Deepest of Dreams

Deepest of Dreams

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Deepest of Dreams
Story, Screenplay, Director – Tchidi Chikere
Producer – Azuka Odunukwe

Starring:
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde – Catherine
Tonto Dikeh – Debbie
Majid Michel – Omar
Geraldine Ekeocha – Mama
Prince Eke – Doctor Orkah
Zubby Micheals – Theo
Azuka Ijomoh – Isziah
Mirabella Micheals – Edna
Yoma Bini – Anu
Frank Greene – Bini
Jennifer Afuanya – Receptionist

Themes Explored:
Concepts of beauty
Superficiality
Jealousy
Physical disfigurement

My Rating – 81%

Catherine and Debbie are sisters. Debbie is known as the beautiful sister and Catherine the ugly one because of a car accident that left her face scarred and lame in one foot. Catherine is derided by her sister and even perfect strangers based solely on her looks whereas Debbie’s looks are almost celebrated. Things start looking up for Catherine when Omar comes into her life. He stops one day to buy a recharge card from her and actually appears to looks past her physical appearance. They become close and when everything is going great Catherine discovers something that is to shatter her world.

*************SPOILERS*************

At first this movie reminded me of The Sadist with Clarion Chukwurah (excellent movie by the way. If you haven’t seen it then you should!) but the differences become apparent quite quickly as in the Sadist Clarions character’s disfigurement make her bitter and full of anger and hatred, whereas Catherine always remains sweet natured and caring.
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Omotola does a great job portraying Catherine. In one scene Catherine comes across a man that doesn’t flinch when he looks at her and treats her like anybody else and it is beautiful to watch. He even calls her “my dear” which sends her into a jubilant frenzy. She is amazed that for once she is actually being treated as a human being and excited over a situation that so many of us would take for granted. We see her elation in the way that afterwards she takes the notes that he used to pay for the recharge cards and rubs them all over her face, as though trying to remain linked with him in his absence.

When she lies in her bed smiling at night and playing the scene over and over again Debbie cannot understand why she is so happy. Catherine has to explains to her,

“You are used to people calling you my dear. I am not so this means a lot to me.”

Omotola does shy and bashful really well, as well Tonto does arrogant and bratty. As for Majid, what can I say he was true to form, seductive and cool. Omotola gives a powerful performance, especially in the scene where she confronts Omar about her confusion over his intentions. The torture is written all over her when she asks him, “What do you want from me? Why do you make me feel beautiful when I am ugly?” It is a very emotional and touching scene.

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Jealousy

When Debbie sees that Omar likes Catherine instead of her she goes to tell concoct a story to her about how he is probably using her for Juju. She knows that it is likely that Catherine will believe her because of her low self esteem. She cannot simply be happy for her sister and the little bit of joy she is receiving from the attention. It is really selfish of her as that is the minimum sort of attention she is sued to on a daily basis and still she plots to kill her joy.
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Family relationships

You could tell that Mama loved and cared for Catherine but a lot of the time I think that she was not fully aware of the damage that her words could cause. She would tell Catherine that she is beautiful but then at the same time put her down. On one occasion Debbie reports to Mama that Catherine was smiling whilst working on the recharge card stand. When Catherine arrives home she confronts her,

“Are you a mad girl? One who smiles at nothing?

I was thinking to myself, why shouldn’t she smile? People recoil at the sight of her every day. People would rather wait in a queue and get served by her sister rather than be served straight away by her, relatives actually come and more or less ignore her and celebrate her sister. Why shouldn’t she smile? What a nonsense question? Mama did not ask it like a simple query but rather took what should have been something beautiful and made it ugly by insulting Catherine.

There is also another scene where Mama goes to tell Catherine that Omar is looking for her, when Catherine asks why she retorts,

“I don’t know. Maybe he is looking for a house girl.”

Catherine has to tell her mother, “What if he just likes me or is fond of me. I am a good person?”

Catherine did well to remain sane, I mean, and what hope would you have if your own family are so focused on looks?

It is inconceivable to both Debbie and Mama that a man would want to talk to Catherine unless it is to berate her or turn her into a maid. It is a learning curve and eventually Mama does seem to realise that her daughter can still be a beautiful person be wanted by a man. Debbie on the other hand will not accept that fact and for her everything is superficial and based in physical appearance.
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People can be so ignorant, as if they can “catch” a lame foot or facial disfigurement. What harm would it do to simply treat the girl as if she is a human being; after all she is a human being.

I didn’t like the fact that Omar only went for Cathy because she was the opposite of beautiful and the whole rebound storyline. When he betrayed her my heart sunk. In his loving her it was proved that it is what is inside that counts and in him rejecting her that theory was disproved.

With regards to the reconstructive surgery I found it a bit fake that her face was so flawless afterwards. If you have just had those big growths cut off you face there will at least be some scarring. There was not even the slightest hint that she had had extensive reconstructive work carried out on her face, which I found too fairytale like. A bit more realism was needed in that department!
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It was nice that Catherine found love in the end with the doctor, so in a way it showed that you can find someone to love you for who you are. However I couldn’t help but feel that by having her have the reconstructive surgery it was sending out the message that perhaps looks are more important than character, personality and virtue. Why can’t there ever be a movie where someone can be loved blind, or lame, or burnt and there not be a miracle cure and they still be loved anyway, after all that is what happens in real life.
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I liked this movie a lot it will make you question the way you treat others as well as the concept of beauty. Is beauty skin deep? Does the surface matter? What the importance of physical attraction in finding a life partner? Omotola, Majid and Tonto did an excellent job in portraying their characters. Despite my disappointment in the turn the story took it is thought provoking and well worth watching. Thumbs up! Nollywood Production, Nigerian Movie, African Movie, Ghanaian Actor, Nigerian Cinema, Nigerian Actresses

White Waters

White Waters

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

White Waters ~2008
Story/ Screenplay – Felix Odion
Director – Izu Ojukwu

Starring:
Rita Dominic – Norlah
OC Ukeje – Melvin
Joke Silva – Grandma
Hoom Suk – Banji
Tony Ofili Akpon – Coach Samson
Olajumoke Olatubosun – Dr Maria
Adamu Labaran – Coach Menor
Blessing Emmanuel – Bridget
B.S Abok – Ahmed
Fidelis Abdulrahman – Little Melvin
Jonah Gwamna – Musa

Themes:
Nurturing
Abandonment
Self Belief
Patience
Unconditional Love
Lonliness

My Rating – 95%

Academically Melvin is behind at school. He is 11 years old and his brother who is 4 years his junior is surpassing him. His stepfather Emeka does not wasn’t to deal with him and so implores his mother to send him away. To save her marriage to Emeka and rid her of the unpleasant memories of Melvin’s father Desmond she sends Melvin to go and live with his grandmother.

Melvin and his grandmother grow to be very close. Theu live alone and take together and care of each other. Grandma showers Melvin with care, attention and unconditional love and vice versa. It is a relationship different to the one he experienced with is mother where the love appeared to be conditional upon him excelling in school and in turn being accepted by her husband.

Melvin’s grandma suffers with chronic asthma and her frequent attacks mean that he is forever racing up and down to collect her medicines. It is during this time that his formidable running speed is spotted and he is asked to join the state track team. For the first time in his life Melvin is valued and he gains the attention of Norlah a beauty on the track team.

************SPOILERS*************

Unconditional Love
Melvin’s mother’s love for him appears to be conditional. She tells grandma, “Should I give up my marriage because of him?” Hell YEH you should. He is your child. YOU bore him. Grandma makes a good point when she tells her daughter that parents have children that are,

“Deaf, blind dumb and autistic and they do not abandon them. They show them love.”

Round of applause for grandma. She spoke well.

Patience
In this movie we see the importance of patience, nurturing and supporting a child. As the saying goes, “not all fingers are created equal.” Melvin was an indiviaual, because he was not as gifted academically as his brother, does that make him a less worthy candidate to love? We see that he is talented but in a different way, athletically. He is so talented as a sprinter that is is he that is sought out to represent the state. When his grandma was patient with him he became more comfortable within himself and was able to excel.

Loneliness
The goldfish dying was symbolic of the evaporation of the presence of loneliness in Melvin’s life. The death happens around the time of Melvin’s deepening friendship with Norlah and on the same day that they share their first kiss against the backdrop of the beautiful and formidable waterfalls. I didn’t like the fact that when Norlah shares her first kiss with Banji as the sun sets the backdrop was just as magical. I felt that it dhould have been less so so as to cheapen their relationship.

We see how Melvin’s relationship with Norlah gives him motivation and a greater selnse of self esteem and confidence. As their relationship grows he is visibly happier and stops making all the mistakes he previously made. From this we can see that patience, love and understanding can make all the difference in a person’s character. His mother didn’t take the time out to put in these things to nurture him into the man that he does become.
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OC Ukeje
I thought OC Ukeje played the role of Melvin excellently. He completely immersed himself in the character. I loved his show of vulnerability. It felt so real. As a viewer I was totally feeling for Melvin. It was heartbreaking to see him not only rejected by his mother and step father, but then to be bullied by the boys on the track team. I badly wanted him to get with Norlah to ease his loneliness and make up for all that he had been through. So you can imagine my horror when they got closer and then are wrenched apart through Banji’s doing.

OC Ukeje nailed his role and Melvin the rejected loner with a big heart. Why have I not seen this guy in anything since? Casting directors should be killing themselves to cast him in their movies. Unbeliveable!
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Rita Dominic
We all know she is a great actress but I thought she was miscast for this role. She did not look one bit like a professional athlete to me. There was not enough muscle tone on her. They should have either trained her up or got someone else to play the role.

Another thing I noticed was the heavy make up all the time, granted it was very natural but it took away from the realism. How are you going to have been attacked the night before and then turn up to training the next day with mascara, foundation, lipstick and eyeshadow. Who goes to an intense training session where you know you will be sweating heavily, with a face full of make up? They tried to show that she has been attacked with the tiny plaster at the corner of her mouth. Na. It wasn’t enough.

The tension was electrifying when Rita notices the picture she took of Melvin on the night she was attacked on her dresser. Melvin is unaware that anything is wrong and Rita remainds silent, the shock and bewilderment all over her face. The music is very effective in this scene at heightening the drama of the situation withough being overbearing or taking away from Norlah’s silent stance.

Rita loves saying BLOODY I’ve noticed. I wonder if they wrote those lines in for her or she just adds the bloody’s herself!

I wondered why Norlah chose not to say anything about the picture of the dresser and continued to be just as friendly to Melvin without reservation. Was it because she simply dismisses from her mind that it could be him? Or could it be that she suspects that he could be involved in the attack but chooses to overlook it because she realises that he has issues and desperately wants to help him. Perhaps his withdrawn and slightly weird behaviour intrigues her as she wants to get close to him all the time even when he is seemingly paying her no mind.
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Cinematography
The cinematography was beautiful. You could see that every scene was carefully crafted. The way this movie is shot, even a decrepit village has an attractive quality to it. The waterfalls, sunsets, and sunrises were captured and serve to add to the magical quality of the movie. The movie was shot in the mountains surrounding the waterfall Farin Ruwa, in Nassarawa State of Nigeria. Some of the shots were absolutely breath taking. This movie will make you marvel at why you haven’t taken a trip there already, or like me never even heard of the place before.

Music
I thought the soundtrack was beautiful and simple. The music played at the appropriate times and was consistent throughout… perfect.
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My Favourite Scene
The scene where Melvin leaves his mother to go and live with his Grandma is very poignant. The camera pans in on Melvin’s face and his eyes are wide and tear filled, we hear the strumming of a guitar while Melvin and his grandmother walk in the rain under an umbrella that shields them both. I thought the rain was representative of his family and the suffering he endured and the umbrella representative of his grandmother who had come to act as protector. It is an emotional scene. Sad because a boy has being rejected by his mother but joyous because we know that he will be happier with his grandmother.
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QUESTIONS?

How did Melvin get that picture on his dresser?

Why would the team let him back on when it seemed that he was the attacker? That would not have been fair to Norlah, not to mention traumatic.

At the end Norlah had broken her leg but why is she managing to jump up and down like a Kangaroo when Melvin wins at the sports festival?
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I would 100 percent recommend this movie. It was a sports story which in itself is not the typical Nollywood story. We learn something battling adversity and coming out on top. We learn how important love is in a person’s life. The backdrop was breathtaking, it was magical, and it was beautiful. The acting was great, the story executed well. THUMBS UP

Silent Scandals

Silent Scandals

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Silent Scandals ~ 2009
Story/ Screenplay – Vivian Ejike
Director – Okey Benson
Producer – Vivian Ejike

Starring:
Genevieve Nnaji – Jessie
Uche Jombo – Mukky
Majid Michel – Naeto
Ebele Okaro – Helen Ubaka
Chelsea Eze – Ella
Tessy Oragwa – Tina
Peachman Akputa – Etim
Pope Stan U. Ndu – Jay Jay
Paul Frank – Richie
Isaac David – Alhaji Danladi
Oladimeji Alimi – Alhaji Aide
Ime Bishop Umoh – Akpan
Dami Solomon – Tonia

Themes:
Single Motherhood
Career
Love
Parenting

My Rating – 76%

Jessie despairs over her wayward daughter Ella. She steals, drinks, smokes and stays out all night with her boyfriend Naeto without any regard for her mother. She is uncontrollable. Her mother is at her wits end and devastated when one day she has to pick up her young daughter from a police holding cell after being caught shoplifting. This action is the deciding factor in her being sent by her mother to live in the UK to live with her father.

After Ella’s departure Naeto falls on hard times and desperate to provide for his family he takes a job as a driver on his neighbour’s recommendation. His new boss is a highly strung career orientated woman who has little time for fun. Slowly he begins to break through her steely exterior and the two become close. Little does he know that this woman who is his boss is also Ella’s mother.

*************SPOILERS*************

The Good
All in all a great group of actors and actresses were selected to play the characters. No drive by performers, except for Naeto’s best friend Richie played by Paul Frank. He was teetering the line between drive by and acceptable.

I loved Majid Michel playing the Naija boy role complete with the Pidgin English. His intensity is concentrated in his eyes and he uses it well so it is understandable that he always gets roles in which love and women and the seduction of them play a large role. It is a role that he plays to perfection.

Genevieve Nnaji kills it in the scene where Naeto declares his love to her. She is stripped bare and her vulnerability exposed. She tells Naeto,

“Has it ever occurred to you that I am human…that I feel too… I may hurt sometimes”

It was an excellent performance from Genny, from the expressiveness conveyed in her eyes, to the breaking of her voice mid speech. It is the first time her character Jessie shows raw emotion. This is coming from a woman who is usually a complete killjoy. Can you imagine a woman that reprimands staff for singing Happy Birthday to her?

I liked the build up of chemistry between Majid and Genny. Just like in Emerald the chemistry was intense and electrifying. It is not immediately apparent which makes it all the more beautiful as it comes across deep and intense as we watch their bond strengthen over time. We see a real connection between the two as Naeto melts away Jessie’s steely exterior.

Naeto and Ella also had great chemistry. We see the laughter and playfulness between the two. In fact their characters actually appear to get along better than Majid and Genny’s which is often fraught with tension and hesitance. Although they both long for each other neither one knows where they stand with the other.

I thought Chelsea Eze was cast well as Ella. She was also a good actress. She looked like a teenager/young adult, and at the same time tall, slim and pretty with great bone structure so it was very believable that she was a model.

This is the first Naija movie I have seen where a chick was wearing a bikini and not a bikini over a swimming costume and some cycling shorts! Kudos on that front because it looks so fake to see someone in a swimming pool with a million layers of swimwear on, a la Juliet Ibrahim in Naked Weapon
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The build up of tension to the inevitable fall out when the love triangle is exposed is carefully engineered. By the time it got to the surprise party for Jessie that was actually being held at Naeto’s heart my heart was pounding fast, anxious and eager to see what the reactions all round would be.
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The Bad
The story was flawed for me because in order for it to work certain situations had to be engineered that did not really make sense. For instance the situation where Ella was sent to stay with her father in the UK but instead went to stay with her grandmother in Abuja was a little far fetched for me. The father would have been expecting her, so when she did not arrive would he not have been worried and contacted her mother. There is no indication that he is in on the plan so this was a glaring omission in my eyes. Wouldn’t Ella have called from the UK to say she had arrived? Wouldn’t a UK number come up on her mother’s phone?

Another of these situations was when Ella wants to stay with her grandma, “til I figure out what to do.” Yet she claimed to miss her mother so much and hadn’t seen her in a while. Wouldn’t she have wanted to rejoin her mother if this was the case? It would have made more sense to me if she said that she wanted to stay in Abuja until she finished school or because that was where the modelling jobs were. I mean what on earth was she supposed to be figuring out?

Ella when she comes back into Jessie’s life is supposed to be 20 and Jessie supposedly was pregnant when she was barely that age which would make her around 38-40 years old. I wasn’t buying it. I thought they would have fared better if Genevieve was supposed to have had Ella when she was 15/16.

I didn’t think Jessie driving to the slums where Naeto lived and ordering him to drive was very realistic. If the guy was at the point where he had had enough of her snotty attitude then her turning up and giving more of the same and his accepting it did not seem feasible to me. Or did the fact that she came to look for him give him hope that perhaps she felt something for him so he simply obeyed her command clinging onto that hope? D’ya think? Maybe?
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Sound was sometimes poor which made it difficult to comprehend what was going on all the time because the voices were too low at times. Even worse was when the voices were low and then music blasted over the top, because even if you put the volume up, the music on top only got louder too. This music over dialogue happened at a very crucial moment when Naeto was dumping Ella so it was highly disappointing not being able to clearly hear what was being said.
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Notable Scenes
I thought the scene where Ella was caught shoplifting was ridiculous. The woman in the store attempts to convince Ella that the size 10 will fit her, after Ella has emerged from the dressing room and has already stated that the dress is too big for her. The woman tells her, “Its ok, just try it on.” Huh? You saw her just come from the dressing room and she told you it is too big. Why are you saying Its OK? Noo! it is not OK.

A hilarious scene was at Jessie’s surprise birthday party when Naeto’s friends schmooze up to Jenny assuming that she is Ella’s friend. One of them throws her seductive looks while he kisses her hand. When she reveals that she is Ella’s mother her hand is dropped like a hot rock!
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The Confusion
I was confused about the relevance of the first fashion show clip we see. It was inserted randomly between scenes. It does not fit in and seems rather like overkill in the shameless plugging for Zizi Cardow. It would have made sense to save the fashion scenes to fit in for after Ella becomes a model and tie it into that storyline. This was done too but it should have been left solely for that.

During the scene where Muky tried to organise an abortion Jessie is reluctant saying,

“A D and C, at my age? It’s too risky.”

What has age got to do with an abortion? Is it riskier for a 39 year old to have an abortion as opposed to a 18 year old? I don’t think so. In fact according to research teens are up to twice as likely to experience dangerous cervical lacerations during abortion compared to older women, probably because they have smaller cervixes which are more difficult to dilate or grasp with instruments. Teens are also at higher risk for post-abortion infections such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and endometritis because their bodies are more susceptible to infection and they are less likely than older women to follow instructions for medical care. So that statement was not based in any fact at all.

At the end of the movie we get up on the screen 30 MONTHS LATER. I had to laugh. What was that in aid of? Why not say 2 years or 2 ½ years later? Who want to be watching a movie and then doing mental arithmetic at the same time? Additionally who understand the end of this movie because I did not get it. I understood that he chose to be with neither woman but at the same time what was all the business in the car about the bomb?
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I would recommend the movie. It had a quality that felt far superior to the regular Idumota stuff you get and it was enjoyable, despite the flaws highlighted. The magic you get on screen with a Genevieve and Majid pairing is alone enough reason to watch. THUMBS UP.

Through The Fire

Through The Fire

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Through The Fire ~ 2009
(Continuation called Entanglement)
Story – Uduak Isong Oguamanam
Screenplay – Uduak Isong Oguamanam, Emem ISong, Omoni Oboli
Director – Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen

Starring:
Uche Jombo – Tega
Mercy Johnson – Chidera
Yemi Blaq – Patrick
Omoni Oboli – Gertrude
Kalu Ikeagwu – Pastor
Francis Duru – Deacon Gabriel
Desmond Elliot – Aniete
Ngozi Ezeonu – Gertrude’s mum
Rukky Sanda – Bimbola
Whoba Ogo – Esosa
Lyon Tita – Cathy
Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen – Pastor Osagie

Themes :
Marriage
Spousal Rape
Societal Pressure
Family Pressure
Religion

My Rating – 73%

We see the relationships between three friends as well as their additional romantic relationships. Tega is in a marriage where being beaten and raped by her husband is a regular occurrence. He actually seems to derive pleasure from his horrific acts of violence and verbal abuse. Gertrude is about to wed a man that appears to be the perfect match on paper but that she is not actually in love with. Chidera is desperate to get married but chronically single, and has been so for 3 years. She seems only to be able to attract married men, which her friend Gertrude thinks is inevitable considering her skimpy dress.

**************SPOILERS*************

Family Pressure
Family play a big role in the pressure a woman feels to get married. We see Gertrude’s mum lay the pressure on thick for her to marry Patrick, even though she can sense that her daughter has doubts about the relationship. She tells her,

“Do you remember Mrs Fela’s daughter? She is 37 and not married. Will career produce the cry of a baby?”

Children and family is a big part of African culture hence it being the central theme in many Nollywood movies. I’d love to see a movie where a woman actually stood up and said she didn’t want to have children, and even better where she was married to a man that had no desire to be a father either. Now that would be interesting. No doubt they would have had to have lived abroad for the African audience to be able to relate.

Gertrude tells her mother that she and Patrick “are not ready” to marry and her mother is adamant that that, it is not in a man’s place to be ready, it’s a woman’s place.”
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Religion
Gertrude does not even want to kiss her fiancé Patrick. He says he just wants to hold her and the woman is screaming “blood of Jesus” It seemed to be she was using the whole not wanting to have sex before marriage thing as a crutch to not be close to him at all. Isn’t it funny how she hugged Aniete with ease when she went to go and look at his new place? Religion is used in the movie as well as a justification for staying in a bad marriage. Tega does not want to divorce because of her commitment to following the tenets of Christianity.

Tega is torn and she tells Chidera,

“I know the bible says we can divorce on grounds on sexual immorality. That is why I am confused.”

She is taking the bible to literally to the extent that she is not considering her own welfare and happiness because she cannot find something relating directly to domestic violence and marriage in the bible.

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Rape
Rape is rape Marriage or no marriage. No is no. A woman should always have the right to say no to sex, regardless of whether she has previously had consensual sex with the man or not. Forced intercourse within marriage or a relationship is still rape. In Entanglement the continuation of Through the Fire we see Gertrude going through feelings of immense guilt over her rape. We also see Tega stay with her husband because he is her husband and thereforew she does not see his actions as rape.
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Societal Pressure
Societal pressure is massive especially for a woman of a certain age to get married we see this especially when Chidera confronts Gabriel about promising to marry her. She seems upset that she has been used as a plaything. Honey what did you expect? HE is your friend’s husband? How did you think he would respect you let alone wish to marry you? It is also inconceivable to me that Chidera would even want Gabriel to marry her considering the fact that she KNOWS how he has battered her friend. Is this what pressure can do to a woman? Make her so desperate that she will go to any length so becomes a MRS even if it means betraying loyalties and living a life full of abuse?

We know that she knows the full extent of the abuse because she tells Tega at one point,

“Divorce the bagga! Divorce him before he kills you.”

She is advocating divorce yet quick to jump into bed with the same man.
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Love and Friendship
Was Gertrude wrong for spending so much time with Aniete? Can men and women be platonic friends? Would her behaviour have been appropriate for a married woman? It is clear that Patrick is the wrong guy for her regardless of his credentials. We can see how uncomfortable she is around him in comparison to her comfortableness around Aniete. It is clear to the viewer that Aniete and Gertrude would be the perfect match. In fact it is frustrating watching the two of them get along so well but not come to the realisation that they are made for each other! You can imagine my joy in Entanglement when Aniete declares his love for her. It was beautiful. It was breathtaking. I wanted to cheer… well until Gertrude turns him down. That then turned into wanting to slap her. Nevertheless the right result came about in the end.
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I would recommend this movie. Mercy was fire. She was razz she was flirtatious, she really shone. I thought the cast were well picked and the story flowed. Important issues were raised and explored. However in the continuation Entanglement I was disappointed that we didn’t see Tega, her husband and the pastor again. I also didn’t like the whole HIV storyline and the whole if you believe you can be delivered from HIV aspect. I found this to be quite irresponsible and disturbing. Yes faith can help you thorough moments of darkness, but leaving it to God to cure HIV and not taking any medicines or accepting that you have it? Naaa, not buying it! Despite its flaws it was enjoyable to watch. THUMBS UP!

Father’s Blood

Father’s Blood

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Father’s Blood ~ 2009
Story, Screenplay and Direction – Tchidi Chikere

Starring:
Mike Ezuruonye – Matthew
Mercy Johnson – Olivia
Patience Ozokwor – Salome
Ifeanyi Ikechukwu – Sarge
John Mgbere – Chief Orthega
Vivian Ezejiaku – Nurse
Ugo Uwagbama – Ishmael
Sunday Irogboli – Akpan
Jefrey Iloba – Briggs
Sochima Jonathan – Grace
Jonathan Ganagana – Thomas
Sule Rahmat – Mimi
Chukwuoma Ejikeme – Abigail
Nneji Uju – Ugo

Themes:
Forced Retirement
Family
Love
Alcoholism

My Rating 77%

Sarge’s bosses have told him that they want to retire him at the end of the month. He is not in support of this at all as he is still fit and desperate to work because he has a family to support including a 23 year old son in school. His pleas to keep his job fall on deaf ears and his bosses will not recant their decision. In a fit of desperation Sarge resorts to extreme measures to ensure that his family are provided for, and he is willing to lose his life in the process.

*************SPOILERS************

Sarge played by Ifeanyi Ikechukwu is a G. As he robs the Bureau de Change where he works as a security guard he points the gun at his boss, who is laying face down on the floor and roars at him,

“Chief, you want to retire me? Come and retire me now! You want to retire me again? I will retire you now!”

Ifeanyi is cast well as the man who is driven to an out of character act by desperation. The torment is written all over his face through his expression. He interpreted the role very well. Forced retirement is a real issue that people of retirement age have to deal with every day the world lover. They are made to feel useless and hopeless even if they are able bodied and fit to work as we can see in this movie. Having no job with a family to support knocks Sarge’s pride as a man.

On the other hand the role of the Chief was minor but majorly butchered. Chief Chief! What can I say – this guy’s acting is more that horrible. Maybe if I say it in French it will lessen the pain I felt when watching him. Il est très horrible!!! His name is John Mgbere and I surely hope not to see him again unless he is not talking. If he is somebody’s friend or relative… A beg was it necessary for him to have a speaking role?
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After Sarge commits the robbery he speeds off in the getaway car to some remote woodland area where he buries the suitcase. He then calls his wife and tells her where he has buried the money and what he intends for her to do with it,

“It is for Matthew… Tell him it is his father’s blood. He must use that money and become someone in life.”

He then directs her to present the money to him in 2 years time when he is 25. In this we see a father’s love for his son and desire to see him son succeed where he did not. He is even willing to give up his life to ensure that his son enjoys a better quality of life. He knows that his boss will come for his family if he simply runs away so he makes sure that he alerts them to where he is by shooting his rifle, so that they will kill him and in turn leave his family alone.
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Why are we shown Salome, Sarge’s wife taking money out of the gold case and hiding it under the bed? I thought she was doing that to then get rid of the suitcase but then fast-forward to two years later when she is presenting Matthew with the money and we see all the money neatly stacked back in the gold case. Why show her taking it out of the case? Why not have her hide the whole case underneath the bed? That made no sense to me.

Matthew is told to use the money wisely but what does the stupid boy go and do? He goes to buy a car to impress a girl that he was hawking goods on the roadside with, all because she says she will sleep with him if he has a car! He comes by where she sells her new goods with his new car and on top of that he is decked out in sunglasses and some brand spanking new attire. I thought this was a bit too much of a transformation in the one day. So because he buys a car he must go on a shopping trip too?

Matthew’s change in character I felt was too sudden. You have bought a car and some new clothes and all of a sudden you are talking with a posh-ish accent, it felt a little unbelievable to me. On the contrary when he decks out Olivia in her new clothes she looks different but still retains the local razzness that she had about her.
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Matthew squanders his money on fast living and after his car is wrecked he really has nothing at all to show for it. His mother finds out and is distraught that her husband has died for nothing. Olivia almost gets herself killed by Matthew after he sees her talking to a man in the hotel where she is staying, and finds himself in prison because of this. We see how his father’s ill gotten gains have only brought his misery, but should the sins of the father be revisited upon the son?

We see how the pressure of trying to live up to his parent’s expectations and the guilt on his head about not making the most of his father’s sacrifice leads Matthew to using alcohol and sometimes weed as a coping mechanism.

There is a scene in part 2 which is hilarious. Olivia is now born again and trying to get Matthew to straighten out his life and marry her but despite the more modest dress you can still see the thug in her. She rolls up to his house determined to change his life by force. When he tries to escape her she grabs him and wraps her legs around him to the point where her asks her, “Is it by force to marry?” to which she exclaims, “yes!”Another hilarious scene involving Mercy Johnson is when she sees him on the street with one of his girls. She beats her up in the middle of the street and then runs back to Matthews house ready to descend on him should he come back. She then sees him with his alcohol and chases him until she wrestles the containers from him!
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Alocholism and addiction is an important topics touched on in the movie. We see how the effects go beyond the person who is addicted. People close to an alcoholic are affected in that they have to deal with the erratic behaviour, the aggression, the stealing, and the shame involved. Matthew thinks only of alcohol. One one occasion he runs out of money and screams at his mother,

“Give me money ooo and let me go and drink beer before the cold ones go hot.”

It is comic but so tragic at the same time. The ending was unpredicatable. I thought it was going to be a fairy tale ending where Matthew becomes born again and he and Olivia live happily ever after. It was not an idealistic ending in that sense but it was very real. Very often where addiction is involved there actually is no happy ending and lives are wrecked or lost in the process. It is a sad situation where a mother sees the only way for her son to be free is in taking his life, and Salome expresses that out loud,

“It is good for you to be dead… I have watched you drowning in your own vomit… I have set you free.”
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I liked this movie. I would recommend it. The main characters played their roles well and complimented each other. The use of the slow motion and sound effects to go along with it at the end of the movie were very nicely done and added to the dramatics of the whole scene. My only criticisms would be the sudden change in Mike’s accent. Sound also needed some improvement. Many times when the scene would change there would be a block in sound which was very noticeable and it happened more than one. THUMBS UP!

NB: At the end of Part 1 there is an epilogue despite the part 2 Tchidi why? I want to know. Is this in case people only buy part 1 or what? Someone please tell me! I believe this movie is 2009 but then in one scene they have Mike singing Sisquo’s unleash the dragon so who really knows if this is repackaged or not?

Nollywood Production Watch Nigerian African Movies Movie Reviews Review Lagos Idumota

Sincerity

Sincerity

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Sincerity ~ 2009
Story – Stanley Ebonine
Screenplay – Ruth Kadiri
Director – Ifeanyi Ogbonna

Starring:
Oge Okoye – Joanne
Yemi Blaq – Chris
Amaechi Muonagor – Chief Ezekwe
Ruth Kadiri – Adanna
Chioma Toplis – Juliet
Angela Okorie – Becky
Collin Richards – David
Nneka Okonkwo – Precious
Nwosu Diligence – Nnachi
Chigozie Atuanya – Rowland

Themes:
Family Relationships
Dehumanisation of house help
Abortion
“Saving Face”

My Rating – 76%

Adanna is the cherished only daughter of Chief Ezekwe. Being the only girl in the midst of three boys that are studying in the US she is the apple of her father’s eye and he will do anything for her. This all changes when she falls pregnant two months before she is supposed to go to the US herself to study at the prestigious Harvard university.

Adanna goes to have an abortion at a hospital that her father built and is refused. The news gets back to her parents and all hell breaks loose in her house. They order her to take them to the house of the one who is responsible for the pregnancy and she takes them to a guy called Chris’ house.

Chris immediately denies even knowing Adanna in front of her parents as he has just recently proposed to his girlfriend Joanne and this will obviously complicate matters. Her father is very angry and leaves her there in Chris’ compound after disowning her. She has no choice but to stay there and endure the hell that she is about to be put through by Chris and his girlfriend too when she is let in on his indiscretion.

*************SPOILERS*************

I don’t know how Adanna didn’t figure out that her father would know she was pregnant when she was refused the abortion. She must have suspected something was up but we never see any evidence of this. When her father comes into the house angry and screaming her name she is bounding towards him joyfully like she can’t see the man is full of rage. She is portrayed as naïve but this is beyond naivety and into the realm of stupidity.

There is a huge focus in the movie on how the pregnancy affects the parents and their good name as opposed to how the pregnancy will affect Adanna, after all she is the one that has to deal with the pregnancy and the resulting baby. This is very common in Nollywood and perhaps reflective on Nigerian society in general whereas one family member’s action reflects on the whole family. On finding out Adanna is pregnant her mother exclaims, “You have killed me!” Her father wails, “You have brought me shame!”

In the scene where Adanna sees her mother on the roadside you would think she would take that time to confide in her, after all her mother tells her that she has long forgiven her. Instead she makes it out like she and Chris are a couple and that she is only looking rough because he lost his job. Was she trying to save face to show her family she can a amount to being more than a “slut” as her father called her or was she trying to protect her mother from her father’s wrath?
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After Chris confesses his infidelity to Joanne they agree they agree that he will take her in as a house girl. Joaanne tells Adanna that she is welcome to stay as long as she likes providing that she undergoes a D& C. Why would Adanna agree to performing such when Joanne behaves in such a vile way towards her? However despite the abuse she does stay because she has nowhere else to go having been disowned.

Joanne plots on how to teach Adanna a lesson, rather than focusing on the guy that cheated on HER, This is common in Nollywood and among all women in general. It is preposterous to think that a person who did not know that you even existed and has no loyalty to you deserves punishment over a man that made promises to be faithful to you and broke that commitment. Nevertheless Joanne is soft on her man and hard on Adanna. Talking about Adanna to her friends she says,

“She cannot come to reap where she did not sow. I will show her.”

In another scene Chris goes beserk when he catches Adanna hugging a young man at his front gate. What kind of rubbish is that? It seemed like he and Joanne wanted to get rid of her so you would have thought that that would have been their perfect opportunity but instead they flog her. What is their business? I would have expected Joanne to get upset with his minding so much about another chick getting caught with a guy, but she seemed oblivious to the implications and joined in on the flogging. She should have delighted in such an incident taking place and encouraged Ada since she seemed so scared of Chris being snatched from her.
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We see how one act namely the act of Chris and Adanna having sexual intercourse can change one’s life forever. Chris exclaims, “I planned my whole life now it has been blown apart.” There is a serious message on display here which to have safe sex with casual partners as well as the warning that one must think about the consequences of ones actions before undertaking the action.

The result of that singular action is that Ada has been disowned. She is pregnant with no support from her family and being abused by the man that got her pregnant and his girlfriend. Chris has to support two women and is at risk of jeopardising the relationship with his fiancée, and also his son in the future if he continues to maltreat Adanna. Joanne has to deal with another woman and child in what would have been her marital home. The effects are devastating and wide reaching.
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I am loving Ruth Kadiri. The only other time I saw her was in Wild and Dirty which incidentally she also did the screenplay for as well as starring in. She played the inoocent, naive girl very well which was greatly helped because she does have an innocent look about her.

Amaechi Muonagor was on point. He was excellent as the strict father. My favourite scene of his was when he dumps Adanna in Chris’ compound. The dialogue, his expressions… The whole scene was very realistic.

The character development in the case of Chris was done very well. His character was complex in that is he is not an all bad person but a person that does bad things due to circumstance, and trying to keep Joanne happy. We see him gradually begin to ponder upon his actions and revaluate his behaviour.
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One major boo boo for me was a scene in part 2 when Chris is mulling over and regretting his actions towards Adanna and they have someone else doing the voice over…. Ohhh noooooo! BOOO BOO! The voice is not even similar. The accent is thick and the guy stumbles over half his words. Why couldn’t they just get Yemi to do the voiceover? Chimoooo!

Another weird thing that happened was when Oge is arguing with Chris and calls out BASTARD. The word was bleeped out Jerry Springer style. I’ve never seen that happen before and I’ve heard the word bastard in other movies. Are the censors getting strict or what?

There was a good use of music to set mood and build dramatic tension without being overbearing. We see this effective use of music to build tension in the scene where Chris finds the heavily pregnant Ada passed out after being poisoned by Joanne.
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I would recommend this movie. It was highly enjoyable and after all the trash I have been watching it was like a breath of fresh air. The picture and sound were good and even though the story wasn’t original it was executed well. I thought the cast did a great job and there were no weak links. By the end of part 2 the movie does not end and no sign of Chigozie Atuanya either so no doubt there will be a continuation. Not really a big fan of dragging out movies into so many parts, but I’ll definitely be looking out for it as this was one of the better movies of this year for me. THUMBS UP! Nollywood Production Watch Nigerian African Movies Movie Reviews Review Lagos Idumota

UPDATE

I finally got to watch parts 3 & 4. I really liked this movie and they really ended it off nicely, no open questions. Ruth Kadiri was excellent as Adanna she is definitely one to watch out for. One thing that did bug me though was when Adanna throws her boyfriend out of the house, where was that? It didn’t look like the same living room in Chris’ house and that was where she was living.

Guilty Pleasures

Guilty Pleasures

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Guilty Pleasures ~ 2009
Prooduced by Emem Isong & Desmond Elliot
Story – Emem Isong
Screenplay – Uyai Ikpi Etim
Directors – Daniel Ademinokan, Desmond Elliot

Starring:
Ramsey Noah – Tessa
Mercy Johnson – Boma
Majid Michel – Bobby
Nse Ikpi Etim – Liz
Omoni Oboli – Nse
Desmond Elliot – Mr Okoro
Rukky Sanda – Chidinma
Rob Loner – Kenechi
Paul Frank – Oriafo
Beverly Naya – Bella
Esther Eyibio – Efe
Leena Mourgabel – Janet
Archie Sam – Lucas
Ibiwari Etuk – Tosan

Themes:
Relationship Issues
Love
Infidelity
Betrayal

My Rating – 80%

This is a story about relationships, infidelity, betrayal, love and deceit. The story is told through a conversation at the beginning of the movie between two women in a travel agency. Liz played by Nse-Ikpi Etim feels neglected by her husband. In all their years of marriage she has never spent more than 5 consecutive days with her husband as he is always working and as a result away on business trips. He is also possessive and controlling, not allowing her to take up employment as well as dictating her wardrobe and friends. She has had enough and is driven into the arms of someone who should have been off limits.

Nse played by Omoni Oboli has been married for a mere 3 weeks and already the cracks are showing. When she met her husband he was a struggling photographer and she was the one supporting him. In four years of dating there was never any sign of cheating and then one day not long before their wedding he meets Boma in a bar during a business trip and everything changes. This one affair has devastating consequences.

*************SPOILERS*************

After all the hype I was sooooo excited to see this movie, with the likes of Emem, the great cast and especially after watching the masterpiece that was Reloaded I could only imagine that this just had to be better. WRONG. Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t bad or anything, as you can see from the rating, in the grand scheme of things it was a whole lot better than the average Nollywood fare. I guess having read the rave reviews and having watched Reloaded I was expecting this one to top that and for me it just didn’t.

I liked the way the story was told from the end backwards and the way the women’s stories were interwoven back to back, however the story with Nse, Boma and Kenechi was not properly explored or developed. It was as if it were a mere afterthought. It would have been better to either develop the story properly of scrap it totally. I also liked the use of the Facebook status to announce Bobby’s arrival in Nigeria. That was a nice touch.
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Majid was the stand out performance for me. He is on fire as Bobby, Tessa’s brother. There was great sexual chemistry between him and Nse. With a smile that lights up a room he was so positively smouldering that he could create fire with a brick wall. The passion between him and Nse was intense and convincing, definitely more so than with Nse and Ramsey.

One scene that was very powerful for me was the face to face gut wrenching scene at the end of the movie between Liz and Tessa. Nse and Ramsey played their roles in this scene to perfection. Although Ramsey’s character is a heavily flawed individual and to some extent took his wife for granted we can still feel his pain in this scene and equally we can feel Liz’s turmoil in hurting him and ruining the relationship between the two brothers.
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Two things that didn’t add up for me were the choice made for Liz’ friends. We had 3 young girls that were her friends that she would go shopping with. They also came to the house and were swooning over Bobby. These girls looked waaaaaaay younger than Nse. It was just not realistic to me. On one shopping trip it seemed like the clothing and baseball cap put on Nse was in an attempt to youth-ify her and it failed miserably. It only served to add age on her. These girls looked to be between 18 and 24 and Nse looked to be in her mid to late 30’s. It just didn’t add up. We see Nse shopping, no talking, just music for what seems like forever, just unnecessary.

The other thing that didn’t feel real at all to me what Nse as a fashion model. Yes she is pretty. Yes she has a nice figure, but fashion model. No. And the shots taken by Bobby did not look like they would be on the cover of any magazine either. Perhaps it would have been better if we didn’t actually see her modelling and pictures being taken of her, then we would only be able to use our imaginations. Actually seeing the modelling confirmed what we were thinking already – “Nah she doesn’t look like a model.”
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I would recommend this movie. We learn a lesson about consequences for ones actions. It was a slow starter but it got way more engrossing towards the end of the first part. The picture was glossy and seamless. The special effects that were used were integrated well and used to great effect. A great cast was used with the exception with Rukky Sanda (I don’t know what she was doing there.) My only complaints would be that the movie did not feel finished, the undeveloped side story and the long drawn out non dialogue scenes that could have been cut out completely. However, on the whole… THUMBS UP. Nollywood Production Watch Nigerian African Movies Movie Reviews Review Lagos Idumota

Empty Coffin

Empty Coffin

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Empty Coffin ~ 2009
Story – Nkechi Emeodi, Terry Emeka Emeodi
Screenplay – Nkechi Emeodi
Director – Emeka Hill Umeasor

Starring:
Ufuoma Ejenobor – Lilian
Emeka Ike – Okwudili
Zack Orji – Mr Stevens
Vincent Opurum – Samuel
Princewill Walter – Shasha
Queen Blessing Ebigiason – Elizabeth
Fred Peters – Inspector Akpan
Nkechi Emeodi – Ekaete
Peace Ameh – Model

Themes:
Arranged Marriage
Death
Mortality
Passion

My Rating – 78%

Lilian has been recently been widowed. Her husband committed suicide because he could not face the debt that he had accrued. Her family too are in debt and so arrange for her to marry a Mr Stevens, a rich widower who has promised to expunge their debts.

She arrives at his home only to realise that her new husband is still pining over his dead wife. He has even kept time still from the moment that she died by removing the batteries in all the clocks in the house.

Trapped in a loveless and uncommunicative marriage Lilian strikes up a friendship with a servant Okwudili. They bond over a love and appreciation for art. Together they discover a secret that Mr Steven’s is hiding, a secret more deadly that they could have ever imagined.

*************SPOILERS*************

The movie starts with credits rolling, white writing on a black background. It is a dramatic and impressive start. We hear soft piano music with some striking chords playing and over it we hear Lilian narrating the story of her husband’s death. We learn that she caved into the pressure to remarry to save her family from the humiliation of financial ruin. In her monologue she says,

“I was sent to join this man Mr Steven’s at his home somewhere far. I knew that he had lost his wife… This was all I knew. I didn’t even have a picture.”

Halfway through the monologue we see Lilian in a car being driven to meet her new husband. The driver dumps her outside the gate of the house. The driver has been told to drop her off at a certain spot and not go any further. This tells us that there is something very odd about this Steven’s fellow.

Stevens is very stiff in his interaction with his new wife. He is uncommunicative and replies to her questions in the shortest way possible. The first strong inkling that something is really wrong is when he tells her about the room at the top of the house that is always locked and that no one can enter. She is his wife but he will not give any explanation as to why this is.
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The beauty in Ufoma’s performance were the small subtleties like the raise of an eyebrow that can be so easily missed with the blink of an eye. The use of the piano soundtrack ties in nicely with Mr Stevens’s passion for the piano. The music is used effectively to heighten tension and emotion

Lilian writes in her diary,

“I have everything at my beck and call but I want more… I am a woman I want to love and be loved.”

Lilian releases her feelings with pen and paper while Stevens does the same through music meanwhile they live in virtual silence. Lilian is so unhappy that she contemplates running away.

I felt that there wasn’t always clear direction in Ufoma’s performance. As much as I love her and think that she is an excellent actress, at times she was overdoing the come hither-ness a little. There is a scene where Okwudili and Lilian were painting together and there was way too much going on with the lip biting and gyrating in the seat. It was not in line with Lillian’s character as in scenes afterward she is more subtle and coy, so there was a feeling of inconsistency with her character’s behaviour. I had the feeling that perhaps the director had told her she wasn’t being sexy enough and to turn it up a notch.

I found the coy subtleness she displayed at times to be far sexier than the gyrating and Ini-isms. One does not need to start wriggling around like an uncontrollable nympho for the viewer to get the point that you are attracted to a guy. I thought that it was meant to be a sweet romantic love about two people falling in love with art as the backdrop, but all the posturing they had her doing cheapened the story. I say – either it is a sweet and romantic story or it’s a lust driven tale of passion. Choose one. You of course can have both, with one turning into the other, but at this point they hadn’t even kissed yet so it didn’t fit.

Zack Orji plays the silent brooder come savage attacker excellently. We see his anger bubbling beneath the surface to the point where at the end of part 1 he launches a violent attack on Lilian.

I liked this role for Emeka. He was not playing the seducer so he was not doing too much eye rolling or lip licking which was great. He had a role to play and he did it well. This is what you call good casting. Servant YES. Lover Boy NO.

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Elizabeth is Steven’s ex wife. The way in which the servants rave about Elizabeth’s beauty you would have thought that in the movie her weave would have been fixed up and a less gaudy/ more classy dress put on her so what we the viewer sees matches the image that those in the movie have of her. We see Elizabeth and she is just OK. She does not even have any charisma or charm that we can see to understand why everybody is so taken with her.

Why when Elizabeth was caught having sex with the servant by Stevens did she still continue? She didn’t even look that upset at being caught. Was it a relief being caught or was it the case that she was so carried away that she just physically could not stop?
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When Stevens find out that his new wife is having an affair with AND planned to kill him with his servant Okwudili why doesn’t he sack him? Is it that he does not really care about the affair because his mind is preoccupied? Is it that he actually realises that he is being unfair towards Lillian and is actually happy that she has found joy with Okwudili but has to pretend that not to be the case? Or is he having Déjà Vu and not wanting a repetition of events past? He barely interacts with his wife and they sleep in separate rooms so why did he agree to marry her in the first place? Was it just to stop people from talking?

The scene where Okwudili and Lilian are about to enter the room that is always locked is really thrilling to watch as a viewer. By the time they enter the room you will be on the edge of your seat, anxious to know exactly what hides behind the door that Stevens will not allow anyone open. Behind the door they find Elizabeth’s body. The black and white effect that they enforced when shooting the body kind of took away from the realism. Were they trying to make the body look embalmed or what? I wonder?
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I would recommend this movie. It was an original story and the plot was well paced with small revelations at every step of the way which made the plot tighter for when the final revelation is made. Excellent use of a title, which makes sense at the end when we discover that Elizabeth’s coffin is empty, having never been buried. It has to be said that the ending was very rushed which was disappointing; nevertheless it was a very good effort at bringing something fresh to Nollywood.

The Celebrity

The Celebrity

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

The Celebrity ~2009
Story – Sylvester Obadige
Screenplay – Uche Jombo
Director – Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen

Starring:
Mike Ezuruonye – Wonderboy Dikeh
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde – Jess
Uche Jombo – Uneka
Ini Edo – Gift
Desmond Elliot – Ike

Themes Explored:
Peer Pressure
The Cult of Celebrity
Relationships
Family Issues

My Rating – 74%

We are privy to the private lives behind very public figures. Jess, Uneka and Ini are best friends who are all having issues with their romantic relationships.

Jess is a TV Personality. On her talk show she gives relationship advice but her own relationship is falling apart She manages to keep this information to herself not even her closest friends believe her relationship with Ike a music producer is rock solid. She maintains this facade by not airing her relationship issues and gossiping about her problems the way that her girlfriends do.

Gift dreams of a big wedding but her boyfriend is non committal and jobless. He claims to be in “business” but is always broke and encourages her to steal form her company to fund him. She has stolen one lot of money and he requests for her to steal more despite the fact that she has not yet paid back the last money she stole.

Uneka is a solicitor dating one of her clients a womanising footballer nicknamed “Wonderboy.” She suffers from low self esteem. Afraid that her boyfriend will leave her for a skinny girl she spends her days in the gym convinced that this will make him stay with her.

*************SPOILERS*************

Family Pressure

Uneka is under pressure from her family to get married. Her mother tells her, about her relationship with Wonderboy,

“You are running around town with that small boy that has not paid your bride price.”

Both Gift and Uneka have younger sisters with their own issues that in turn affect them. Gift’s sister Yemisi is in school and pregnant for a boy that wants nothing to do with her. Uneka’s sister has had a child and abandoned by the man that she had the child for, who fled to Switzerland to live with an oyinbo woman.
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The movie is called The Celebrity, but not all of the couples include celebrities. Both Gift and her boyfriend are non celebrities, but it would have probably been better and made more thematic sense for at least one of them to be in the public eye.

I didn’t even realise that Wonderboy was supposed to be a footballer until half way through the movie, neither did I realise that Uneka was supposed to be his lawyer and that the relationship is supposed to be a secret from the press. This should have been made apparent much earlier.
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Mike’s swagger is superb (Emeka Ike take note!) and he steals the show with his flawless lyricsing in pidgin. He fully immersed himself in the role and played the character perfectly. He has some wickedly funny lines. In one scene he gets caught by Uneka in a hotel room with 3 girls. After she catches him and runs out of the room in disgust he turns to the girls and announces,

“Mess up – well what has happened has happened so let’s finish now,” before diving underneath the duvet.

In another scene close to the end of the movie where Uneka is chastising him in front of Jess he tells her,

“Baby, cool down now. Stop increasing temperature in front of foreigner”

Ini is doing her usual lip licking and squinting. I guess that is her version of “sexy.” I must admit that despite this she had some great emotionally dramatic scenes. We see her go to rescue her sister from having an abortion. You could really feel her combined love and anger, likewise we see her at the hospital again after her sister’s suicide… different emotions but just as powerful.

Omotola was looking radiant. The make up and braids were on point. Her character “owns” Desmond’s at the end of the movie. Even though she wasn’t a particularly likeable character I did enjoy the showdown and almost felt like standing up and giving her a round of applause. She tells him,

“When I’m finished with you, you will pack your things and return to the village to sell chewing gums.”
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The movie ends with the women feeling empowered, after feeling powerless for so long. It was a good way to end. I’d recommend this movie, it was well paced, funny and bought up issues that everybody and anybody can relate to.

Soul of a Maiden

Soul of a Maiden

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Soul of a Maiden ~ 2008
Story – Obi Madubuogwu, Bruce Iyke Okafor
Screenplay – Tai Emeka Obasi, Tchidi Chikere
Director – Tchidi Chikere

Starring:
Ini Edo – Olamma
Mercy Johnson – Nuria
Mike Ezuruonye – Prince Obieze
Laz Ekwueme – Igwe
Uche Ebere – Oyinne
Obi Madubuogwu – Emenike
Chigozie Okoli – Agaba
Mary Stella Okolie – Nin
Jenifer Danladi – Amaka
Ndidi Okafor – Ijeoma
Michael J Egene – Arinze
Tony Alor – Agu
David Ihesie – Ichie Igube
Alfred Nwaze – Ichie Okoro
Ikechukwu Jideofor – Igwe Amaegede

Themes Explored:
Osu Caste System
Tradition
Acculturation Vs Assimilation
Royalty

My Rating: 88%

Olamma is an outcast in Afan Asa village. She is taunted and marginalised and does not know why until she approaches her mother to find out the full story. It is then that she is told of the history surrounded her ancestry and in turn present situation. She is descended from a woman who was sacrificed to the oracle for a cow. She was a virgin on sacrifice and in life was never married. She did however, have many children, as a result of men besieging her at night. Such was the fate for an osu and for future generations. Olamma is horrified and is determined to break the cycle vowing to never let a man see her naked body much to her mother’s fear that such a vow will only invite the wrath of the Gods. Things look to change when a chance encounter brings her close to Obieze the Prince, heir to the throne of the kingdom, however when the king finds out about his son’s intention to marry Olamma he sets out to prevent such a union and will go to any length to do so.

*************SPOILERS*************

I loved this movie! It was a very simple yet very well told story about the Osu. It is a sad story about injustice and unfair treatment towards a people who have done nothing to deserve it, all as a result of “historical offences.” Not knowing very much about the Osu and their history I found this movie very informative. I loved the traditional setting, the garments and the music. The music was very appropriate at all times. It had a haunting sound to show the melancholy fate that the Osu are resigned to which later changes to more uptempo “happy” music to show joy and hope at around the time the Prince decides that he wants to marry Olamma.
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At one point the Prince attends a virgin dance where he is supposed to choose a bride. He chooses Nuria. It turns out that she is not a virgina and so the wedding is called off. He finds out that she is not a virgin when he goes to make love to her one night. After the deed he confronts her about not being a virgin and she tells him that she was raped to which he exclaims,

“You have obviously been at it more than once.” How would he know?

This particular scene has too much static and background noise and the dialogue was difficult to hear.. They should have reshot this one scene. The prince later goes to tell his father,

“I noticed everything in there was loose and filthy.” Haba! How would having sex with that random palace guard guy a few times make it so loose and filthy?

It is very ironic when he then says to his father,

“She should go far away to those kingdoms where they treat women like scum and serpents.” Is Olamma not being treated like scum under your very nose by the osu system which is being upheld in your kingdom?
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The question must be asked, can traditional beliefs co exist alongside Christianity? In one scene the Prince asks his father,

“I stand in front of the Virgin Mary which my mother put there as a symbol of our Christian belief before she diesd and yet you still uphold this barbaric culture… I mean forcing me to choose a wife from a dance.”

His father replies,

“Son, we have to walk a tightrope between living in the modern world and maintaining our culture.”

In this movie the caste system is renounced as a barbaric practice and one which is forfeited for modern world practice. We see this when the king declares all Osus in the village as freeborn, despite opposition within his camp. It is a great ending and shows that change can come about when people have passion for an issue and stand up for what they believe to be right as the Prince did with his father. It only takes one person in a position of power to talk up and make others see reason. On hearing that the king wants to declare all Osus freeborn and elder states in supports,

“Don’t we all breathe, cry, feel pain? Are they not human beings as we are?” Very true talk.

The ending is bittersweet. Although the osus are declared free the love between the Prince and Olamma is essentially the sacrificial lamb. She leaves the village. Although she loves the Prince she cannot marry him living in the knowledge that it was his father that killed her mother. It is sad to see that they are not going to be together but at the same time it is realistic. What woman is going to want to be with a man whose father went to the extent of killing her mother? It would be an everyday reminder, so in that sense I understand why the movie ended in the way that it did.
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I would recommend this movie. Ini is great as Olamma the oucast, Mercy is great as the village seductress and Mike is good as the Prince but even better when playing the old man role. An excellent make up job was done. Even though I recognised the voice as Mike’s, I looked at the face and it did not even register that it was him. When Mike is playing the old man begging for water because he is thirsty Nuria has no compassion and tells him, “Instead of walking to your grave you are here obstructing the stream path.” It is Olamma that takes pity and gives him water, telling the others, “Don’t you see this man needs help?” This goes to show us that people must be judged on the content of their character and not by how they are labelled by society. Such labels can never show us who a person really is. This one is a must watch!

Bafana Bafana

Bafana Bafana

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Bafana Bafana ~ 2007
Story – Simi Opeoluwa, Shola Fregene
Screenplay – Afrisi Oyetoro, Oluwaseun Oyetunji
Director – Shola Fregene

Starring:
Grace Amah – Kike
Nonso Diobi – Uche
John Okafor – Mazie
Kayode Mosu – Baba Kike
Dozie Mendoza- Bank Manager
Scot Robert – Kola
Uduak Akrah – Tessy
Sam Uche Anyamele – Hammed
Shola Fregene – Baba Kola
Ifeanyi Callis – Secretary
Ajunwa Uchennaka – Ozor
Mary Agbasi – Apolonia
Nneka Ozondu – Gertrude

Themes Explored:
Tribalism

My Rating – 86%

Kike is a Yoruba girl and Uche is an Igbo Boy. A chance meeting in a Lagos supermarket brings them together and they quickly fall in love whilst undertaking their Youth Service. It is the perfect romance until they decide to get married and try to introduce the other to their in laws. Both sets of parents are ardent tribalists and against the union much to both Kiki and Uche’s despair.

*************SPOILERS************

This is a really cute feel good love story that brings up the very real and relevant issue of tribalism in Nigeria infused with some serious comedy.

One scene that made me laugh out loud was where Uche spends the night at Kike’s house. They both set up to sleep on the living room floor but Baba Kike is scared that his daughter is being “swallowed” by Omo Igbo and so after tossing and turning in his bed proceeds to the living room. They are both fast asleep but sleeping to close for his liking. He reports back to his wife,

“Mama Kike come and see your daughter in a multicoloured movie.”

He then plonks himself on a sofa and puts on the TV at full volume. This causes them to rouse and he comments at their obvious annoyance,

“Is my TV stopping the lizard from swallowing the cockroach?”

Another very funny scene is at the end of the movie where the two fathers get into a food fight. Baba Uche is eating pounded yam and all of a sudden throws a pieces at Baba Kike who then scrapes up his own, moulds it in his palms and throws it back yelling,

“Return to sender!”
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The movie ended nicely. Baba Kike and Baba Uche put their differences aside after discovering that they had previously met before after being robbed on a bus on the way to Lagos. It was dark so they had not seen each other while hiding in the bushes but had shared money and food with each other. They are amazed that the other had been so kind considering tribal affiliations and it is this epiphany that they both had had the same needs and fears in the bush that makes them realise how stupidly they had been behaving for discrimination against each other on the basis of tribe.

I would definitely recommend this movie. It was nice to see Grace Amah, she fit the role perfectly and she has been missed much by me. I see her in very few films these days.Everything is forgiven and forgotten in the end and the movie sends out a strong message about how fear of other groups is often based in fear of the unknown and imagination rather than reality.

I Belong

I Belong

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

I Belong ~ 2003
Story, Screenplay & Director – Tchidi Chikere

Starring:
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde – Imperial/ Agbonmah
Lilian Bach – Bridgiditta
Ada Ameh – Bessey
JT Tom West – Stan
Tom Njemanze – Nkwo
Offia Afuluagu Mbaka – Dan
Dan Nkoloagu – David

Themes:
America as the promised Land
Envy
Karma
Poverty

My Rating – 92%

Agbonmah is the daughter of a palm wine tapper. She is in a hurry to escape her impoverished background and goes to live in the city her dream life. This is a life where she tells people that she has just returned from the USA, has rich parents that send her money all the time and has nowhere to live at the moment because she is living at top hotels not able to find a house that meet her standards. Of course this imaginary life that she has created needs a name to go with it and so she names herself an Anglicised and rather pompous Imperial, deeming her old name too local.

*************SPOILERS*************

The film opens with Imperial being thrown out of her house for always quarrelling with people. The landlord is not even interested in the rent simply finding her troublesome and wanting her gone. As she is thrown out she is boasting about just returning from America, and having never ridden an okada before, despite the fact that she has no option but to go on one. Despite having never set foot in America she looks down on Nigerians with her background screaming at the onlookers,

“Is this how you people do it in this country?”

After being thrown out of her accommodation she returns home and clearly her parents are used to her behaviour because her father warns her,

“Beware before you get into trouble with this your fake life.”

She replies,

“Why should I mix with bush people? Are we the same class?”

She goes to her parents for money but being poor they do not have any more than 2000 Naira to give her which of course she is incensed by. Where does she even expect them to get the money from? She acts like it grows on trees!
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Imperial meets Bridgiditta at a hairdressers and spins her the line about just returning form America and not finding anything to suit her tastes only for Bridgiditta to invite her to stay in her home. Despite her humble background Imperial finds everything wrong with Bridgiditta’s home, even complaining about the soap, claiming that everything she normally has is better. It is hilarious that she thinks that her bush behaviour of bragging and putting down everything “local” makes her look superior, when in fact it is the total opposite.

There are many times when the things that imperial says are questionable and I think that at a point Bridgiditta becomes aware that perhaps Imperial isn’t quite who she says she is but still she puts up with her. One time Imperial is boasting about visiting the beach in Washington only to be told that there is no beach there, for her quickly to change the location of Miami. Another time she is talking about Justin Timberlake the actor. Bridgiditta even tries to give her some friendly advice in private that if she doesn’t know certain things, she should be quiet and stop embarrassing herself, but still Imperial continues with her never ending stories!
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I would recommend this movie. It is a must watch! One of Tchidi’s earlier films and one of his best in my opinion. It was concise and very funny all the way through. I have heard people criticise it by saying that it didn’t end well on the contrary I think the ending was very fitting. There is no need for a continuation. Although it was comedy we all can think of someone we know of that is like Agbonmah/ Imperial and it is being able to relate to the character that makes the movie all that more funny. Great cast (even Lillian fit her role perfectly) and outstanding performance from Omotola as the petulant and delusional Agbonmah!

Obscure Motives

Obscure Motives

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Obscure Motives ~ 2009
Story – Rukky Sanda
Screenplay – Rukky Sanda, Darlene Benson Cobham
Director – Ikechukwu Onyeka

Starring:
Bimbo Akintola – Narrator
Jackie Appiah – Debbie
Ramsey Noah – Robert
Rukky Sanda – Remi
Susan Peters – Mary
Cassandra Odita – Albert’s Sister
Yemi Blaq – Albert
Peaciman Akpata – John
Chris Abamba – James
Jemila Amaegbe – Lawyer
Bisi Ajayi – Doctor
Temitayo Ojekunle – Nurse

Themes:
Jealousy
Revenge

My Rating: 76%

Robert and Debbie have been together for 4 years and it is only during their anniversary lunch that Debbie summons the courage to speak to Ramsey about ending their relationship. She has come to the realisation that even though she cares a lot for Rob, she is no longer in love with him. It turns out that he feels the same way and so they agree to separate in terms of their romantic relationship, but to still live together as friends and flatmates. They also both begin dating again.

Early on Ramsey meets Remi and falls in love with her. Jackie on the other hand is a dating disaster. We see her on a date with a man who even answers the phone during their date and answers the phone, “hey honey.” It turns out he is married and never even thought to mention the fact. Her luck changes when she meets Albert who turns out to be Robert’s good friend from university. He comes to the house but their initial interaction appears tense like there has been bad blood between them.

Very soon the two couples are inseparable. They are all the best of friends and any hint towards the tension that was initially apparent dissolves.

*************SPOILERS************

Bimbo Akintola is very good as the narrator, but I personally did not see the benefit or the point in having a narrator. It did not necessarily hinder the story but it did not enhance it either.

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I loved the concept of the movie. It started out as a beautiful portrayal of support, friendships and relationships. Although it descended into madness and chaos and a complete breakdown of the relationships, the original message still stood strong for me. It showed that the end of a romantic relationship has not always got to be heartbreaking or represent the end of an era, but on the contrary it can represent a good learning experience and the beginning of a new era. It also shows that (to an extent) males and females can have a platonic relationship when the boundaries are drawn.

The twists in the movie were unpredictable. It was this unpredictability that kept you glued to the screen, guessing as to what would happen next and getting it wrong. In the end we discover the true reason for the initial animosity between the two through a series of flashbacks. It is amazing that Rob pretended to be best friends with Albert for so many years, only for the purpose of wreaking revenge against him for an offence Albert committed against him during their school days. Debbie was only a means to an end and his love for Remi not strong enough to battle his hate for Albert.

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The chemistry between Yemi Blaq and Jackie Appiah was flat. She looked like she didn’t even like him much, so it was a shock to me in the movie when I thought she was going to break up with him when in face she was mustering courage to tell him that she was pregnant. The lack of chemistry may well have been intentional to show how she was not really over Rob, even though it had been a mutual decision to break up.

I liked the way that the character of Robert was developed. All too often we see a character like Robert in Nollywood that is one dimensional. He will either be a fully bad guy and we won’t see any good side to his character. This never makes sense as how will he be able to have these women adore him and he has no good side? Then we get the character that is all good that turns all bad just like that, with no transition. There is no reasoning behind their actions and we cannot empathise with them because there is nothing about their manner, behaviour or actions come across realistic. With Robert even though he did a bad thing we can empathise with him because we see how Albert’s betrayal affected him. We also see that he was essentially a good guy that just never got over a bad thing that happened to him and most of us can relate to that because we have been there. We may have not hired hit men, but we may have had crazy thoughts that we never brought to fruition.

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I would definitely recommend this movie. I thought this was a good solid effort from Rukky Sanda. I didn’t know what to expect with the slating of Lethal woman, and the accusations of full plagiarism of Martin Lawrence’s A Thin Line Between Love and Hate. However, I must say that I was impressed. Even the title matched the film perfectly. Until the very end of the movie when Rob is confronted by armed robbers his motives are completely obscure to us, the viewer. The one thing that worked against the movie were the long dialogue scenes that were interspersed throughout. They were entirely too long. There is absolutely no need for a whole 4 minutes of watching people sitting round a table mouthing words against the backdrop of loud background music. It is boring, and doesn’t tell us anything more than you could have interpreted in 30 seconds or less. Other than that… was lovin it!

The Prince’s Bride

The Prince’s Bride

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

The Prince’s Bride ~ 2009
Story – Abdul Salam Mumuni
Screenplay – Frank Rajah Arase, Pascal Amanfo
Director – Frank Rajah Arase

Starring:
Yvonne Nelson – Solange
Jackie Appiah – Bernice
John Dumelo – Akila
Kalsoume Sinare – Mami
Gavivina Tamakloe – Owusu
Beverly Afaglo – Navida
Ingrid Elizabeth Alabi – Kalisha
Sika Da Diva – Nina
Roger Quartey – Kasim
Jessica Baah – Georgina
Soraya Mensah – Alicia
Eddie Coffie – Dr Kay
Louis Saah-Acquahman – Roger
Timothy Benthum – Fred
Emmy Akah – Brutus
Sylvester Tetteh – Obstacle
Joseph Baddoo – Obstacle
Fred Nuamah – Steve
Peter Pierre Korshie – Dr Alex
Ken Fiati – Male Mc
Adriana Addo – Female Mc

Themes:
Royalty
Jealousy
Spirit World
Death

My Rating 80%

Solange falls for the Prince heir to the throne of Mazuland after he takes her to the hospital following running her over with his car in the street. At first Solange thinks that he is an ordinary guy and verbally attacks him for knocking her down. She accuses him of attempted murder and then asks him in the hospital,

“Are you a drunk?”

This all changes when she finds out that he is a prince. Her behaviour changes; She is bowled over and wants his contact details to right her wrongs. The Prince does not seem enthused and in the meantime falls in love with his late father’s best friend’s daughter Kalisha. On the day that he is to propose to her he finds out that she is betrothed to another. He is heartbroken but soon makes it his mission to replace that love with another.

It appears that he is going to choose Solange to love. He sends her a gift and then invites her out on a date, only to see Bernice, who was accompanying Solange to meet the Prince, and become completely besotted with her. Solange is understandably upset and embarrassed at the interest he is showing her friend, but tries to keep a brave face. It is when he turns up at the house that they share, the next day on Bernice’s birthday with a brand new car wrapped in a ribbon that Solange completely falls apart and plans to win back the Prince by any means necessary.

*************SPOILERS*************

I thought the movie opened well. A car crash is a sure fire way to catch someone’s attention. It had heavy impact and had me gripped straight away. Yvonne gets better and better each time I see her. Loved her performance as the woman scorned. I really felt for her when the Prince dumped her. I could feel her devastation and desperation even more when just before the prince was about to marry Bernice she declares her undying love for him. It is here that we find out that she engineered the accident at the start of the movie in an attempt to lure him.

I’m loving the new guy John Dumelo. I haven’t come across him before, but he is a nice piece of eye candy and a natural actor. Yaaaaay! He badly reminds me of Yul Edochie in his expressions and mannerisms. Jackie really showed her chops when she was playing the spirit version of her self. She did really well. The spirit scenes were reminiscent of My Everlasting Love with Oge Okoye and Rukky Sanda.
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WHY’s
Why now it has been decided to move on and to Bey’s sister Solange? What is up with that? Why leave out Matthew and Tina… may as well have the whole family involved

Why did Solange turn up to her date with the Prince wearing her Tiara and sash from her victory as Miss Legon Campus. Even if you were Miss World, how would you turn up to a date with your tiara and sash let alone you won one local uni beauty paegeant? Nonsense!

Why when the Prince came back with Solange’s laptop did they decide to do a close up of Yvonne’s hairy legs laying on the couch. Was that supposed to look sexy?

Why when Bernice’s eye got gouged out did they have her holding some fake googly eyes in her hands like they were popped out of her head? That was soooooo stooooooopid!!!

Why did Yvonne tell the hitman, “She’s my best friend I don’t want her dead. Why don’t you just make her blind and paralysed.” YEAH! Some friend you are!

Why the introduction of the girl Alicia that could see spirits? I thought she was meant to be Kalesha’s child but then she was too old. After the scene in the shop we don’t see her again, so what was the point of her?
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Overall I really liked this movie. There was a good mix of intrigue, suspense and drama. There were subplots and they all came together nicely. The timeline was a little messed up with Akila marrying Alicia’s daughter. She looked at least twenty and they said only 11 years had passed, so tops she should have been only 13, but luckily this cock up doesn’t happen to until the end so its not too distressing. This movie teaches us that what goes around will surely come around. Solange forced Bernice,  her friend out of the beauty pageant that Bernice would have probably won by hiring thugs kidnap her sister. In return the Prince picked her friend instead of her as a bride, and even after killing her friend he still had no desire for her, thus karma was revisited upon her. One to watch I say! Nollywood Production Watch Nigerian African Movies Movie Reviews Review Lagos Idumota

Millenium Lady

Millenium Lady

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Millenium Lady – 2009
Story – Gabriel Moses
Screenplay – Gabriel Moses
Director – Ugezu J Ugezu

Starring:
Patience Ozokwor – Madam Gold
Fabian Adibe – Anene
Charles Awurum – Chidi
Tonto Dikeh – Sandra
Mike Ezuruonye – Smart
Camilla Mberekpe – Mama Eko
Uche Odoputa – Benson
Browny Igboegwu – Hyacinth
Ifeanyi Azodo – Peter
McSmith Ochendo – Titus
Jude Oteka – Zaki
Chigozie Okolie – Detective
Chioma Iwueze – Mama C
Ugo Uwagbama – Police Officer

Themes Explored:
Greed
Materialism
Gender Roles
Family Pressure

My Rating 83%

Patience plays Madam Gold, also known around town as the MILLENIUM LADY. She is a married woman with 2 sons and a daughter who likes the finer things in life. She belittles her husband because he is not wealthy, despite the fact that he is the one that bought her the restaurant that she runs. Her goal in life appears to be to attain riches through her daughter Sandra. She does this by accepting money and gifts from Sandra’s prospective suitors knowing full well that she has no intention of marrying her to them. It is only when she messes about with the wrong man that she is forced into cleaning up her greedy act.

*************SPOILERS************

Marriage is used as a bargaining tool
Benson comes to Madam Gold and expresses his desire to marry her daughter. As he is a business man and not working for an oil company (the kind of guy Madam Gold sees as perfect for Sandra) she knows that she will not approve of him marrying Sandra, but enjoys the gifts he brings nonetheless. She enjoys a new huge flat screen TV and satellite dish for the restaurant, a Sky dish, jewellery and money.

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Materialism
When Patience introduces Sandra to Benson his sole focus in trying to woo her is to boast about how much money and assets he has. He seems oblivious to the fact that this braggado is not impressing Sandra.Sandra’s mother sees her as an investment and tells her,

“God I thank you for giving me this fine girl… My investment.”

Uche Odoputa as Benson has some lame come on lines for the lovely Sandra. On one occasion when they are being introduced he tells her,

“Honestly the way you are looking now – You are looking like egg yolk.”

Wow… and he said it like it was supposed to be a compliment. Can you imagine? From this lame introduction Benson takes it upon himself to woo Sandra through bragging and boasting about his money and assets. They are clearly on different wavelengths with regards to what makes a good husband. Sandra cares about morality, interests, kindness, and in the meantime he is flashing the cash thinking that it it is turning her on, but on the contrary it is a real turn off for her.

Millenium lady on the other hand is wholly excited by the money and even tells Benson,

“My daughter will scatter your brain with hot romance.”

This gives the idea that a woman is good for sex and a man is good for money and when the two come together they can be exchanged.

 Then after Benson Sandra meets Smart and expresses concern with his line of business her mother is not worried in the slightest and tells her,

 

“Drug Money plus oil money, isn’t that the more reason you should marry him fast?”  

Millenium Lady is not concerned with how he came about the money, only the fact that he has it.

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Family Pressure
Sandra’s brother Titus is just like his mother, and so begins the pressure to get Sandra to marry for the highest bidder rather than for love. He tells her,

“On this your shoulders lies the burdens of this family.”

In the end Sandra falls victim to the pressures of both her mother and brother over the wise words of her father and so in the end her mother and brothewr are the cause of her downfall and she learns that Smart is a criminal that has made his money illegally and so even though innocent, she is implicated by default in hsi wrongdoings.

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I would definitely recommend this movie… I look forward to seeing more from Ugezu J Ugezu. There were good lessons to be learnt as well as many many laughs. We learn that all that glitters is not gold. Sandra may have found percieved short term happiness in the joys of Smart’s illegal money, but in the long term all it would bring is pain and suffering.

 

Patience and Fabian have an excellent rapport on screen and I love the banter between them. Fabian Adibe has been typecast as the downtrodden man who gets abused by his wife, but it is a role that suits him well, so if it ain’t broke, why fix it?  Tonto and Mike had good chemistry and played their roles well. I have loved Camilla Mberekpe since I saw her in TEA OR COFFEE, and trust me she did not dissapppoint in playing the conniving Madam Gold.

 

Special shout out to the guy that played Titus, I don’t know his name but the scene where him and Millenium Lady are mean mugging, dancing around the new car and spraying money is hilarious.

Reloaded

Reloaded

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Reloaded ~ 2009
Story – Emem Isong
Screenplay – Emem Isong, Bola Aduwo, Nse-Ikpe Etim
Directors – Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen, Ikechukwu Onyeka

Starring:
Ramsey Noah – Femi
Desmond Elliot – Osita
Rita Dominic – Chelsea
Stephanie Okereke – Weyinmi
Ini Edo – Tayo
Van Vicker – Bube
Uche Jombo – Tracy
Nse-Ikpe Etim – Omoze
Mona Lisa Chinda – Abbey
Enyinna Nwigwe – Edwin
Mbong Amata (nee Odungide) – Nira
Temisan Isioma Etsede – Otis
Emeka Duru – Gabriel
Princess Anazodo – Bube’s Mum
Ahmed Aitity – Shola
Martha Iwoo – Ifeyinwa
Ikechukwu Onyeka – Doctor

Themes Explored:
Revenge
Karma
Desperation
Betrayal
Infidelity
Family Pressure
Societal Pressure
Abortion

My Rating: 93%

Bube and Weyinmi played by Van and Stephanie have been together for seven years and are living together as an unmarried couple. Weyinmi wants to get married and she thinks that Bube does too, but every time the marriage issue comes up he postpones their plans, claiming that it is not the right time. Will he ever marry her?

Femi and Omoze are married but Femi has a wandering eye and cannot seem to remain faithful. Omoze is relentless is trying to keep her man to herself. Will he ever be faithful to her?

Tayo is a battered wife. Amongst her friends she is constantly making excuses for her husband Osita. He, however seems to take great joy in humiliating and beating his wife. Can he change his ways?

Rita plays Chelsea the replacement presenter for a TV Talk Show, and in turn the narrator for the movie which is based around an episode in the talk show about different women’s relationships and the games men play in them. Her relationship appears to be the only one without issues, but is it really what it appears to be on the surface?

*************SPOILERS*************

Tayo knows that her husband Osita is jealous and possessive. One day she dresses up in a skimpy outfit and comes to parade it for her husband. Despite seeing the look of disapproval on his face, she twirls around and asks him,

“How do I look?”

If I knew Tayo in real life I would wonder why you are twirling around with half your nyash out in front of a man that has beat the living daylight out of you for lesser offences. She knows the drill, yet every time she is abused she seems surprised. In response to her twirling he replies,

“Loose as usual. You look like a very cheap whore.”

Tayo looks shocked and upset by his words. Upset I can understand, shocked No.

We see how Tayo has ended up in her marriage as a result of family pressure. She tells her friend,

“To think when I was a single girl. All my parents could think about was marriage… Now look at me I am a punching bag.”

Her statement is candid and makes you think about the importance of not bowing down to societal/ familial pressure against your own desires. After all only we live our own lives. We see Tayo’s sorry state. She is married and unhappy. Her self esteem has been seriously knocked and her husband will not let her take on a job which means she has no financial independence.

Ini Edo does a great job as Tayo. There is a scene where she tries to break up with Osita. She conveys the emotion of a heartbroken woman who has reached breaking point well. Her tears feel real, and the scene is only slightly marred by the over the top sound effects of Osita beating her.
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Ramsey Noah plays Femi a smooth Lover Boy. Not only is he smooth but his character is very funny and shameless too. After he is caught cheating, instead of being apologetic he tells his wife, Omoze,

“You go around running like a mad dog. You could win an award for being the best nag and tout… Sorry? What for?”

Omoze is busy chasing off some of the many women that he is philandering with, going as far as to kidnap one woman and to take her back to their home and beat her. Her anger seems misplaced to me. Was it the woman that vowed to be loyal to you? Or was it your roving husband? Why is she more vengeful to the woman? Why do some women do this?

After Femi loses his job because of Omoze turning up at his work and causing a ruckus, by beating up his boss, suspecting her of being a girlfriend, he threatens to leave her. Omoze refuses that as even being an option, vowing to protect her marriage with her blood.

Nse Ikpe is an intense actress. You will believe that she loves this man with every drop of her blood. She does desperate and exasperated very very well. Even during the comic scenes she does not falter.
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Weyinmi is pregnant, and after being in the relationship with Bube for 7 years on announcing her pregnancy is told by Bube,

“It’s unfortunate the time is not right for me… We have to do the right thing.”

The right thing for Bube means an abortion. Weyinmi has already had 5 abortions and does not want to have another, but feeling that she has no alternative she appeases bube by going ahead with a 6th abortion. The question has to be asked, what man is going to respect want to marry a woman that can be persuaded by a man to abort 6 times against her will? This is the same kind of woman that will let her children be abused by a man or adopt out her children on a man’s say so.

Everybody has different breaking points and Weyinmi reaches hers when Bube gets another woman pregnant and plans on marrying her. It is at the end of part one when she finds the hidden wedding invited in their room that she crumbles and realises that her whole life with Bube has been a lie.

Family pressure comes into yet another situation in that Bube’s mother tells Omoze that he must marry this girl as he cannot jeopardise their long standing family relationship with the girl’s parents.

We also see that a man will stay with the “wrong” woman indefinitely without the commitment of marriage. He will string her along, but at the same time will marry the “right” woman on a whim. Bube is ready to accept the other girl’s pregnancy but threatened Omoze that if she kept the baby he would have nothing to do with them both. Uselessness.
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In the end the women get revenge for all the games their men have played with them. Weyinmi orchestrates the kidnapping of Bube on the day of his wedding to the other woman. She takes him to a warehouse, taunts him and threatens to cut off his manhood. Femi loses not only his job but his house too when Omoze somehow transfers the deeds to the house into solely her name effectively making him homeless.

The way that Tayo’s story ends has the best twist in the entire movie. I did not see it coming at all… completely unpredictable. Osita begins an affair with a pretty young thang. His behaviour towards his wife becomes even more disgisting as he flaunts his mistress in public, not caring whether his wife is around or not. The PYT seduces him in his office, stripping him and then leaving him in the bathroom, telling him that she is going to fetch condoms.

His bosses find him in the buff and he is disgraced in front of the whole committee. He is sacked and goes home from worked distressed and angered. His anger is only to be exacerbated when he finds out that the PYT called Nira is in fact his wife’s cousin. This is my most favourite scene in the movie. Tayo regains her power and when Osita makes the move to attack her; for once she fights back. Tayo and Nira give him a good beating. It is a triumphant moment.

Chelsea’s relationship with Edwin has been consistent throughout the movie. He is heralded as the perfect man. He is handsome, romantic, thoughtful, caring and the couple appear to be happy. In the end we see Rita catching him in bed with Steven (the white guy from Osita’s office). When caught by Chelsea tells her, “This isn’t what it seems.” But seriously what else can it be? Dude is having homosexual relationships. It just goes to show that you never know what lies beneath the façade of perfection. The guy that appeared to be the most virtuous gave us the biggest shock in terms of behaviour.
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I love this movie… However there must always be criticisms (well most times anyway). I feel that putting in the random white guy, Steven was a mistake. He cannot act to save his life, so why was he there? He was very wooden and unconvincing, and made me cringe. I also felt that the movie would have benefitted from perhaps erasing the narrator. The whole talk show storyline was not needed. Uche was unnecessary and didn’t fit the role of a talk show host. Mona Lisa’s two second appearance as the original talk show host approving the new talk show host was pointless too. Maybe she didn’t want to be in the film but just wanted her face on screen momentarily, or perhaps she was originally involved more but those scenes were done away with. Who knows?

The end scenes based in the TV studios were a disappointment and anticlimax. Although the individual stories were wrapped up neatly in terms of letting the viewer know how each woman was doing after the break ups, the execution was messy. We had all the women come onto the TV show and give their story. This was a bit boring and slow. The same stories could have been told in a fraction of the time.

Overall it was a stellar effort from all those involved (bar the Steve character). It was paced well, gripping and on the whole wonderfully executed. The scenes flow well and it ends satisfactorily, in terms of there are no gaping holes and unanswered questions as is so often the case. You feel satisfied as the viewer, and even though the dancing at the end was kind of weird and didn’t necessarily fit in, you feel so good after watching this movie that you want to go and find a pink suit and join in the dancing too!

World Of Honour

World Of Honour

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

World of Honour ~ 2009
(Feel My Pain ~ 2008)
Story – Chinweuba Nneji
Screenplay – Afam Okereke
Director – Afam Okereke

Starring:
Mike Ezuruonye – Nonso
Uche Jombo – Nneka
Leo Mezie – Uzo
Amaechi Muonagor – Okeke
Christabel Egbenya – Eunice
Rose Ofuzim – Ugodiya
Cynthia Okereke – Ugonma
Louisa Nwobodo – Obioma
Sunny Williams – Nduka
Grace Olonta – Juliet
Uche Nna Nna – Sandra
Stella Okafor – Juliet’s friend
Uchenna Ubanwa – Favour
Gabriel Okorie – Dr
Benson Okonkwo – Best Man
Pat Edeh – Peace
Just Chucks – Nneka’s Boyfriend
Okwudili Ogbukeje – Care Taker
Emeka Edozie – Car Dealer

Themes:
Infatuation
Tradition
Obsession
Jealousy
Charms

My Rating 78%

Nonso and Nneka are the best of friends. The friendship progresses to a romantic love and all of a sudden Nonso’s best friend Uzo has a problem with the relationship, claiming that he had his eye on Nneka first and only did not make a move because he was “assessing her character.” At the time Nonso is living with Uzo, only for Uzo to throw him out giving him no idea as to whathas caused the rift between them. It turns out that Uzo’s father had picked out Nneka as the girl he should marry but had not pursued it any further than suggesting it to his son as Uzo labelled Nneka, “a villager” and “classless.”

*************SPOILERS*************

Mike Ezuruonye does brilliantly at displaying Nonso’s disheartenment and confusion at his former friend’s actions. The chemistry between Mike and Uche is fantastic and they have a great rapport. You can tell they really are friends in real life. Leo Mezie is good as the jealous and psychotic Uzo.

A confrontation and mediation takes place at Nonso’s brother’s house. Uzo goes to report Nonso to his brother. It is here that we find out that Uzo had rejected the idea to marry Nneka by his father many times. His behaviour is a clear case of jealousy. Now that he sees that his friend is happy with Nneka he wants to sabotage his happiness. Nneka herself is shocked when she finds out why Nonso was thrown out of the house. She calls him a “clown,” as she had never expressed any interest in him and neither him in her, so the whole situation is a complete shock.

Uzo is deranged and vows to wage a war against Nonso and to claim back, “his wife.” His father too is in agreement declaring,

“not to worry, you will still marry her.”

Uzo puts the first step of his plan in action and hires some cultist thugs to kill Nonso. Nneka is in hospital after fainting with shock at hearing the news that Nonso is dead(stupid) when Uzo goes to visit, introduction himself to the hospital staff as “her fiancée.” Can we say PSYCHO? He is thrown out of the room but waits for her at the hospital exit to continue with his psychotic claims, telling her, “Lets go home.” It is at this moment that Nonso is wheeled in on a stretcher. He is not dead after all. Some men are really dangerous and have no shame. Uzo will not leave Nneka alone despite failing in his attempt to kill Nonso her telling his that she is in no way interested.

Nneka and Nonso’s relationship quickly turns from blissful harmony to turbulent all at Nneka’s hands. Uche Jombo’s performance of Nneka’s polarised characters is flawless. She becomes disrespectful and belligerent not only towards Nonso but his family too. Even when she is caught cheating after spending four days in a man’s house Nonso vows to stick by her. The police arrest the guy she was with for, “keeping somebody else’s wife.”  How can the police go and arrest the guy that Nneka was with? How is that a matter for the police? She was there willingly. She was not kidnapped, and they are not even married. Since when did Fiancee become wife?

In the end they break up as Nonso is at his wit’s end. He temporarily gets with a woman called favour until his pastor advises him that Nneka is the woman for him,

“God has spoken Nneka is the right woman for you.”

We find out that Nneka’s behaviour is the result of charms used by Uzo and his father. What a cop out ending. I hate these cop out endings that are blamed on charms its so unoriginal and uncreative and takes the blame of the one that should be blamed and puts it in someone elses hands. Nonsense. Nneka behaved like a byatch because she wanted to. Why must everything be because of rituals and charms? Of course they arrange their wedding again, only to have psycho Uzo turn up at the house beforehand with a gun. It is left for us, the viewer to decide what happens next.

I would recommend this movie as it was engrossing and funny in parts. Great performances by the whole cast, only thing I didn’t like was the cop out charm storyline. PLEASE BE WARNED this film was released in 2008 under the title FEEL MY PAIN. The marketers are doing 419 again. Do not be a victim!!! They even had the never to advertise the film FEEL MY PAIN at the beginning of this movie only for me to see it was the SAME MOVIE!!! Eiwooooo!

The Pastor’s Daughter

The Pastor’s Daughter

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

The Pastor’s Daugter ~ 2008
Story – Obinna Nwagbo
Screenplay – Ubong Bassey Nya & Ifeanyi Ogbonna
Director – Ifeanyi Ogbonna

Starring:
Ini Edo – Rebecca
Van Vicker – Steve/ Joe
Ashley Nwosu – Reverend James
Kofi Adjorlolo – Me Baidoo
Benedict Johnson – Brother Chudi
Fred Ebere – Pastor Okorie
Chinedu Ejike – Pastor Peter
Amanda Ebeye – Uju
Ndidi Onumonu – Ebere
Bridget Brown – Franca
Morris Owusu Appiah – David
Emma Dickson – Mrs White
Eddie Jawhary – Rev White
Vivian Jill Lawrence – Ophebia
Priscilla Adjei – Dela
Omar Sheriff Captan – William
Naana Hayford Domfeh – Mrs Baidoo
Mary Asamaoh Nyamekye – Kate
Linda Serwaa Wardie – Linda
Franca Badu Prah – Jenny
Nana Ama Nkira – Gloria`
Esther Ameyaa Badu – Maid
Charlotte Perbi – Ophebia Aunt
Clement Sarfo – Kofi
Fred Ohene Boadi – Pastor Michael
Gottfred Opoku Mensah – Pastor Forson
Edward Waymas – Pastor Fokuo

Themes:
Corruption in the Church
Unrequited Love
Church
Hypocrisy of Religion
Rape
Stigma
Forgiveness
Justice

My Rating 82%

Reverend James tries to keep his home his home in good order, however his daughter, Rebecca is a thorn in his side. He believes that her seemingly wayward behaviour is putting his position in jeopardy while at the same time she seeks freedom from what she considers to be his“rudimentary religious beliefs.” At the beginning of the movie we see Rebecca scaling the compound wall after returning home late one night after being out with a man.

We see further evidence of the behaviour that her father is concerned about when she causes a commotion at church one day. She arrives at choir practise late, chewing gum and nonchalantly taking position in the front row. She knows the rule that late comers must take their place in the back row but she shows disrespect for the entire choir. When confronted about this behaviour a huge argument breaks out with Rebecca declaring,

“Oya some and move me from this seat… and you will tell me if this dad owns your church or mine? Non-sense.”

She has a clear disregard for the rules thinking herself above them because of who her father is.

Reverend James is not the only man of god having problems in his family life. These issues are spread across all the men of god and in this movie great hypocrisy, lack of compassion and immoral behaviour is unearthed amongst both church members and church officials.

*************SPOILERS*************

Pastor William is pursuing another Pastor Baidoo’s daughter called Ophebia to the point of harassment.. They live in the same compound so he has easy access to her. She has expressly told him that she is not interested, yet he does not seem to be able to take NO for an answer. On one occasion she shouts at him,

“I don’t love you.”

He seems sooo desperate, replying,

“It will grow, step by step the more you see me you will fall for me.”

Ophebia is driven to her wit’s end and screams at him,

“I don’t want to know you… I hate you! I really do!”

His behaviour is unbecoming of a man of God and seriously disturbing to watch, that becuase he thinks he calls God’s name a few times that must make him really desireable.
______________

Brother Benedict is the choir master. By day he is preaching and by night he is laying members of the choir, including Reverend White’s wayward daughter. He tells them all that he loves them and is not even using any kind of protection with them. One day one of his choir singer girlfriend’s busts him in a clinch with Jessica and quite rightly tells him,

“How do you expect us to look at you in church when all you do is frolic with women in your house? You shameless pig!”

This is a very true statement for the behaviour for many of those in the movie. The hypocrisy is widespread and what is being preached is contradictory to the behaviour that occurs.

The moral decadence in the church gets back to headquarters and a report is issued which leads to a meeting with all the pastors to discuss how to tackle the rampant fornication between pastors/staff and members of the congregation.

We are never told exactly what the report says. In the meeting reference to the report issued is very vague. How would information get back to headquarters and how would anything have been proved? Members of the church are suspended and the primary concern appears to be the scandal looking bad to the outside world as opposed too actually ridding the church or the morally corrupt. Pastor Baidoo gives his daughters a lecture on staying away from fornication. The only reason he gives to them is that any reports of fornication will tarnish the family name. What about the more important reasons? I mean is that the only reason to not have sex before marriage?
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Ophebia is due to marry Joe, but is raped shortly before the planned wedding one night, in her own bed. It is only the pastors in the church that have access to the house so they are all under suspicion. She is distraught and tells her mother what has happened. At first she seems concerned for her daughter’s welfare only to descend into selfishness, advising her to keep it a secret as,

“It will tarnish the image of this family.”

Rape cannot tarnish anything. Nonsense? Did she choose to be raped? When the mother finds out Ophebia is pregnant, again she is only concerned for herself,

“Heeeeeeeeeey! I am doomed!”

Despite their so called Christianity she advises Ophebia to terminate the pregnancy. It seems the Christian moral ground is only to parade in public as a weapon for self promotion and to admonish the actions of others. In private it is a different affair.

When Ophebia’s father finds out about the pregnancy he is livid calling her a “fornicator” and throwing Ophebia and her mother out of the house. I found this shocking that the woman would get blamed for rape, and worse still obviously by a man that her own father allowed to live in the house. He should have blamed himself. This man even has the cheek to later tell her,

“You have made my life a misery.”

It was horrible to see Ophebia begging her father for forgiveness, for a crime she did not commit. She had a crime committed against her. Rape is taken too trivially in Nollywood. This is not a trivial matter at all. Why should she ask for any forgiveness? It should have been the other way around, and I wish there were just one person in the movie that would have stressed that. I would hate to think some young girl who is being raped would watch this movie and blame being raped on herself and keep the rape a secret because of the stigma attached to it.

Reverend White is similar to the Baidoos in that when confronted with his daughter’s wayward behaviour his reaction is of concern for his own image,

“I am a laughing stock.”

Saving face is a big theme in this movie with everyone trying to protect their reputation without seeming to care about the actions that bring about the reputations.
______________

We find out the Pastor David was the rapist. This was a big shock to me. In the end justice is served as we find out the reason that Pastor has not been able to have a child with his wife is because of this heinous deed. I thought that this was an excellent storyline to add in as it was highly unpredictable and there was no doubt in my mind that Pastor William was the rapist and I was proved wrong. As is always the case with Nollywood anytime a man does something like this we hear those imfamous lines,

“It was the work of the devil.”

How about you take responsibility nucca?! All this devil stuff works my last nerves, makes people feel like they can do anything and blame it on evil forces. How about your azz is the evil force? Nonsense.

Brother Chidi is left in a bid as all three girls he is sleeping with including Reverend White’s daughter end up pregnant at the same time. That is karma for ya.
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On the downside there were a few things that hindered the movie. The backing tracks were often highly unmatched and stopped abruptly without fading, which was very noticeable. In part one Van Vicker was called Steve. In part two he was now called Joe. What’s up with that? The icing on the cake was the character Steve being named as the actor Samuel Ofori. Please note that Samuel was not in the movie. The end of part two was too drawn out. I felt there were alot of unencceary scenes with Pastor David, his wife and the priest that they went to consult with regards to their childlessness. So much of it could have just been cut out.

Adjorlolo’s character could have been worked on more. He blamed the daughter for the rape but then went looking for the rapist. This didn’t make sense to me. You stopped talking to your daughter and banished her now you care about bringing the rapist to justice but you still are not talking to her. So do you believe that rape is the woman’s fault or not?

I wished that just one person had stuck up for Ophebia and said that it was not her fault. Even the aunt who took her in was not willing to do this and treating her like a criminal refugee. Of course this kind of behaviour may well be indicative of the society it is set in, nevertheless I still found it highly disturbing.

I would definitely recommend this movie. The scenes were fluid and contained the right amount of suspense and intrigue to keep you glued to the screen. It was my first time seeing Vivan Jill Lawrence on screen and she did a good job. All the storylines regarding the pastors and their daughter’s were woven together well,and many important issues were raised and tackled. ONE TO GET!

Strength to Strength

Strength to Strength

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Strength to Strength ~ 2009
Story – Solomon Apete
Screenplay – Ugezu J Ugezu
Director – Ugezu J Ugezu

Starring:
Tonto Dikeh – Angela
Mercy Johnson – Jane
Mike Ezuruonye – Nick
Patience Ozokwor – Madam Juwase
Camilla Mberekpe – Nick’s mum
Ifeanyi Azodo – Dr Jillary
Emeka Amakeze – Mark
Chigozie Okolie – Chemist
Michelle Ikegulu – Sandra
Chudi Amobi – Ellis
Gaddiel Onwudiwe – Ugokwe
Isreal Moseri – Dr Ike

Themes
Childlessness
Infertility
Abortion
Polygamy
Materialism
Social Status
Family Pressure

My Rating – 87%

Madam Juwase has two daughters. The eldest daughter Jane, is in love with Nick, a radio mechanic that she wants to marry. Her sister supports her decision to marry for love and they both try and convince their mother that Nick is a good man. Their mother is not interested in her daughter marrying Nick at all as she sees his status as being lowly. Even though he is an engineering graduate Madam looks down on him, declaring him unworthy. Jane soon gets pregnant for Nick, and since they are not allowed marry, she sees no other choice for herself but to have an abortion, against both Nick and the Doctor’s advice.

*************SPOILERS*************

Materialism

Materialism is a big theme in the movie. Madam Juwase is driven by money, material things and the drive to obtain such things through her daughters who she vows will marry rich men.

Madam Juwase on explaining to Sandra why she will not put up with any of her daughters bringing home a man that is not rich,

“I buy everything. Their clothes. Their shoes, even their undies. Body cream? I buy it! And yet they open their mouth to tell me they are in love. What kind of useless love is that?”

On another occasion Madam Juwase warns Jane,

“If you have grown so attached to men, that you cannot do without them, then go bring me a multimillionaire. Present him to me.”

She does not see that Jane doesn’t want any man. She wants only Nick the man she loves. To Madam there can be no love with money. The two go hand in hand in her mind. We can see how her impoverished background has made her money hungry. Jane and Angela are treated as commodities that she can trade in marriage to improve her own situation in life. She does not seem to be too concerned with their personal happiness or wellbeing, not understanding how they cannot equate love with money.

She even places a premium over money over education telling Jane,

“What are you going to do with a certificate? Are you going to eat it?”

Outsiders are only treated with decency when they are flaunting their wealth and it’s trappings. We see this attitude in her treatment of Nick. When he came to get to know her and tell her of his intentions with her daughter, she immediately waved him away, going as far as to tell him that she needs a 2000 Naira consultation fee for him to even speak to her. When he can only come up with 600 she runs him away from the compound. On the contrary when Nick turns up to the house after only one month (is he not the same guy?) in Abuja her attitude to him is a complete turnaround to what it previously was. Impressed by his suit and car she welcomes him into the home with open arms, even nagging her daughter to forget any perceived wrongs he may have committed against her.

The lesson that we must bear in mind here is that all that glitters is not gold. A man can appear to be wealthy and dress well and drive a flashy car, but he may have rented the car, borrowed the clothes and not even have a house to live in. A man can even have all these things and have obtained it illegally which means that it can be snatched away at any time, thus education is important. Every situation is not permanent.
_____________

One of my favourite scenes is close to the end of the movie when Mike has banned Sandra (without telling her of course) from the home and the office for her troublemaking ways. She turns up at the office and is turned away, only to go to the house to be told that she cannot enter. She protests and tells them she is not coming to see Nick but his wives, to be told,

“They do not want to see you. Commot! Even the dog does not want to see you.”

One thing that I found particularly unbelievable in the movie was when the doctor said that he could not perform the abortion as it would put her life at risk, because of the positioning of the foetus. First of all she was barely even pregnant (early stages) so which positioning did they see? Secondly since when has any positioning stopped an abortion?

Even if it was an ectopic pregnancy an abortion would be recommended to save the woman’s life. Even in Catholic moral theology, the event of an ectopic pregnancy is one of the only cases where an abortion would in principle be allowed, since it is categorized as an indirect abortion, so this explanation seemed pretty unconvincing to me. It would have been better if they said that her fallopian tubes were scarred and so she was at low risk of ever conceiving again, hence recommending not having the abortion.
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All in all I loved this movie, except for the sound. They would often play loud music that would drown out the dialogue which proved rather annoying. However aside from that it was a very enjoyable watch, very funny in parts but also tear jerking in others. Mama G was in top form. I love the scene when one of the elders comes to visit her to get Nick’s address so that he can go their and complain about his recent lack of gift giving. The way she threw him out was classic, screaming at him,

“What did you ever do for anybody in your life? You have in laws too, where are my gifts?”

Camilla Mberekpe is another force to be reckoned with. Since seeing her in Tea or coffee I have been looking out for her and she delivered. We see a slight improvement with Michelle Ikegulu but she’s still got a long way to go. She is not a natural in front of the camera, always sounding like she is reading from a script.

Mercy and Mike have a very easy and natural chemistry together. Great pairing! Mercy’s favourite two words in this movie were “My loooorve!” She loves saying that and says it in every romantic movie that she is in. Makes me wonder how much actresses and actors add their own personal catchphrases and sayings to the script, or is it written in for them?

In short… This is one to watch!

Paulicap and Perpetual

Paulicap and Perpetual

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Paulicap and Perpetual ~ 2008
Director – Tchidi Chikere
Story – Chinedu Collins Ezenwa
Screenplay – Tchidi Chikere

 

Starring:
Nkem Owoh – Paulicap
Mercy Johnson – Perpetual
Queen Nwokoye – Mabel
Jude Oteka – Pastor Midas
Collette Orji – Irene
Jacinta Ikelu – Juliet
Ejine Okoroafor – Rose Flower
Lynn Harrison – Pinky
Sylvia Oluchi – Beauty
Ebere Okonkwo – Grace
Edith Onovo – Olivia
Afuba Chukwudi – Chuka
Martin Njugbigbo – Kalu
Elvis Obi – Mr Jones
David Aginwa – Officer Jake
Junior Pope Obonwodo – Officer Nick
Harry Green – Mutiu
Chigozie Okolie – Ikoku
Kate Sam – Olivia
Amaka Bessie – Sarah
Sam Uche – Hotel worker
Gaddiel Onwudiwe – DPO

Themes Explored:
Infidelity
Aristo Culture
Charms

My Rating – 84%

Mabel is Paulicap’s down trodden and long suffering wife. She has been with him for 15 years and they share a son, but this is not enough to keep him from hitting on every pretty lady in town. His wife catches him at a hotel on different occasions emerging from rooms with a different lady each time. Things even escalate to the point where she engages into a physical altercation with one of his women. Things get even worse when she finds out that he propositioned her shop girl. She has been humiliated and disgraced by her husband, at the end of her tether she know longer knows what to do with herself. She spends her time crying, and praying about the situation, hoping that Paulicap will change.

*************SPOILERS*************

Paulicap on seeing his wife’s endless suffering as a result of his actions decides that it would be best for him to leave her so that she can live her life and find happiness. I thought it was an honourable thing to do for Paulicap to let Mabel go He leaves her the house and the supermarket they own, but Mabel is inconsolable ranting on about on about how much she has done for him. She is not happy with him, and he has told her he is not willing to change his ways but still she keeps trying to hang on to the relationship despite telling the pastor at one point,

“God did not create Paulicap and Mabel together that I will die without him.”
_____________

Paulicap meets Perpetual on the roadside one day. She appears mysterious telling him to find her himself rather than giving him her number. The tactic works and Paulicap searches for her in the area he first saw her until one day they meet again on the roadside. Despite initially resisting Paulicap’s advances Perpetual is soon smitten with him. Despite him promising to remain true to Perpetual his philandering ways soon start up again. Perpetual takes matters into her own hands and embarks on a drastic course of action that backfires on her terribly.

I liked this film a lot. It was engaging and very funny in parts. The one thing I was disappointed in was the way it ended. I feel using the whole “charms” storyline is a cop out for when people don’t know what direction to take the movie in. Mabel tells Perpetual at the end of the movie,

“You will know the crime in hypnotising a man through sorcery.”

I believe such a scenario sends out the wrong message to women that whenever ya man cheats it is the fault of another woman and not the man himself. It absolves the man of all blame and places it onto a woman’s shoulders. The question must be asked, did you marry a woman or a man? Who made that commitment to you?

I was impressed with Queen Nwokoye. I usually find her a bit stiff and dull but she definitely exceeded my expectations. She effectively conveyed emotion and her dialogue flowed with none of her usual awkwardness, I think it may now be time for her to be taken off the list of DRIVE BY actresses. Nkem Owoh was his usual funny self. I would recommend the film and it has a strong warning message which is, “Be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it!”