I saw Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Movie!

I have been waiting anxiously to watch Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince for a long time and was practically counting days for its release. And then that weekend my husband and I set out to the theatre...and found that some other movie was running there! Imagine my disappointment! The stupid newspaper had confused the names of the movies!! And it was too late to go to the other theatre..

Anyway we saw the movie the next weekend... But unfortunately, I found the movie a huge let down :-(

Warning!! Spoilers ahead!!
First of all, several main points in the Harry Potter book were left out- like the crucial memories that Dumbledore shows Harry. Voldemort’s past, his parents, his relation to Salazar Slytherin, could all have been added. Of course, knowing a lot more about Lord Voldemort would have been very interesting...

In the book, Dumbledore talks to the Dursleys and gives them good for not treating Harry well. The scene was really funny and would have been nice to have been incorporated.

And the very exciting fight scene at the end, how could they??? BooHooo! In its place so many unnecessary scenes were added. There was actually no need for the Quidditch part (Okay, some of you might want to kill me for saying that), and Harry flirting with the waitress and the Death Eaters attacking the Burrow and too many romance scenes...

Another thing that annoyed me was this dark colour tone throughout the movie..Maybe it was to give the impression of “These are dark times”. But it kind of made the movie all the more dull.

And Ginny:-( Really disappointing...Bonnie Wright, who plays Ginny in the movie, looks as if she has a mask on. My opinion is that someone else could have handled this character much better. Harry and Ginny’s budding romance is not depicted well at all...It was all too mechanical and I felt that somehow it did not give the right effect...The book was so good:-(

Overall, for someone who has not read the book and who does not know all the important happenings, it could turn out to be too boring. That was what my parents said anyway...And I am now sceptical as to how the next movie would turn out...I can’t believe I am saying this, but I am not that keen on watching the next two movies..Hope they would follow the book as much as they could as it could not be perfected anymore...

A Train of Thoughts

It was yet another day. The same job, the same people, the same to and fro travels, the same household chores...And it was during my cooking frenzy that my mind zoomed out...

‘Onam is nearly here. The last year was really good. Hope this year would be good too...What all should I cook for the Onam feast? OK, we will be going to our native place, so I will not have to cook! [:-D]

Oooh payasam [a dessert made with milk and ghee available in different mouthwatering varieties, a must after an Onam feast or Onasadya]... so tasty...especially Adapradhaman [the king of payasams I should say, made with jaggery, milk, ghee, coconut milk etc.] Hmm...

Grandmother used to make such tasty Adapradhaman..yummy...with rightly prepared ‘Ada’[the main component], the right amount of sweetness, the right ingredients, the right consistency..And the end result would always be...just right...

Sad that I could not ask her how it is prepared now...and she will not be able to stop me before I screw up... she will not be able to guide me in anything as a matter of fact...since, some years back she passed away...

What all stories she used to tell me as a child! She was so thorough in Hindu mythology and always knew the names of the characters in almost all the stories. How did she do that? I mean, I always mix up the names and always end up mixing up the entire story as well...Wonder what I would tell my children and grandchildren...

Yea..And she was ‘the human computer’, with all her children’s and grandchildren’s birthdays/anniversaries/star signs/ important events, stored up in her incredible memory...

Hmm..I could have asked her a lot of things. She was more than 90 years old when she died. The wisdom, the experience and the knowledge of nearly a century...I could have asked her a lot more and she could have told me much more. But alas...all that remains is memories.’

And that is one of the many ironies of life. One would never know the value of anything until they lose them. Now I know that I should treasure every moment and prize every treasure I have- my parents, friends, relatives, well-wishers... Nothing should be taken for granted...nothing is here forever...

I got kind of sentimental there...Did not think this post would turn out to be quite serious...Anyways...

Book Review: Remember Me? By Sophie Kinsella

I was looking for a light read and 'Remember me?' caught my attention immediately. Maybe it was the author's name (I have not read Sophie Kinsella's famous "Shopaholic" series but have heard a lot about them) or the pleasant yellow book cover. Anyway I read the summary on the back cover..and found it interesting. So I bought it (at Rs.214/- after reduction).

Soon I started reading it and found myself reaching 'The End' page at top speed! In short, this novel was good (I wouldn't have bothered to write a review if it was bad in the first place).

I found the book to be a really easy read with lots of humour, a bit of sadness, a little about friendship and relationships and a lot about how one copes with a circumstance. And of course there is the romance part. It had a gripping story line with not even a single boring page.

Entirely narrated in the first person, the story is about an average-looking girl called Lexi Smart. She has an unimpressive job and an unimpressive relationship with her boyfriend whom everyone calls Loser Dave! On a particularly bad day, when she heroically tries to catch a taxi, she falls down and bumps her head.

And she wakes up in a hospital. Her memory is foggy and soon she is in for a shock. It has been three years since she met with the accident and in reality, she is in the hospital due to another accident, and a car accident at that (as far as she can remember she has never even tried to drive a car!). In short, she has absolutely no idea what happened in her life during three precious years!!

But on the good side- she is no longer snaggletooth (as was her nickname) but totally gorgeous! And she is rich and married to a millionaire!! Life couldn't get better than this, can it??

But soon she realises everything is not as it seems to be... She could not help but wonder what the heck could have happened during those three years??

With humour as the main element, Sophie Kinsella takes us through Lexi's life and holds us in suspense as much as Lexi. Bit by bit the pieces of her life come together and we slowly get to see the whole picture. Great writing!

This story, I believe, makes us think of how circumstances could change people, so much so that they could acquire a totally different personality. And it also gives the message that never to give up, no matter how messy the path appears to be... Hmm..something to keep in mind.

So what do you think? Are you going to read it or what? Hope you would Remember me and tell me what you think:-D