Best of the year, so far

The big summer blockbusters are on hold for a few weeks. I couldn't figure out why, because I am an ignorant American who forgot that the World Cup would be grabbing the leisure time of most of the world, so Pirates of the Carribean 2 must wait.

So, we're almost halfway through the year. Have we seen anything good yet?

Here's what I've liked:

Tristam Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story. The prolific Michael Winterbottom's little comedy about trying to adapt a large book.

Something New. A romantic comedy that takes on bigger issues gracefully. Someone give Sanaa Latham more work. She's the closest thing we have to that wonderful blend of beauty, brains and neuroses that Diane Keaton perfected in the 70s.

Dave Chappelle's Block Party. I would love to see this docu-comedic-concert at the drive-in. One of my favorite film moments of the year is Mos Def behind the drums overplaying straight man to Dave Chapelle. The marching band freaking out after meeting Dave Chappelle is pretty great, too.

16 Blocks. Mos Def again. A simple, straight-forward Hollywood thriller. Nothing amazing, but I wish Hollywood would make more like it. It's nice to be entertained.

V for Vendetta. Pompous, yes. But also great-looking, interesting and pretty serious for an action film based on a comic. It was nice not to have comic interludes or one-liners inserted every twenty minutes.

Inside Man. I love Spike Lee for his love of New York. It doesn't hurt that he managed to make a fun little film, too.

United 93. Best movie of the year so far except for:

The Proposition. A western set in the Australian outback as it's being settled. Nick Cave's screenplay mixes the natives, the Irish, the English, a lot of unkempt men, a handful of women, the police, the government and a couple of likable intellectual homicidal maniacs together in a barren world. If you can't stand a lot of blood, don't go see it. The ending seems inevitable from hindsight but 45 minutes into the film, I didn't know where the film would head.

I missed a lot...I still have to see "Hard Candy," "Coastlines," "L'Enfant"...I need to rev up my dvd queue.