Archbishop Oswald Gracias (63) of the Archdiocese of Bombay has been appointed as Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday.

A Mumbai native, Archbishop Oswald Gracias will officially become Cardinal on 24 November 2007 at a Pontifical Ceremony by Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican.

Archbishop Gracias is the fourth Cardinal of Bombay and tenth Cardinal of India.

Shekhar Kapur’s new movie Elizabeth - The Golden Age is a worthy sequel to his Elizabeth released nine years ago.

Academy award winner Cate Blanchett is once again Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen in all her resplendent glory.

Perhaps England’s greatest Queen, Elizabeth I ruled for 45 years in a time of much religious conflict in Europe.

Beset by hostile forces from within and without, Elizabeth I was a sovereign much beloved by her five million subjects. And the Queen amply reciprocated her people’s affections.

As Elizabeth declared in her last address to the House of Commons in the so called Golden Speech:

And though you have had and may have many mightier and wiser princes sitting in this seat, yet you never had, nor shall have, any love you better.

Cate Blanchett does a fine job in her portrayal of this extraordinary Queen in her many moods - at war, agonizing over the death sentence on her plotting sister, playful with her suitors, stern with her court and dependent on her advisers William Cecil and Francis Walsingham.

Clive Owens delights us as Walter Raleigh, the pirate who enthralls Elizabeth with his tales of distant voyages.

There’s much to like in Elizabeth - The Golden Age.

Besides the joy of watching fine performers like Cate Blanchett, Clive Owens and Geoffrey Rush, there’s also nice photography, marvellous period costumes, fine set design, the epic grandeur of the story and above all, watching one of history’s great figures come to life on the big screen.

The Queen’s jousts with the old foggies in her court, the religious wars, immense pressure on her to marry, the war against Spain, the trysts with Walter Raleigh, Elizabeth - The Golden Age has all that and more.

In two hours, Elizabeth - The Golden Age covers a lot of ground indeed.

However, one of the glaring shortcomings of Elizabeth - The Golden Age is Continue Reading…