Thoughts on Half-Life 2 - 092206

I know lots of people have varying opinions about the fps Half-Life 2. I couldn't get past level one of the original Half-Life, but for some reason, Half-Life 2 seemed interesting to me. I don't recall if I played the demo or not, but I ordered Half-Life 2 in March 2005. I began playing it on my laptop at the time (Gateway M275XL TabletPC with integrated graphics) and it worked, although it was only payable at 640x480. I'll continue this story some other time because I have something specific about the game that I wanted to throw out there. I also am hoping for others comments on this topic. Here it is:

I enjoy watching science fiction movies and documentaries and the X-files and things like that. Since finishing Half-Life 2 back during the Summer of 2005, I have seen a few sci-fi movies that made me think about Half-Life 2.

First of all, to get this started, I am probably not alone in thinking that the idea for the striders came from the War of the Worlds movie - the original. Well, tell me I'm a little late, but I watched Aliens for the first time about a month ago and noticed that the "baby" aliens resembled headcrabs in Half-Life 2. Headcrabs, a nasty thing that still kind of grosses me out and makes me jump back when I encounter them in the game, may have come from some other entity in a sci-fi movie, but if they didn't, I would have to give the nod for the idea to Aliens.
The next thing, which got me to start this blog and pose this observation, is something I just watched. I just finished The Day Mars Invaded Earth. I have to think that Gordon Freeman, in Half-Life 2, came from the character Dr. William Mims. Near the end, Dr. Mims, who has only a mustache but wears big ol' black glasses, states that he "is good with a crowbar". You might say who cares. Well, take a look at the picture of Gordon Freeman and then watch this movie. Half-Life gamers also understand the significance of the crowbar reference. If you've seen that movie, what do you think? If you have a picture of Dr. Mims, send it my way to post for comparison. Has any one else alluded to this similarity?