^ Yeah, I've heard nothing good about Skyline. War of the Worlds (the newer) comes about as close to Empire's description that I've seen, the first 30 minutes anyway. After that, Spielberg switches to autopilot.

Anyone here ever watched Testament? Lynne Littman, 1983? It's not an alien invasion movie but it is the correct way to make an apocalypse movie: no guns, no explosions, no special effects whatsoever save for a fade to white when the bombs hit. I weep like a little girl with a skinned knee every time I watch that movie. And I'm a manly man. No really. I have a beard and everything.

Seriously, Testament shows what a character-driven apocalypse movie can be. And it has a very dark yet satisfying ending.

**It's Shuac Recommended** /announcer voice

Now that I think about it, the end is not the worst part of this film. The film is a collection of pieces that are 'almost' good. The pieces tie together in away that is strictly "by the numbers" in a typical Spielberg way (eg. War of the Worlds). A.I. covers a disturbing topic yet the film doesn't take any risks and stays away from anything even remotely edgy. Throughout the entire film I find myself thinking, "it might have been good with the right director". This is depressing when I consider that Kubrik could have directed it.

I like the music in the beginning: it is Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds (perhaps a remix though) unless my ears and memories deceive me.

Looks pretty cool. I like that they've gone with the more low-tech aliens, like District 9, instead of vastly superior like in Independence Day, War of the Worlds or Skyline. Gives us a fighting chance, and really makes it more of a war movie instead of a "holy shit, get out of here" movie.

Fuck ALL ya haters -- gimme some of that good ol' alien-invading War-of-the-Worlds, aliens-vs.-the-military shit!

And L.A. gets blown up, so it's already got that going for it.

I would want something exciting. I know Black Hawk Down is non-fiction and has the stigma of being an "America, F-yeah!!!"-war-book, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a legitimately awesome book. I just read War of the Worlds for the first time and that was pretty awesome. My dad is 62 and just had a great time reading Generation Kill. Of course, every time I get bored I can read Ender's Game. I don't know, I can see that you're going for something poetic and relaxing. Maybe... Sometimes a Great Notion? I don't know. Now that I'm looking, a lot of my favorite book's are non-fiction.

I still think Signs is great. FTR I don't think God was talking to Mel Gibson's character at all. That shit was in his head. I also think the aliens we saw were the equivalent of fox-hounds, and if there was ever a Signs 2 it'd be the most depressing movie ever because everyone would be dead, probably for alien food, and the planet strip-mined of resources.

It was great to see an alien invasion from a single perspective. One of the reasons I also love the 2005 War of the Worlds.

Not that I think an alien invasion would resemble either of those scenarios in real life.

It's kinda meaningless to say "Independence Day meets War of the Worlds", given that Independence Day is a remake of War of the Worlds.

But these unprovoked wars and the US hegemony exist, and they're a creation of Democratic and Republican government. Local law enforcement is becoming militarized brownshirts thanks to a large central government. This is a far worse outcome than even the worst that can come from a Libertarian utopia. But you're more worried about a theoretical "economic extortion" from private landowners over the current realistic government tyranny and government's own economic extortion.

What rights in a Libertarian society aren't protected? I'm a minarchist, not an anarchist, so I see government having a specific role, and that is to protect human rights and serve as unbiased arbiter for disputes. I don't understand why you'd think your rights would not be protected, but I'll chock that one up to a lack of understanding what a free society really means. Libertarians don't believe government's role to be forced taxation (theft, servitude), offensive wars, babysitting the world, social engineering by force, imperialism, espionage, suspending habeas corpus, etc. But Democrats and Republicans do.

Now contrast that simple minarchist belief with your own statist belief, and you tell me which society protects rights and which does not. Because in your society I can give you loads of examples where your large government has done the opposite of protecting rights, and has instead encroached upon them.

>> ^Stormsinger:

I loved this game...almost as much as I loved the music. Sadly, I can't find my copy of either anymore.


That is too bad as it is pretty much impossible to find it anymore if you want a legal copy.

Now that was awesome!
It would also be an amazing intro to a game. Like an updated version of Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds game.

Set in Florida: Aliens aren't even noticed amongst all the Haitians and ethnic tension. They end up buying a large block of mobile homes and learn to surf.

Set in California: The aliens get shot upon landing by gang members protecting their turf, drawing the attention of the government. They flee to Northern Cali where they're given refuge and a court battle for their civil rights ensues.

Set in New York: Basing what to do off the movies Independence Day and War of the Worlds the aliens are immediately blown out of the sky.

Set in Texas: All the aliens are thrown in the county jail till a Senator asks to speak with them alone. When he emerges from the room he declares Texas's succession from the union with the help of their new found allies.

Set somewhere in the Mid-West: The Church of Scientology declares their day has come, while other religious groups plea for the destruction of the evil (because they're ugly looking) creatures. The head of the Scientology church uses his vast wealth to build a hovercraft and an alien translator and uses it to have an audience with the aliens on their own ship. After listening to him speak for 30 minutes the alien leader who has been silent all this time looks up and says to him, "Are you fucking nuts?". They shoot him and leave our planet ordering it condemned for the sake of all other alien races.

Yeah, current setting for the movie probably works best.

Ok, the "War of the Worlds" feel gantry cranes moving around at 0:45 was upvote. Plus the detail on that tugboat model was... oh, right...

>> ^thepinky:Nevertheless, civil disobeyers occassionally clogged the machine despite the war being overseas.

The protests of the Iraq war, before it even began, where the largest most wide spread anti-war protests in world history. The day the war broke out many citys, including San Francisco, where I was living at the time, were shut down by protesters "clogging the machine". The war machine did not skip a beat.

If your premise is that it might work if we can do better than MK Gandhi and MLK combined, then I submit that we have, and it didn't even register, because the game has changed.

The power structures of the united states have restructured in the last fifty years, in no small part to counteract the threat of domestic CD. This restructuring has been massive, and pervasive, and it has, in effect inoculated the country from the effects of these sorts of actions.

Certainly committing massive fraud in the name of CD, such as in the story mentioned above, is still an option, but one which will simply require a rule change to dispense with.

When the people taking to the street has no power, when the prisons are run for profit, constitutional rights are dispensed with when traffic is interrupted, and being able to drive to work swiftly is more important to 98% of the population than the right to assemble, then you have been forced, by those in power to choose a new tactic, or to flail around uselessly.

CD is not a goal, CD is a tactic, even MK Gandhi agreed that in some extreme cases an armed revolution is justified when CD would be ineffective.

I agree with and have lived the ideal, I understand the argument, but the means do not justify the end.

>> ^honkeytonk73:
...and so is professional wrestling. Nuff said.


Hey WHOA, hating on Pro-wrestling isn't just offensive to people of my faith, it's inciting holy wars around the world!

EDIT: Those not of the Canadian persuasion can check out Stephen Fry's first season of his show "Kingdom" on Hulu, it's Stephen at his best.