Photo by laverrue via Flickr (Creative Commons)

 

To honor the summer blockbuster movie season, Slate takes a look back at Hollywood movies that tried to honor America by blowing up a small part of it - on film anyway.

 

So if your pleasure is  an overgrown monster destroying Manhattan in "Cloverfield" or the wholesale destruction of Los Angeles in "War Of The Worlds," by all means read on!

 

For the record, we're huge fans of this huge beautiful country called America. So alien invaders, you're on notice. You touch our Empire State Building, White House, or the grand and glorious streets of Tinsel Town and you will get taken down. Probably!