As miserable as being sick can get, it does have its advantages. For one, I've lost 4 pounds in the last 4 days. For another, with little to do other than sit in front of the TV all day, I finally found the time to watch the movie "Crash." And I'm glad I did, because it was an excellent film. Matt Dillon, as expected, gave the best performance in the movie, but the real revelation here was Sandra Bullock. For once playing against type, she turned in a brilliant performance as the angry, paranoid wife of the Los Angeles District Attorney. Ryan Phillippe was also a pleasant surprise. Over the years I've disliked just about everything he's done, but this was only the second time I've genuinely enjoyed one of his performances (the first being his turn in Robert Altman's wonderful "Gosford Park"). The film has gotten a lot of crap from a lot of people since winning Best Picture at this month's Oscars. Was it the best movie of 2005? Doubtful. But then how often does the best picture of the year actually win Best Picture? Was "Titanic" the best we had in 1997? I certainly hope not. Was "American Beauty" 1999's best? No way. Given this track record, perhaps we should just be content with the fact that this year's winner was actually a good movie (even though "Brokeback Mountain" author Annie Proulx and her enormous case of sour grapes may disagree).