I've been thinking about writing this for a couple of months, and finally finished it today.
I posted a link to this essay on TheOneRing's movie board, and it launched quite a vigorous discussion.
Speaking of flicks, we saw X2 today. It was pretty good, though the editing was a little loose and the screenplay could probably have benefitted from having fewer characters and a little more focus. The opening sequence in the White House is quite phenomenal.