total timepass...

Why oh why! Why do I always give in to the temptation of going for a Hindi movie!! Aarrgghhh.. they do mostly tend to disappoint, but still there I am, at the next release, in queue to watch another new one, as soon as it releases! And I dont think either of the two is going to change, neither would the Hindi movies improve, nor would I give up on them:). So anyways that's that.. Now to the movie: it had a very interesting theme. A woman who murders seven of her husbands (P.S. who was the seventh one she murdered? I did not get it!!) should make for interesting viewing. But it did not. The pace of the story especially in the first half was sooo slow. And for what? Its not as if Susanna's character was being developed and explained. The movie just kept dragging on and on, slowly. And with each husband, the sequence of events also became predictable. Susanna meets the guy, a song, a marriage, a hidden truth about him and a murder. Some of the deaths were not even justified.

The Merchant of Venice is the second Shakespeare play I have seen (after Comedy of Errors) and the first serious one for sure. And what a pleasure it has been!! Shakespearen plays have always intimidated me, I guess its the doubt whether I would understand the language and the nuances of his plays. And this one at least does not disappoint! There is a lot to explore, understand and think about in his creation. And its given me the confidence to go for more of his plays for sure! (Would always still read up the storyline before I see the play though!) The show that I saw had Al Pacino playing the role of Shylock. So he was one of the major reasons I went for this play, but when you come out of the show, its still the play that you remember more than just a star performing in it! The play revolves around a loan that a merchant in Venice, Antonio takes from a Jewish moneylender, Shylock for which he agrees to pay back a pound of his flesh if he forfeits the loan. Antonio is unable to

Another of the Oscar nominated movies and another one based on real life. The King's Speech details the life of an unconfident younger brother Albert to the future-king of England, King George the VI, the younger brother who stammers and cannot even speak publicly, to the King of England who leads the country through the Second World War. Of course, this change in him happens with time as well as due to the tutelage of Lionel, an Australian speech therapist and the constant support and encouragment of his wife. The movie traces the journey of Albert through this period, his failures, his introduction to Lionel, the ups and downs between the two, the speech training he undertook under Lionel, his brother's accession and abdication of the throne and his own crowning. The acting is brilliant, the story slow and the interaction between Lionel and Albert the high point of the movie. Still found the movie a bit slow, so would just go with 3 stars for this.