I'm so bored with the U.S.A.

Sicko (directed by Michael Moore)

Michael Moore doesn't have the best track record for truth and accuracy, with both Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11 having very clear, specific purposes that were more centered on filtering out anything that wasn't part of his agenda than cutting straight to the issues at hand (gun control and the Bush dynasty, respectively).

With Sicko, Moore finally takes on a subject that is absolutely universal and affecting: health care. Oh and not just any health care. Good, honest health care, which we currently don't have in the ol' U.S. of A. Moore narrates through most of the film, and in the beginning, we're told that he received more than 20,000 e-mails with people telling him horror stories of dealing with HMOs and being denied care for a variety of absurd reasons. Why is this happening in America? Well, the answer isn't going to shock you: money. As Moore illustrates, the megatron corporations make more jack if Grammy or Gramps is denied care than if they aren't.

Although Sicko still has some of the trademark Moore-isms (including a Communist sing-a-long and taking a group of 9/11 rescue workers to Guantanamo Bay), the film has a unique power in the fact that any of the people whose stories are being chronicled could be you or your family. Indeed, Moore knows how to pull the emotional strings, but the stories in Sicko are so heartbreaking and unbelievable that it's no wonder that they found their inclusion in the film.

Only when the story goes elsewhere does the stage really get upturned. Moore visits France, England and Canada, only to discover that the damned people actually have sensible health care systems that have been established as far back as World War II. No matter what side of the political fence you're on, Moore fan or not, Sicko demands to be seen.