Mid-Year Movie Report

We're halfway through 2006, and so far the movie year has been mostly lackluster. There have been numerous good films, but nearly no great ones. In fact, only one 2006 film stands out as a masterwork - Paul Greengrass' United 93. Unfortunately, most people ignored it, claiming that they were either "not ready for a 9/11 film" or "didn't want to re-live that particular day." Too bad. I realize I'm writing this on the 4th of July, and United 93 is as patriotic as you can get - not in the "hooray for America!" sense, but in the sense that is shows how an ordinary group of Americans decide to fight for something beyond themselves.

Now I'm off to eat and watch some fireworks.