Casablanca - Movie Review

I was 12 years old,  when I first watched Casablanca. We the 90's kids have the coolest parents, I tell you. I picked this video cassette at our local video library (again, absolutely no check over what we could rent ) and watched away. It was a black and white movie about this really grumpy dude (Humphrey Bogart)and this pretty lady (Ingrid Bergman) from his past who just walks into his happening bar. 

You know the really cool line that people keeping quoting and which never seems to go out of fashion 'Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine' - This movie! The entire world war reference, the complexities of the Bogart-Bergman relationship was totally lost on me. My twelve year old self kept asking, why isn't the main man getting his girl?

Nurtured on too much of Bollywood drama this looked like  load of nonsense! If this was Bollywood, the hero would have realised his mistake, totally stopped the plane with his bare hands and the lady would have be out of the plane and into his arms in no time. They would sing a song and there would be a wedding. Definitely a big, fat wedding. Again, I was 12. 

Imagine my experience of it when I finally watched it at a later point in life. 

So what did my adult self think about the movie?
Here's what I thought - Casablanca is a wonderful movie set in French Morocco. A movie about people in the times of war. A movie about human rights and dignity. A  movie about refugees. A movie about being in love but giving it up for a greater good. A movie about unlikely friendships. A movie ahead of its time in theme and execution. It is also a movie that no twelve year should ever watch unsupervised 😁 

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Obi-Wan and Anakin by Charles Soule

Comic book mini series Obi-wan and Anakin by Charles Soule is a great place to dip your toes in the Star Wars Canon. I spent the last couple of days with this series and loved the way it let me immerse myself in the Star Wars world without overwhelming me with too many characters and subplots.

From dealing with Anakin's conflict about the Jedi ways of life to Obi-Wan's struggle as a teacher to his padawan, this story is layered and rich. The art work echoes the theme and is very much a tribute to the world of Jedi as we know and love. 

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Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

The scion to one of the wealthiest families in Asia, Nicholas Young, has invited his Chinese American girlfriend to his best friend's wedding in Singapore. The girlfriend has no idea about Nick's social status and is blissfully unaware of all the machinations in place to get rid of her, courtesy Nick's lovely family. 

If there was a reading slump one wanted to fight off, this book is a worthy contender. It is equal parts funny, witty and poignant. From scheming mothers to smart mouthed best friends, from snobby aunts to icy cool grandmothers, this book gives you a range of colorful characters and none of them seem too far fetched to be true. As a fellow Asian I get them. It's just the way we are. Not all rich but definitely in to each other's businesses. 

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