Review of Sidi Diallo's London premiere of The Soul

This movie was premiered at the Lighthouse Camberwell on Saturday 26th April 2014. There were organizational issues which included the movie starting pretty late leading to the director and one of the promoters Ikenna Obi doing damage control and having to apologise at the end of the movie. Those present on the red carpet were members of the cast  including Ikenna Obi, Olivia Eze, Fatima Jebe Maada Bio, Collins Archie-Pearce, Bella Gassama, Sidi Diallo, members of Nollywood UK including Theordora Ibekwe Oyebade, Ayo Oyebade, Marie Gomez, Toksy Bello, Niyi Towolawi, M A Benson, Riyike Alayande. Also noticeable were Gospel singer Kenneth Benson, Uvi Orogun. The night started with entertainment by Saxy on the saxophone and and Jdove. The MC for the night was Collins Archie-Pearce. 

Storyline: The Soul was written, produced, directed by Sidi Diallo who also played the lead character. The movie was centred around a tale of two beautiful sisters (Mary and Hannah) both top models, in love with the same man (Alex). However the man was only in love with one of them. Love brought conflict, envy and hate between the sisters which ended in one of the sisters being murdered.

The storyline was great but the production and director’s cut were appalling and all over the place and it was so hard to follow. As a critic, watching the first 15 minutes of a movie, I should have an idea of the theme of the movie. However, in this movie, the beginning of the movie did not correlate with the rest of the movie and I am still trying to understand the relevance.

Although we are told that the story is based on a true life story, part of the storyline was unrealistic. A typical example was where there was a murder enquiry and a serving police officer asks to be paid to carry out the investigation in the UK and is drunk. No suspected gets interviewed under caution in a police station, This is all phony and unrealistic. I am of the view that when you want to tell a story, you must research properly how to present the story to the public. It might have been better if the policeman was presented as a PI rather than a policeman. For a murder enquiry, no policeman would be interviewing witnesses in the park and in some cases not taking notes but in a police station under caution and witnesses making witness statements.

While I appreciate effort and understand that this was meant to be based on a real life story, I cannot give more than 4.5 for the storyline.

Cast: The cast included Sidi Diallo, Fatima Jabbe Maada Bio, Uche Odoputa, Ikenna Obi, Collins Archie-Pearce, Atto Eric, Ferguson Jack, Bella Gassama, Olivia Eze, Happiness, Chica Michelle, Craig Melbourne, Labinot Zeqiri. Joy Oyakhilome, Christianah Awotayo, Princess Abiye and LB Brown.

There were a mix of experience and non experience. As a reviewer and critic, I need to look at the good and the bad sides. Let us start with the positives. Some of the cast were natural and brought their experience to play. In this regard, I would like to mention Collins, Uche, Fatima, Ikenna & Olivia as they used their experience to try and tell the story.

However, some of the cast were just like they crammed their lines and were all over the movie. Diction is also important when trying to tell a story. If one is trying to play American or British with an accent, they need to have that accent or just be themselves and stick to what they know. In this movie, I could tell that even Sidy was African which was good, but some of the actresses tried to speak in British accent and they failed woefully. I must also mention consistency. In some scenes for example Collins was presented as a father looking old even to his teeth and in some scenes he was looking young even though he was still playing the role of the father. I saw him in a different light when he looked old and that was good, but was spoilt when they forgot the role he was actually playing. For the cast, for effort, I would award 5.5

Sound: One could hear buzzy sounds in most scenes. An example was when mother and son were speaking at the house. Also sometimes background music and buzzy noises overshadow the voices of cast. A typical example was at the party and at Ben's home. There was also poor sound mix at the modelling office between Ann and Mike. In most cases the buzzes and music made it difficult to hear what the cast was actually saying. Bottom line, the sound was not too good. I would award 4.5 for sound.

Picture quality: in some cases, there was not enough headroom, most of the character was were not in the camera frame as was evident in most of the scenes. In the birthday scene, there was no headroom and it seemed that the camera was moving. In this scene, the pictures were so shaky. In some cases, the picture was so dark and it seemed as if the colour grading was not in existence. In my honest opinion, I think the recording was not professionally done. In some cases, these issues made the movie difficult to watch. I would recommend that the Director should go back and watch the movie and see how some of these issues can be addressed. For picture quality, I would award 4.

Overall: To me, if the movie was properly researched and the story told properly, my review would have been different. Like I said earlier, the story in itself is good but the packaging was the problem in my honest view. When people begin to sleep in a movie, it tells a story. I have been to late night movies and seen movies and still not slept, I have watched movies including Nollywood in languages I don’t understand with good sub-titles and still did not sleep. There were elements of humour in this movie and there was passion and enthusiasm form the writer.

However, I would recommend that in future, as a script writer, the same person should not produce and direct so that someone else can see what migh have been missed, Two eyes they say are better than one. Our passion at Babso.org is to see Nollywood Movies compare to Hollywood Movies in the near future, but this would take research, resilience and excellence. Overall, I would issue this movie 5.5. I think Sidy should see these as positive criticisms that would enable him go back to the drawing board in his next project.

My overall score out of a possible 50  is 24  which would rate the movie as 4.8  out of a possible 10

Watch the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf63qgzoSoE&feature=youtu.be

Review of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun

This movie was premiered at the Odeon Streatham. Although our team could not be at the movie, we were privileged to watch the screening at the Odeon Greenwich on Monday 21st April 2014.  According to their Facebook page, the movie is based on a book by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and was written and directed by Biyi Bandele.

Storyline: The movie was based on the adaptation of a 450 page and was centred around the effects of the Nigerian-Biafran war. The effects of this war is depicted through relationships between four people's lives. After the British leave and Nigeria gets her independence, the lives of the main characters are torn apart. The storyline was as close as it could possibly have been to what happened in post independent Nigeria and how there was corruption, ethnic issues that eventually led to a military coup in Nigeria and the Eastern part of Nigeria declaring its independence as a new country called Biafra. The story also depicted how the subsequent war between Nigeria and the breakaway Biafra led to the loss of many lives, destruction of property and changing the lives and destiny of people.

Olanna and Kainene are glamorous twins from a wealthy Nigerian family. Upon returning to a privileged city life in newly independent 1960s Nigeria after their expensive English education, the two women make very different choices. Olanna shocks her family by going to live with her lover, the "revolutionary professor" Odenigbo and his devoted houseboy Ugwu in the dusty university town of Nsukka; Kainene turns out to be a fiercely successful businesswoman when she takes over the family interests, and surprises even herself when she falls in love with Richard, an English writer. Preoccupied by their romantic entanglements, and a betrayal between the sisters, the events of their life seem to loom larger than politics. However, they become caught up in the events of the Nigerian civil war, in which the lgbo people fought an impassioned struggle to establish Biafra as an independent republic, ending in chilling violence which shocked the entire world.

Although I have not read the book, I was so intrigued how the story was told leaving no doubts in my mind. From beginning of the film to the end, I could not take my eyes off the screen. There was a bit of everything, humour, brutality, love etc. At the end of the movie, we were told what happened to the major characters. I also enjoyed seeing props such as old cars like the Volkswagen and Peugeot 404, the old style radios etc. Based on the above, especially as it is an adaptation of a book, for the storyline, I give a 10

Cast: The movie showcased lot of talented the cast  which included Academy Award nominee Chiwetel Ejifor as Odenigbo,  BAFTA award winner Thandie Newton as Olanna Odenigbo's wife, Onyeka Owenu as Mama - Odenigbo's mother, O C Ukeju as Aniekwena Odenigbo's cousin, Genevieve Nnaji as Lara Adebayo, Joseph Malwe as Richard, Anima Noni Rose as Kainene - Olanna's twin sister, John Boyega as Ukwu – houseboy, Zack Orji as Cheif Ozobia Olanna's father, Wale Ojo as Minister Okonji, Hakeem Kae-Kazim as Captain Dutse, Tina Mba as Mrs Ozobia and Gloria Young as Olanna's Auntie.

Again, I was intrigued by the way the cast worked together and played their roles properly. While I would not want to commend the experienced actors, I must make mention of a few people that I thought did absolutely well in the roles they were given. I would like to commend John who played the role of a houseboy Ukwu. I have never seen him in any movie before, but he is a natural talent and someone that would go places if he remains focused. I have seen Onyeka Onwenu act in some movies and she has been here and there, but in this movie, she played the role of an arrogant mother and if you came from some homes, you thought that was your mother. Well done! Let me take one more actor. Joseph Malwe, I was seeing for the first time who played the role of Richard a lecturer from the UK. Again, you would think he lived in Nigeria during the period of the movie as it just came naturally to him. The use of film pictures as the visit of the Queen to Nigeria or speeches by the Biafran leader also added colour to the storyline.

It is one thing to have a good storyline and another thing to have the cast that can tell the story. This production married both properly and as such for the cast, I would give a 10.

Sound: I was overwhelmed as I watched the movie. I am used to hearing background noises or buzzes in most movies I review. However, as hard as I tried (and there may have been noises or buzzes), but both myself or my harsh Associate did not have any cause for concerns as we did not hear any other sounds apart from the voices of the actors and the effects e.g. the sound of bombs. For the sound therefore, I give another 10.

Picture quality: The picture quality was also solid with a mix of black and white videos depicting the 60s and clear pictures in other scenes. If I was to be so strict, there was a place where Mamas face was hidden. That being the case, not many people would have noticed this and this can easily be edited. On a whole for the picture quality, I give another 10.

Overall: On the whole, this film was properly researched and the correct cast played the correct roles. The props were right and there were a lot of extras but the movie was just natural. There was a flow and I was impressed. I cannot say more. For overall performance, I give another 10.

I have reviewed some movies in the past months and I cannot be give this film a 10 out of a possible 10. Very easily, I would recommend that people go and watch this movie. To the Director, cast and crew, I say well done!!

Watch the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gd9DXfXlxY

Review of Ortega and His Enemies

The movie Ortega and his enemies was premiered on Friday 4th April 2014 at the Odeon Cinema Greenwich, The movie was written and directed by the renowned award-winning director M A Benson, also the producer and director of (“Forget The Pact” and Phantom of Fury”) and was hosted by the very fabulous DJ Abass

The Red carpet showcased people from different walks of life including Cyril Uchenna Gwam, Minister/Head of Political Affairs of the Nigerian High Commission and his team, representatives of the entertainment industry including multi award winner from South Africa, Kunle Ayo and his wife, representatives of sponsors Lomo Mobile, Benalex Media and Vox TV, representatives form the press and Nollywood movie lovers. The Nollywood UK industry was represented by award winning actress Theodora Ibekwe Oyebade, award winning cinematographer and director, Nelson Spyke, Award winning actress Roseline Sanni Ajose and her husband, award winning director Ruke Amata, Danny Erskine, cast and crew of the movie led by Director M A Benson, Rita Nzelu Okoro,  Darrel Las Quevas, Aldi Alfa, Collins Archie Pearce etc.

Picture quality: The qualities of the pictures could have been a bit brighter and in most scenes, the background was dull. However, the pictures were clear to the extent that one could see that the cast of the movie had done make up. For picture quality, I would award a mark of 6.

Sound quality: For most parts of the movie, the sound was perfect. This was evident as in outdoor scenes, one could clearly hear the casts speak over the sounds on the background. However, there were cases of hissy or buzzy sounds that could be heard and on some scenes, I had to stress to hear what a particular actress was saying and did not end up hearing a phrase or two. In the court scene, the background music was distracting and should not have been on. Overall the sound was not bad and I would award a score of 8.

Cast: While I am a strong supporter of collaborations in Nollywood Movies, I believe that a Nollywood movie should be what it is, Nollywood. The balance of the cast should be in favour of the Nigerians/Africans. In Hollywood or Bollywood, that is what one would see. Although the movie was shot in the UK, and is claimed to be a British Drama with Nollywood twists, I believe there were too many non-Nollywood actors and actresses. Furthermore, it was advertised to the Nollywood audience and most of those present were Nollywood lovers. The premiere at Odeon Cinema was also done in the characteristic manner in which Nollywood premieres are done. The list below would prove the point. In fact looking at the list of actors and actresses, one would find it difficult to call it a Nollywood Movie. The names of the lead actors and actresses are not Nollywood. I must state that I am reviewing this movie as a Nollywood critic and reviewer so these points must be brought to light.

Ortega showcases a new height of global intrigue and suspense with British and Nollywood heavy weights including Rita Nzelu Okoro (International Games) playing Grace and Uche Odoputa (Last Flight to Abuja) playing Gary Chucks, Darrel Las Quevas (starred alongside Hollywood stars such a Morgan Freeman) as John Ortega and emerging UK talent Adi Alfa (Lead actress in Tamla Rose) as Sara. The film also featured  Alexandra Johnston as Lee, Dean Ekperigin as Frankie,  Gary Douglas as Maxwell Tobi, Sharan Atwal as Mia Patel,  Theo Handen as  Anooj Patel, Jenis Adams as DC Martha, Lucien Morgan as Richard Darlington QC, Stephanie Page as PC Taylor, Steve Ward as PC Steve, Amelia-Jeanette Nettie Prentice as Sara Peterson QC, Robert Scott as Attendant Matthew Martino, Ernest Gromov as Seregay, Collins Archie Pearce as Mr Anthony.

Additional cast included Jill Buchanan, Steve Martin, Fay Jones, Dominique Lynch, Katrina Gulbrandson, Amandla Miisho, Paul Dellow, Daniel Osgood, Joelle Koissi, Penny Judd, Anna Kolesnik, Michael Chapman, Jessen Aroonachellum, Chris Walker, Kevin Allen, Loula Kazantzi, Martin Wheatley, John Fisher, Briggitta Makk, Solene Marvian, Peter Y Kyei, Marian Keogh, Jan Rook, Shane Salter, Marco Flammer, Keith Ackerman, Fabio Vollono, Julie Vollono, Amy Beales, Raquel Raposo, Tracey Williams, Roberta La Placa, Jaimie Yates and Kadine Watson.

For a comprehensive list of cast and crew, visit http://www.ortegaandhisenemiesmovie.com/.

In my professional view, I believe that the cast was properly chosen and did what they were briefed to do. John Ortega played the role of a frustrated man, Franklin did well as a fraudster or as we call it in Nollywood “419”. The car park attendant was also natural and so were most of the cast. However, in some scenes, there were elements of overacting. If I were to review the cast as an ordinary film and not as a Nollywood movie, I would have scored the cast more, but based on my above concerns, I cannot score the cast more than 6.

Storyline: Prior to watching the movie, I went to the website above and read the synopsis of the movie. It read in part:

“The story is an original and intriguing British drama with some Nollywood twists. The film set in London and Essex unfolds the life of an anger management patient John Ortega (played by Darrel Las Quevas) whose world is torn apart when he cannot manage Sara’s adversaries (his fiancé played by Adi Alfa). With deceit, brutality and police chase, will John be able to overcome the forces of antagonism from DC Martha, Maxwell Toby, Sara’s step dad, the cross dresser, ex police officer, The manipulative Lee (played by Alexandra Johnston) a vengeance seeking single mum and Franklin Macintosh (played by Dean Ekperigin), Sara’s ex boyfriend who would not take no for an answer. With these enemies’ individual evil plot against John, will he survive and still make it to the altar with his soul mate Sara?”

On the storyline, I would like to start from the positives and then go to the negatives. Firstly, I would like to commend the writer for researching how an arrest is made and ensuring that the proper cautions were made. However, people are arrested for offences or on suspicion of offences. In one of the scenes, someone was arrested for an incident that happened in a venue. That does not happen in real life.

I would also want to commend the  court scenes. A real Magistrate Court was used and  for the offences of criminal damage, theft and assault occasioning bodily harm that Ortega was arrested and charged for, the Magistrate Court has jurisdiction. However, when someone appears in court for the first time, he is asked to confirm his name and address and then the charges and read to him and his plea taken even before any arguments for bail. In the movie, the defence lawyer was arguing for bail and stated that her client was going to plead not guilty. That was the wrong order and never happens in that way in the British legal system. The ruling for bail was well researched. However, one of the conditions for bail would always be for the accused person to appear either in the Magistrate Court or if the matter would be adjourned to  the Crown Court. You may think these are little things, but a ruling was given on bail, this should have been done properly.

I must commend the parts of the story line reflected real life incidents, how parking attendants knowingly hide, watch people and issue tickets and make people pay unnecessarily. I have seen this happen in real life and there were have been incidents reported on news where yellow lines have been covered by snow so that people park and get to pay a fine, so watching those scenes was like watching real life incidents. I must also say that there were few humorous scenes in the movie.

As a reviewer, I would not be doing justice if I do not mention the following points. When one goes to watch a movie, in the first few minutes say 15 to 30 minutes an expectation should be built and people should have an idea where the movie is going even if they are wrong. Had I not read the synopsis, I would have been lost as the beginning of the movie dragged a lot and some people were even sleeping as in wake me when the real action starts.

Movies also send a whole lots of messages and one of the messages this movie sent to me was that crime pays. I would elaborate. Orterga committed a series of crimes even after he was bailed and at the end of the movie, we see him still roaming the streets in a ferry. Sara committed murder and at the movie, we see her taking her passport and intending to travel. Even if the movie did not show it, some lines at the end to say that Orterga was apprehended and sentenced to prison and Sara was arrested at the airport and also sentenced to prison would send the right message. If someone was as hurt as Orterga in real life and watched the movie, they might get ideas.

There was also the issue of the rape. I really wander why that scene was added if much effort was placed on the parking tickets and the outcomes thereof whereas the issue of the rape was inconclusive and there were no emotions attached or shown in the movie. I have seen movies where people are raped and how emotionally tortured they are. That part of the story seemed to be lacking in this movie.

Also funny to me was the scene where someone was hit with a shoe I believe it was and blood was gushing out from his head I also presume and still the person could blink his eye. There were also little details that could have been looked at. An example was where the DC told Max that 5 people had been put in hospital by John whilst counting there were only 3, the parking attendant, the lady at the pound and the police officer. Overall as a reviewer and critic, I believe I know what the writer was trying to portray, but I believe that the script was not properly concluded and dragged a lot. In view of this I would award a 6

Overall experience: I spoke to several people after the movie and the reviews were mixed. While there was an outright condemnation from some, others praised the movie. By and large there was ambiance especially at the gallery. For overall experience, I would award 6.5

The question that remains is would I be recommending this movie to people. I would say if you are expecting a proper Nollywood Movie, your hopes may be dashed, but although there are criticisms about the movie, I would still recommend people to watch it. However, I would like the writer to consider concluding it properly even if it is with sentences saying what happened at the end.

Overall score is 32.5 out of 50 which gives a rating of 6.5

Watch the trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QMH0w9MQY4