The Muggles are Coming! The Muggles are Coming!

Hey everyone! I was in Borders today and right in front of me was some wonderful news. They had a big poster for the new Harry Potter book out and noted that there are only 30 days left until it's released! This could not be more welcome news, as I've been in a bit of a reading duldroms of late. The bad news is that it was my intent to re-read books 4 and 5 before starting on my pre-ordered copy of The Half-bood Prince on July 17. Books 4 and 5 probably add up to 1000 pages, so I don't know how it'll be possible with my current 9 hour sleep schedule. If only I could be one of those 5 hr/nite people! Book 3 has been my favorite so far, and I just rewatched the movie on HBO. It is by far the best of the series, partly because the material is better but mostly because they changed from Chris Columbus to Alfonso Cuaron who directed one of my fav Gwyneth movies, Great Expectations. Cuaron didn't dumb down the material like Columbus did. It's like the difference between Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith. One is for the kiddies and one is enjoyed by all.

In other news, I see TomKat are engaged - wow one DAY after the release of Batman. That's great timing! All I can say is poor Chistian Bale. I've loved him since Empire of the Sun and he, Mr. Batman himself, is being totally neglected during the TomKat madness. Thomas and I are going to see Batman Begins this weekend, and I for one will be there to see Bale and not Holmes. The reviews are spectacular so I'm really looking forward to it.

I have managed to catch a few movies recently.

• The easy best is Crash. It has a big ensemble cast (Sandra Bullock, Thandie Newton, Matt Dillon and Don Cheadle to name just a few) and is about the clash of cultures and races one weekend in LA. There are no riots or anything like that - instead it's told on a much more personal level. Characters' judgements, first impressions, etc., and the story/director provide motivations for it all. It is a fabulous movie and it's not depressing but it is extremely moving, particularly one scene between Dillon and Newton. V Powerful! Rating: Nightime movie

• Next is Howl's Moving Castle, the latest anime from Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki - the guy that did Princess Mononoke. I'm not a huge fan of anime, but I love Miyazaki's movies. This one is different in that it's based off an English author's children's book so the setting is in Europe rather than Asia. I also loved the setting - it's a world where magic and witches exist but are pretty much feared, but we learn that there are good and bad magicians. Anyway, the protagonist has a spell cast on her that turns her into an old woman so she joins up with Howl the magician and his posse and tries to find her way out of the spell. It's very creative and I enjoyed every minute. I'm making this sound like a kid's movie, but trust me it's not just for them (but the kids in the audience did love it). Rating: Matinee

• Last weekend I went to see Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Brangelina have oodles of chemistry - this is apparent from the very first scene when they're in a marriage counselor's office. I really loved the scenes with the two of them and the humor - Pitt especially is really funny, which surprised me for some reason. There was a little too much focus on the extreme action scenes and gadgets for my taste, but the movie was fun to watch and you have to love the eye candy and all the scenes with scene stealer, Vince Vaughn. Rating: Matinee.

-sunday