Eeew, Sick: Health Care, a Rat Chef and 'Die Hard'

Two momentous films open nationwide on the same day. Sicko radically challenges our perspective on health care. Ratatouille radically challenges our perspective on rats in kitchens. Cynics will say there's a better chance of a rodent becoming a chef than of universal health care for Americans. That underestimates the big fighting rat at the center of Sicko.

Michael Moore can be a blowhard. But he's also an angry court jester speaking truth to power. When the counterculture imploded in the late '70s, the Right appropriated its prankster spirit: Speaking truth to power became razzing "feminazis" and the so-called liberal media. Moore has reclaimed progressives' gonzo legacy.

Sicko is his best film: It mixes outrage, hope and stunts in perfect proportions. Iraq-war partisans could stonewall in the face of Fahrenheit 9/11, but Sicko will whack everyone in the kidneys with a large stick.

You could find millions of anecdotes of insurers denying payment — but Moore comes up with doozies. Some are ghoulishly amusing, like the guy with two fingers cut off who didn't have coverage to get both re-attached. He had to choose between the ring finger for 12 grand and the middle finger for 60 grand. Figuratively speaking, Moore gives the insurance company the middle finger.