• Alan Black (1943-2007) - Animator on Yellow Submarine. He died March 5, in London. (Independent)
• Ana Casares (c.1930-2007) - Actress who appears in Red Lips and Kiss Me, Monster. She died March 13, in Buenos Aires. (Variety)
• Calvert DeForest (1921-2007) - Actor who appears in Heaven Help Us and Freaked. He is best known for playing the character Larry "Bud" Melman on Late Night with David Letterman. He died March 19, in Babylon, New York. (Variety)
• Vilma Ebsen (1911-2007) - Dancer who appears in Broadway Melody of 1936. She was also the sister of Buddy Epsen. She died March 12, in Thousand Oaks, California. (Variety)
• Freddie Francis (1917-2007) - Two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer of Glory and Sons and Lovers. He also shot Scorsese's remake Cape Fear and a few of David Lynch's films, including The Elephant Man and The Straight Story. He began as a camera operator, working on such films as John Huston's Beat the Devil and Moby Dick, and spent some time as a director, helming horror movies like Tales from the Crypt and Dr. Terror's House of Horrors. He died March 17, in West London. (Variety)
• Eiji Funakoshi (1923-2007) - Japanese actor who starred in Ichikawa's Fires on the Plain and An Actor's Revenge and the monster movies Gamera and Attack of the Monsters. He died March 17. (Criterion)

Today is my best friend's birthday. I've always been jealous of him because July 3rd is, hands down, the coolest birthday ever. First off, when you're young there's no school that day, the day after or the day after that. Heck, it's summer -- you don't have school for two months. When you're older, working some dead end job and hating your life, July 3rd is superb because of the federal (no work for me!) holiday that follows on the fourth.

Not only that, but early July is always such a fun time here in the United States. Time to go to the beach, throw a backyard barbecue and smuggle in illegal fireworks from Pennsylvania because I can't buy them anywhere near me. Ya know, it's time to be an American --  time to throw on some SPF 75, wave a flag and complain about what President Bush isn't doing. For a movie buff, it's time to escape the heat and sit down with one of your favorite patriotic films.

Depending on the kind of mood you're in, there's plenty of films to choose from -- most of which involve us Americans kicking someone's ass. Can't make up your mind? Well, here's a few flicks to help steer you toward a decision:

• Americans kicking Alien ass: Independence Day
• Americans kicking German ass: Saving Private Ryan, Battle of the Bulge
• Americans kicking Japanese ass: Pearl Harbor, In Harm's Way, Sands of Iwo Jima
• Americans kicking Vietnamese ass: Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July
• Americans kicking English ass: The Patriot
• Americans kicking American ass:  Glory

So, I ask you: What's your favorite patriotic (go America!) film?