing more than a glorified 'B' movie... a very expensive 'B' movie, but still a 'B' movie none the less.  If you go see Independence Day, Resurgence you're going to get acceptable acting,  poorly written (sometimes campy) dialogue, and a cheesy plot which seems to have been cribbed from many, many other movies.  And my one really big disappoint was in Liam.  Can you believe it?  He never took off his shirt!

Independence Day holograph

Well, here it is Independence Day and, of course, I'm working.  The store closes at 8 and I'm scheduled to work until... 8, lucky me.  There a people who are scheduled to work until 9.  I am off tomorrow, which is nice, and nicer still, I'm off Wednesday as well, of course, then I have to work for 7 days straight.
Anyway, I thought I'd celebrate the day by sharing a bit of my memorabilia.  I once worked for a store manager who commented that he thought I might be a hoarder.  I'm not.  I tend to give stuff away.  When DVD's came out I gave away all of my VHS tapes, as well as a very expensive Harmon Kardon player.  I did, however save one thing and it just happens to be from Independence Day.

That's right, it's a holographic card which was included in the VHS packaging.  That's from 1996.

And there's a message on the back from Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, part of which says "Now, and in the years to come, we hope you and those close to you will have the opportunity to enjoy this film over and over again."  Right.  I bought the tape, not because I thought the movie was great, I'm just a big fan of very big FX.

Anyway, when you turn the card a little bit too the right this is what happens:

That's right, Trump win the election.  I'm going to see the sequel on Tuesday.  I understand one of the Hemsworth boys is in it, which means there's going to be a 20 second gratuitous shot of him with his shirt off.  You know, I bet that if he'd played Tarzan he'd have taken of his pants.

But does he take off his pants?

Yesterday was my Saturday... well, for me at least since that was my day off.  I'm back to work today and tomorrow and, lucky me, I get to close the store. Sunday I'm off, so I guess Sunday will be my Sunday.
Tuesday I'm going to see the new Independence Day movie, not because I'm expecting it to be really that good, it's just that Tuesday is 'el cheapo' night, matinee pricing and your popcorn is free.  When our schedules all sync, my friends and I usually go to the movies on Tuesday because... well, we're cheap.  Besides, no one wants to pay full price to see this movie.  I didn't really like the first one.  Sure, the FX were great, but in the end all you got was a cheesy remake of 1953's War of the Worlds.  Anyway, there's also a little banter between us about possibly going to see the new Tarzan.  Reviews have not been kind, but then reviews are just opinions.  I mean look, I'm going to see the new Independence Day and reviews for that have been horrendous, but then I'm not going to be paying full price. So, Tarzan might end up being one of those Tuesday night movies, you know?
I'm sure a number of people might go to see Alexander Skarsgard, mostly, probably, to see him without his clothing.

Do you think he works out much?

Now, I don't know about you, but when I think of Tarzan I think of his yell, you know, his call of the jungle?  And I think about his little loincloth.  Don't you?  When you think of Tarzan swinging on vines, is he wearing a pair of pants?  Or do you visualize in him in a little bit of leather that barely covers anything?  Something that's worn for safety purposes only?  Has anybody seen this movie yet?  Does he take off his pants?  If he doesn't, well, maybe those in charge are kicking themselves in the butt right now.  I mean, with all of the bad reviews you'd have thought they'd want to give us at least one enjoyable distraction.

Roland Emmerich hits a brick wall

Stonewall opened in 112 (?) theaters last weekend, not one of which was in Harrisburg.  Not that I had planned on going to see it... too much bad press.  What I find surprising is that there were those out there who hoped for something better.  Evidently no one took the time to look at his track record.  His forte is smashingly good special effect sequences... and that's about it.  "Independence Day" was a remake of the film version of "War of the Worlds," and it made him a lot of money, the fact that an alien species, who've been harvesting planets throughout the galaxy, could be beaten with a 20th century computer virus is... well... preposterous.  But that's how Roland's mind works.  Then there's that great scene in "The Day After Tomorrow" where a young (and still Otterish) Jake Gyllenhaal, knowing things are going to get really, really cold, decides the best way to keep warm is to burn books.  Sure, they're in the New York Public Library, and there are lots of books around them, but there are also large wooden tables, and wooden chairs, and wooden bookcases.  The fact that burning wood does give off more BTU's then burning paper was totally ignored and they burned books.

Then there was "Godzilla," in which a very, very large raptor / alien was cast in the lead.  And don't forget that little thing Roland called "2012" in which we got to see his updated version of Noah's ark.

Knowing all of this, why would anyone have expected "Stonewall" to be anything more than it is?  When it comes to logic?  When it comes to serious expose?  All Roland can do is hit a brick wall.  Sad to say, but I don't think he actually cares much about what's on the other side, because hitting that brick wall as fast as he can is what's important to him.

Uncelebrating the 4th

I read a number of blogs and this morning one blogger asked what people's plans were for the 4th of July.  I commented with the same comment I post every time a blogger asks this question on a holiday.  My response?  Working.  I'm in retail.  Years ago that meant having most holidays off, not any more.  American Capitalism has changed the way retail looks at holidays.  They are now a time to run SALES, the reasoning being that every American wants to run out and buy a new refrigerator on the 4th of July.  Wait, no, that's not true.  Being open on a holiday does not send a store's receipts through the roof.  On the contrary, while there may be shoppers during the morning hours tomorrow, they will begin to thin out as the afternoon approaches.  Unless your appliance breaks, you're probably not going to in the market to purchase one.  In fact, the customers you tend to see, at least in this area of the country, are foreigners who aren't used to celebrating Independence Day.

I have to admit that I always wonder about those who do venture in on a holiday.  Is this what they do for entertainment?  For fun?  Even if I didn't have plans, I can honestly admit I would never set foot in a Home Improvement Store on a holiday.  There are still better things to do.  I can think of a number of ways in which I can waste time and not one of them involves walking the aisles, pushing a shopping cart, and looking at drill bits and saws.  Unless you have a thing for fittings there is absolutely nothing of interest in our plumbing aisle.  And those fancy out door cushions for your patio furniture?  Surprise, the sale price isn't going to disappear over night.  I can't even begin to imagine what kind of boring life someone might have in shopping on a holiday is a highlight.  If you're bored and that's the best thing you can think of doing, you're not very creative.

This is where I'd like to be.  Of course I know this has to be either New Years or Bastille Day since France doesn't celebrate our Independence Day.  But then being in Paris is fun anytime.  Still, I know that tomorrow morning someone, will wake up with an urge to go out and buy a drill.  Am I the only one who thinks that shopping turns a holiday into an uncelebration?  And, if that's what you do to celebrate, maybe you should re-evaluate your priorities in life because there are so many other times when you can go shopping.  Don't make me work because you have nothing better to do.