[stars: 5] Sicko (Michael Moore). A disturbing look at the HMO-infested health care system of the USA. I’m proud to be a Canadian today, with our view of making sure all of our nation is covered by reasonable health care. Moore’s depiction of Canadian Health Care was accurate too, mirroring my many experiences with it.

[stars: 3] Surf’s up. Despite mirroring the penguin theme from a number of recent movies, Surf’s up is a fresh, funny, surf film. I was especially impressed by the superbly executed mocumentary plot, the smart voice casting (Jeff Bridges as a surf maven), and the hip surf-punk soundtrack (I expected the standard over-played 60s tripe).

[stars: 4] Zelda: Twilight Princess (GameCube). A brilliant installment in the Zelda series, well worth its 50+ hours of casual-gamer play. The art style is more like a standard Japanese RPG, and the story slightly longer than Wind Waker. The game is true to the Zelda franchise, compelling from front to back. The bosses, though, seemed easier than previous generations, and the secrets (and secret missions) were somehow less interesting.

[stars: 3] The Pursuit of Happyness. A reasonable record of the Christopher Gardner story, staring Will Smith (and son). The cast’s performances were solid, but the movie moved awkwardly to its conclusion. I didn’t like the premise that riches are required for happiness, though the truth of the real life story is that a father’s love is enough to make any child happy.

[bombs: 2] Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. So-so funny early on, with a general trend toward boredom by the mid point. The movie had a few laugh-out-loud moments, interspersed in a barren landscape of the inappropriate and mundane. I suspect this one is better after a few beers.

[stars: 5] Touching the Void. Do you think that your problems are difficult? Get a grip. This film will tear a strip off your back, and show you what the impossible looks like. And the impossible is possible, if you really want it. The story is a tale of unimaginable pain, facing death, and inspiration.

[stars: 5] Getting Real, the dead-tree version. A damned inspiring read, well worth the price of admission. The book is targeted to web development projects, but makes sense for many types of businesses. The mantra cuts to the core of the hacker/maker ethic: Enjoy what you do, do it simply, and do it fucking well.

[stars: 4] Nokia 5300 MP3 phone. I love the form factor, display, and the menus are a solid extension of Nokia’s previous phones. The camera and MP3 player are uninspired, but the FM tuner is surprisingly good. The phone also comes with a mSD slot, a USB2 cable, and supports USB2 FS. For $30 this is a great geek phone.

[stars: 4] MacBook 2Ghz/2Gb. The hardware/software is well above average, but not quite excellent: the CD drive is noisy, the screen is so-so, and the built in application set is meager.  On the plus side, the battery life is sweet, the hardware/OS integration is great, and the size/feel of the hardware is excellent.

[stars: 3] Wild Fire (Nelson DeMille). A alternate history of the years following the 9/11 attacks, in the conspiracy-theorist’s vein. It’s not the type of novel I normally read, but was well worth the time: it reminded me that behind-the scenes is always more complicated than it seems (and in different ways than you’d expect). A quick, funny, and entertaining read.