Book: The Five People You Meet In Heaven
I know, I know.. what a title. I loved this book. Read it in about 5 hours (I'm a very slow reader). It had me close to tears. The main character Eddie has this unbridled, uncompromising, yet ultimately unfuillfilling relationship with his father that brings my own family life right back up for me. I must go write... 
Book: The Da Vinci Code
Clever. Very intelligent. Chock full of facts. So much so, I kept feeling the urge to go research much of what's talked about. Ultimately though, I think it starts much better than it ends. The pacing of the story keeps you moving forward at such a clip, you can easily feel compelled to finish it all in one sitting. 
Film: The Corporation
A very detailed look at something so tied into our culture, it seems normal. Intrinsic even. A very excellent movie. Be prepared for the length (going on 3 hours) and the depth. You have to bring your intellectual A-game to this one.
Book: Shake Hands With The Devil
What happened in Rwanda in 1994? Why were 800,000 people murdered in just 100 days? Why did we let this happen? How can we stop it from happening again? This is one of the most powerful books I've picked up in quite a while. Page after page of heartbreaking details by Canadian General Romeo Dallaire -- the man in charge of the UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda, before and during the genocide. I've just put it down and can't find any words of my own to share with you the dismay I feel. Unless we do something, this will happen again somewhere.Here are some of Dallaire's words on the world's pitful response to the dire cries of need coming from Rwanda: .. each troubling conflict we were faced with had to pass the test of whether we could "care" about it or "identify" with the victims before we'd get involved. Each mission was judged as to whether it was "worth" risking soldiers' lives and a nation's resources. As Michael Ignatieff has warned us, "riskless warfare in pursuit of human rights is a moral contradiction. The concept of human rights assumes that all human life is of equal value. Risk-free warfare presumes that our lives are worth more than those we are intervening to save." Click to see Ignatieff's book Virtual War, or the Paul Khan essay he is quoting. 
Buy it at Chapters/Indigo
Movie: The Passion of the Christ ***
Not sure how to rate this one. It's tough when you know the whole story ahead of time. WhenI was in the theatre I felt like leaning over to whisper to the folks in front of me "... 10 bucks says the hero dies...". But aha! What's this. A resurrection?! Some people are claiming Roger (the skinny guy from Siskel & Ebert) said "It's the most violent film I've seen". That must be a quote taken out of context, 'cause I know he's seen Saving Private Ryan, Terminator, and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Movie: Lord of the Rings - Return of The King *****
Simply superb. If you've watched anything of the story of far, you must complete the trilogy with this film. The photography is lush -- the wide expanse of the Ridermark, the plains leading to Minas Tirith. In those scenes you can see a horizon and skyline greater than any that could possibly be. My re-reading of the books stalled after I completed the Fellowship, but now I'm all charged up to continue.
Movie: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World ***
Wow, how's that for a mouthful of title. Nice action flick though. It loses a 1/2 star for some of the impenetrable accents of the Irish/Scottish/English/just drunk sailors. Bonus points for the fact that there's NO KISSING. Not even close. No yucky love story to get in the way. Lots of swashbuckling and 19th century surgery -- including a ship-board open-brain procedure. Way cool!
Movie: Lost in Translation ***1/2
A great little movie about nothing. Well acted, nice and quiet -- just like real people's lives. It's a shame about the cultural imperialism towards their gracious hosts. They keep coming back to the (quickly) tired joke about Americans who can't be bothered to learn even the basics of a new language.
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