Independence Day

Emmerich’s first and best version of Earth’s destruction. Combines horror shocks, dramatic beats, clever quips, and exhilarating action to form a film that is ultimately very satisfying. Even Pullman and Quaid manage to deliver in this seminal invasion film that marked the action movie hand off from Goldblum to Smith.

The Day After Tomorrow

Film that prompted Mayans to predict the catastrophic film, 2012, and from the same director. Shameless pseudo-environmentalist scare film features malevolent window-shattering ice, tanker wall-scaling digital wolves, and the now literally washed up Dennis Quaid. Amidst the unintentional hilarity are bits of unfunny cleverness, involving Mexican border-crossing and librarian book-burning.