Raves & Reviews By Chioma - Being Mrs Elliot (Nollywood Movie)

By Chioma Obiekwe

I saw the movie and recorded this review when the Omoni Oboli film 'Being Mrs Elliot' just dropped. I heard some positive reviews from Tosyn Bucknor and some other media people so I decided to see it.... this is what I think about the movie.

If you've seen it... let me know what you think

A Review of An African City Web Series

by Adelarin Awotedu

I was bored last week trying to prepare a business plan for a feature film I am working on so I decided to find what the latest online buzz is. Been wondering for a couple of weeks what 'an African city' is all about. I give it to their public relations team, an African city is on every influential blog online.

Introduction to New Nollywood - 15 Nigerian Movies You Should Watch + Bonus 10

Many people say they don't watch Nollywood, I've always been a fan and have somehow learnt how to stay away from some I feel I won't like (I know I may have missed some good movies that way, but...). With the advent of online reviewers like Nollywood reinvented, and others, it's got better, and then there are directors and producers you just know will be good.

Misfit - The Movie You Need To See

I went to the private screening of the MISFIT movie yesterday at Filmhouse Cinemas in Surulere, (see my pic below) The movie is based on the true story of a runs girl who was kidnapped by a mysterious group but decides to take charge of her fate by planning her escape.

Movie Review - Gravity With Sandra Bullock and George Clooney

I’m one of those who wonders what I’m doing 33,000 feet up in the air when I’m flying. But I love travelling, and I keep flying to get around. I’ve also always wanted to go to space. Since the space tourist program started, I’ve added it to my bucket list. But while watching Gravity with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, I had a rethink.

The Meeting - Behind the Scenes and Interview With Midred Okwo, Rita Dominic and other Actors

Rita Dominic's The Meeting remains one of the best Nollywood movies I've seen and a great romantic comedy for any audience. The producers are preparing to release the DVD version of the movie in the coming months and this promo of behind the scene snippets and interviews with some of the people involved in making the movie is a must watch.

Movie Review - Elysium

No one knew who South African film director Neill Blomkamp was until District 9, a sci-fi action thriller, was released years ago to critical acclaim. And although Nigerians felt wounded by the gross misrepresentation of its people depicted in the film, not to mention the cheeky but brazen mockery of a certain Nigerian ruler, District 9 proved to be far from a mere popcorn flick, drawing fairly acceptable performances from its obscure cast and being nominated for four Academy Awards.  Now, fast forward to 2013, and Blomkamp brings yet another offering on the sci-fi alter, with as much special effects that characterized his previous work: a testament to his extraordinary skill as a visual filmmaker.

Reviews and Lessons From The Lekki Wives Web Series

By Tobe Osigwe. 

It was the twentieth century German-American writer, Edith Hamilton that opines; the way a nation goes reflects in their art and drama. What she meant by this is, the foibles, follies, thinking and behavioural pattern of a particular nation at a particular time or cultural movement is wholly reflected in their art or drama. Inadvertently what this means is, if you want to know how the South-Africans, Ghanaians, Americans or Nigerians behave look at their art. Art in this context cuts across Music, Films, Fashion, Poetry, Sculptural Works, etc.

Nollywood Movie Review - The Meeting

We've seen several movies since our last review, but somehow I've not been moved to do a review until watching Rita Dominic's The Meeting. I am a writer and for me, a good movie starts from the story. The Meeting has the best story and script/screenplay I've seen in Nollywood for a long time, and is certainly the best romantic comedy. Ever. Yes, even compared to Keeping Faith and Letters to a Stranger for older Nollywood lovers like me.

Date Night Movie Review - 42

42 is about how Jackie Robinson gets to play for the New York Dodgers, thus becoming the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball in sixty years. But as they say, it's often more about the "how" than the "what", and so it proved to be in this case. The film showed the opposition faced by Robinson by baseball players, coaches and fans as he moved from playing from the minor to major leagues.

Movie Review - Oblivion

Oblivion, the movie, is set in the future, after a war in which Earth has been destroyed after a war with alien 'scavengers'. Cruise plays Jack Harper, a repair technician who is on a tour of duty on what is left of Earth; the rest of humanity has left for Titan a moon of Saturn. He and his partner Victoria (played by Andrea Riseborough) ensure that large hydrorigs that draw energy from the sea are in working order; they are aided in this duty by drones, which protect the hydrorigs from attacks by the scavengers, who supposedly still operate on Earth.

Atala's Review - I wasn't really sure about this movie when I saw the trailers. I know that for some people, Tom Cruise is a reason to go to watch a movie, but I worry that this means the movie will be long on mindless action and short on substantial plot. In this case I was wrong, and I was so pleased to be wrong.

The film starts slowly enough; we are treated to haunting, desolate landscapes of a wasted Earth as we watch Harper go about his day-to-day business of dealing with hydrorig failures. It becomes more interesting when he starts having dreams of another time on Earth - dreams in which there is a recurring image of an unknown woman. These make him wonder about what happened in the war with the scavengers, especially because his memory is supposed to have been wiped for security reasons. However, Victoria (who apparently is more than just a work partner) doesn't share his curiosity; she just wants to be done with the tour of duty so that they can both return to Titan for a well deserved rest.

Movie Review - Last Flight to Abuja

Last Flight to Abuja came out last year. It was trailed as a cinematic Nollywood movie - meaning that its production values were supposed to be much higher than your run-of-the-mill Nollywood movie; so much better that it was suitable for showing in cinemas. The assumption is that this also means that it is better and much more watchable than your average Nollywood movie. [Watch Last Flight to Abuja online]

Atala's Review - As it turned out, some aspects of Last Flight to Abuja were much better than what you would normally find in a Nollywood movie. The sound, music score and cinematography were much better - quite good, in fact. But unfortunately, it takes much more than this to make a good movie, and in other areas, the movie was sadly lacking.

One big deficiency for me was the acting. I usually have quite a low bar in this regard, but the vocal delivery of many of the actors was too wooden stilted for me to ignore. Then the graphics that were used in the film made it quite obvious that the flight scenes they were supposed to depict were not real. I wouldn't have minded if it had just been one or two scenes, but again, these were used so pervasively, especially towards the end of the movie - that I found it as hard to ignore as the high-pitched whine of a mosquito.

The plot, always a key consideration for me, had its good sides. I liked the idea melding of the various storylines of the passengers on the eponymous flight. I also felt that the non-linear narrative worked quite well, although it took a bit of getting used to. And the final scenes on the flight were satisfyingly dramatic.

Movie Review - Place Beyond the Pines

The Place Beyond the Pines is a mid-range indie movie in the sense that it had some good actors though limited cinema release. The movie was essentially three movies in one; the first part was about Luke (played by Ryan Gosling), a stunt performer at a travelling circus who finds that he has fathered a son. This discovery radically alters his life's trajectory, turning him from vagrant to criminal, and it ultimately sets him up for a dramatic encounter with Avery, a young police officer who tries to capture him when he tries to evade arrest after a robbery gone horribly wrong.

The second part of the movie centers around Avery, and how he deals with the fallout of the encounter with Luke, while the last part fast-forwards to fifteen years after the second part, and the focus this time is on the children of Luke and Avery, who start up an unbalanced friendship, not knowing anything about the history between their fathers.

Atala's Review - I had heard quite a few good things about this movie before it came out, so I was quite looking forward to watching. However, I wasn't sure whether it would be shown in the cinemas in our area, because it was billed as kind of 'indie', and we don't usually get those shown. But the Movie God must have been smiling on me, because it just so happened that it was showing at our local cinema.

I found the first part of the movie the most touching and engaging. Sure, Luke goes off the rails and embarks on a life of crime (not that there was far to go, since he already lived life on the margins). But at his heart, he is driven to do this by a desire to become more of a father to the son he didn't know he had; it's as though seeing his son has made him realise how important it is to be a father.

Date Night Movie Review - Tyler Perry's Temptation

Tyler Perry's Temptation follows the life of a newly married couple, Judith and Brice. Judith works at a matchmaking firm; Brice is a pharmacist. Things are just about OK with them, but one day Judith has to work with Harley, a very rich entrepreneur. Harley makes it clear that he is very interested in her, and she begins to wonder whether she's really getting all she wants from her relationship with Brice.

Myne's Review - I know this review is coming so late, but it's been very busy around these parts. I gave a quasi review in this post earlier about a particular sex scene in the movie. I wasn't a big fan of the movie, I have to confess, and preferred Good Deeds over it. But Temptation had its good sides. Kim Kardashian played a version of herself named Ava, and she was actually pretty good.

Vanessa Williams lit the room whenever she appeared on screen, and she had a funny French accent though she lost it quickly enough when circumstances called for it. The other actors were just OK, but they were all very good looking people, Lance Gross almost set the screen on fire in one of his bathroom scenes, black is beautiful o :)

Atala's review - When I saw the trailer for "Tyler Perry's Temptation", I was quite eager to watch the movie, because the theme of personal conflict appealed very much to me. Also, I quite liked Tyler Perry's "Good Deeds", so I thought I would enjoy this too.

Date Night Movie Review - Side Effects

Before it came out, I did a preview of the Side Effects movie, saying how "it would be interesting for me to see what story has been crafted around drug side effects and how Steven Soderbergh has directed it" and equally looking forward to seeing the performances by the actors. I am happy to report that it met up to expectations. Enjoy our interactive review...

Atala: At first, I thought it was going to be all documentarious, like Soderbergh's previous film - 'Contagion'. So I was thinking I was going to find out what the deal was with those long lists of things that could go wrong in those pharmaceutical ads aired in the US. And at first, it looked like I was right - Drugs were doing some strange things to Emily - one of the protagonists in the movie - indeed.

Myne: Same thing here. But about halfway, it took a turn towards being a different kind of movie, a whodunit.

Atala: True

Myne: At first I wasn't pleased, but that had a draw of its own. I'm also a fan of mysteries, so it still worked for me.

Atala: I will say that I'm not that much of a fan of whodunits either, because second watching isn't the same. But I really did enjoy this later suspenseful phase of the film - it was very twisty and turny. I think I still like the first part better, though. It was very sad and poignant in parts.

Date Night Movie Review - Beautiful Creatures

The beginning of the year is not the best time for movies at the cinema, most of Hollywood at that period seem to be in holding positions, touring the award season circuit, waiting for the Oscars, or bringing their end-of-year blockbusters to DVD. I think you know where this is going? Atala will take it away...

Atala: So, I liked the idea - or at least, I liked what I thought was the idea. A loner comes to ultra-religious town to stay with her creepy uncle, and all kinds of talk of satanic powers start flying around. It certainly sounded like we had a 'Salem' situation on our hands.

Myne: Lol..

Atala: On to other things, I liked the way the film showed the budding friendship between Ethan - a teen whose mother is dead - and Lena - the aforementioned loner. I felt it was a genuine connection, because Ethan himself was portrayed as something of an oddball.

Myne: I agree - but I felt that some of the scenes were a bit of a stretch. It almost seemed as if he was deliberately putting himself in harm's way. I mean, who goes to a satanist's house, has a spell cast on them and then goes back the next day?

Date Night Movie Review - Warm Bodies

It's been a while since our last review, and it's not because we've not seen some movies recently. We have. The thing was, I decided on a new format for the reviews, something more interactive and which required us to sit down and chat on IM. Well, we finally coordinated our chat, and the review is now ready.

Atala: 'Warm Bodies'.

Myne: I liked the premise... young zombie falls in love and becomes human.

Atala: I agree - I was suckered by the five minute trailer that I saw. It promised a lot of quirky humour.

Myne: Indeed...

Atala: But it looks like I really need to pay attention to my rule - DON'T GET SUCKERED BY TRAILERS!

Myne: Lol... and at the begining it was fresh and engaging. I wanted to know R - the protagonist of the movie - some more. What was it about this new kind of zombie? And who does he fall in love with?

Myne: What did you think of the Julie - his love interest?

Atala: Hm... I didn't feel that her backstory (and the backstory of a lot of the cast) was well fleshed out.

Flower Girl - A Review by Joy Isi Bewaji

Rushing to the cinema to catch Flight or Life of Pi or Silver-lining Notebook, Flower Girl happened to me. I had caught a glimpse of the activities of the movie on blogs and websites, but with the on-going burst of colour in the entertainment/fashion industry with many a red-carpet gigs, many new artistes/new singles this-and-that, it all becomes a blur in my head. So yes, I was standing at the cinema counter and I was told that Flower Girl was the only movie showing at the time. I was bored, the sun was hot, whatever it turned out to be, I was sure it’ll be better than driving in bad traffic under the sun.

Love is a desperate thing- at least that’s what I get from Michelle Bello’s Flower Girl. A sunburst Damilola Adegbite is in love with her boyfriend, Chris Attoh- a rather frosty guy with no bone of excitement in him. She on the other hand, is a ball of enthusiasm waiting to explode! A florist who spends all her time day-dreaming of her wedding day, with the help of an eccentric friend, they both wallow in the thought of when and how she (Damilola) will finally be proposed to.

The question burns her tongue, so she asks her boyfriend. Frankly, he’d rather be mowing the grass at CMS than be bothered about settling down, but he is not the kind of guy to burst a lady’s dream with harsh truths, so he explains to her that money is a key factor. Then rumours of a promotion hit her eardrums later on. Aha! Promotion suggests more money, and more money means she can finally get her boyfriend to propose! The florist cannot wait! After all these years supplying beautiful fresh flowers for weddings, hers is about to come true.

40 Romantic Movies For Your Valentine

Valentine’s day is practically just days away and love in the air any way we turn. We have been discussing things to do this Valentine, and one way that we both enjoy is to watch movies. While there's one we want to catch at the cinema the weekend after, we can also relax at home that evening with some oldies but goodies.

When I started thinking about romantic movies, I realised how many I'd need to go through to decide. My head seems filled with movie titles, and it's possible I've seen over a thousand! From romantic comedies to tear jerkers, Nollywood to Bollywood, Animations to Drama, Classic to Modern, I've seen them all. Okay Most of them.

Below are some I can remember right off the cuff, starting with the first two romantic movies I probably ever saw.

The Sound of Music

The King & I

Date Night Movie Review - Ije (The Journey)

When it comes to deciding which Nollywood movies to watch, I can find no more excellent recommender than Myne. If she says "I'm going to look for any Nollywood movie to watch", then that's my cue to stay as far away as I can from the movie. On the other hand, if she says "There's this specific movie which I heard about that I want to watch", then I ask her to shift and make room for me beside her, because I know that it's going to be a good movie. Unfortunately for a wannabe fan like me, there are too few of the latter kind of movie.

So I was very happy when I heard that Ije, a movie that Myne had expressed a very definite interest in the past, was now available to watch. I promptly sat myself down next to her and we started watching.

The movie is about Anyanwu Opara (played by Omotola Jalade Ekeinde) who is being tried in the US for the murder of her white husband, and her sister Chioma (played by Genevieve Nnaji) who flies to the States to assist in her defence. Chioma meets a lawyer, Jalen, who agrees to defend Anyanwu, and a friendship grows between them while Jalen tries to put together a defence for Anyanwu.