Normally, I don't think we're really summer blockbuster people. But for Harry Potter, we made an exception (opening weekend, no less!) Earlier this year, Jess borrowed the first four DVD's, and watched them all over a couple of days (I stuck through all of the first and third films, most of the second and not a great deal of the fourth). In brief: number one is fine, number two is too long, number three is terrific, and I'm going to guess that number four is pretty good.

Jess has now finished all seven books (and cried at the end of the last); I stopped reading the second one about a chapter and a half in (Rowling's prose, at least what I've read, does nothing for me, and I don't find Potter terribly sympathetic.) I may give the rest of them a try at some point, but I also just picked up Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy in anticipation of the upcoming Golden Compass movie, and I think that'll fill my kidlit quota for the year. (Incidentally: in an article on the Potter books, Pullman's books are described as having a "killjoy, Santa-Claus-is-dead socialism". Dude. Write a book just for me, why dontcha?)

So anyway (yes, I'm getting back to my original point here) we saw The Order of the Phoenix, and it's pretty good. Jess pointed out that several significant sections of the book were left out, including, I think, a couple of characters. I countered this by asking if she seriously thought what the movie needed was more plot. At a lean (cough) 2 hours and 20 minutes, it's the shortest film of the series; and while my ass appreciated the (relatively) brief running time, it results in some blink-and-you-missed-it moments. For the most part, though, it's not difficult to follow without having read the books, or even having paid much attention during the previous films. The large battle scene between the titular group of good wizards and Voldemort's followers at the end of the film is quite smartly done - visually impressive, but clearly beyond the ken of Potter et al. - and maintains the students' perspective. It makes the battle difficult to understand, but it shows plainly how far out of their league the students were.

There are a couple of things I'd complain about, if I could find someone who'd listen: there's not nearly enough of Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy), who's slimy and evil in a way that, unfortunately, can only be called 'delicious'. The scene during the 'O-level' exam doesn't make a lick of sense - I would gather that the students all got zeroes for running out on the test, and yet were cheering about it? - and there are a couple of story threads that get dropped rather suddenly (Harry kisses a girl who is never seen again, for instance.)

But it's a good, dark story, balancing its tripartite foci on Harry's adolescent angst, the fight against Voldemort and the Ministry of Magic's paranoid authoritarianism (and Imelda Staunton does a wonderful, evil impersonation of my high school guidance councillor - or maybe she's trying to be Margaret Thatcher as a PTA member, it's hard to say).

Next blockbuster to grit our teeth over: The Simpsons. Will it suck as much as the show has lately? Yeah, probably.

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Some recent music acquisitions:
Bjork's Volta is nuts. Of course it is, I can hear you thinking, she's batshit crazy and makes videos where she's married to a cat. But despite the Timbaland production, the Lightning Bolt drumming and weird aggressiveness, it's not half as strange - and far more listenable - than her last one, Medúlla. My biggest complaint is with the presence of guest vocalist Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons) whose voice is horrific - like a really, desperately bad Nina Simone impersonator (or the woman from Coco Rosie who sounds like a guy). As he's only on two tracks, it's not so bad; still, that's two write-offs.

Menomena's Friend and Foe is hit and miss. The opener, "Muscle'n Flo", is a strange, fractured tune, catchy and angular; the rest of the best songs on the record ("Air Aid", "The Pelican", "Ghostship") could be described in similar terms but don't sound much alike (one of the band's great strengths). The worst ("My My", "Running") sound like art school kids channelling Supertramp. Luckily, the dreck is outweighed by the good stuff, and it's a record I'd heartily recommend.

Feist's second (or third) solo record, The Reminder, is solid. I loved portions of Let it Die - the title track, "Lonely Lonely", even "Mushaboom" and the Bee Gees cover - but there were nearly as many duds - "Gatekeeper", "Leisure Suite" - and it felt, I dunno, padded, maybe. (I saw her performance at Babylon on that tour, btw, and it was phenomenal, despite the weaker portions of the record.) I haven't found this to be the case with the new album. The first two singles, "My Moon My Man" and "1234" are smooth, sexy pop, upbeat without being schmaltzy; and the rest of it has an eclectic, mature feel. Serve with unoaked chardonnay and seafood canapes.

If you've missed My Bloody Valentine, lo these last 16 years since Loveless came out, you might want to investigate Jesu's Conqueror. Sure, it's "technically" a metal record, is by Justin Broaderick (ex-Godflesh, Final, Head of David), and it's on Hydra Head (home to Botch, Cattle Press, Pelican), but just listen to those washed-out, blurry guitars - it's like 1991 all over again.

Other fun things I've heard lately: Battles' Mirrored (best described as 'robot elf music'); El-P's I'll Sleep When You're Dead; Murs' 3:16 the 9th Edition; Oxbow's The Narcotic Story and Stars' In Our Bedroom After the War (less overtly sexual than their last couple of records, but still pretty hot.)

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In Crammit news, um, there's not really any news. I'm growing a beard, in preparation for having a 'stache as part of a Halloween costume. I also went to the dentist for the first in over 15 years, and not surprisingly, discoverd that my fillings are (over-)due to be replaced, and both of us need root canals. Gah!

There's a shitload of good shows coming up in September & October; the ones I'm most excited about:
- Animal Collective & Eric Copeland (of Black Dice), Sept 7th
- Great Lake Swimmers, Sept 12th
- Ruins, Sept 16th
- Grizzly Bear, Sept 22nd
- Bloc Party (meh) w/ Deerhoof (!), Sept 30th
- Caribou w/ Born Ruffians, Oct 2nd
- Magnolia Electric Co., Oct 4th
- Eric's Trip, Oct 5th
- Torngat, Oct 12th

And, of course, the Rizdales w/ Casey Comeau et al. this Friday, the 10th at the Black Sheep.