Despite the obvious themes of power and faith, PT Anderson's vast, visionary epic There Will Be Blood isn’t primarily about oil, or about religion, or about extremism. Rather, it’s a thorough excavation of the foundation of American identity. And on top of all that, it’s the best film of the year....

Being a liberal hasn’t been easy the past five years, but it could be worse. We could live in Chris Bachelder’s world, where being on the left side of the political aisle could get you killed. In Balchelder’s U.S.!, the Red Scare never died and reform-minded leftists meet in darkened theaters, wary of being identified by their neighbors and waiting for news of their resurrected messiah: Upton Sinclair. Most of us probably remember Sinclair......