Review of London Premier of Omede Osazuwa's Odumamwen

The movie Odumamwen A hustler’s story was directed by Amen Imasuen and produced by Omede Osazuwa. The movie premiered at Greenwich Community College on the 25th May 2014. The event was not a full premiere of the movie but a limited viewing after which the DVDs were launched. babso.org had the singular honour of being given a copy of the DVD to watch so as to review the film. My review therefore is based on what I saw at the viewing and watching the movie at home.

Storyline: According to the  synopsis of the film, A hustler story is a musical film, which mirrors the life and times of our talented youth in the society left without a job, hence a dire need for survival. It was intended in the movie to expose the audience to the naked reality of what the youth in our society go through just to attain a status within our society and become  somebody in life. Jerry and Odaho’s paths crossed for the better when Jerry made a trip to the village. Little did he know that by meeting Odaho, a very talented singer, both of them will be heading for fame, and stardom

This movie also tells the story of the ugly side of the streets and how youths are lured into all kinds of shady deals by a mob boss just to make ends meet. They had no options but to risk their lives working for a heartless mob boss.

Apart from this reality, the movie a hustler is filled with dance, music and lots of party and a bit of comedy, to act as a comic relief.  Above all, the movie is about how trust in a relationship is very vital. In summary, the movie is a about street hustle, talent accomplishment, and a touch of love, which they say conquers all.

The movie is an Edo movie with subtitles. I must say that the subtitles were bad. There were a lot of spelling mistakes e.g short your mouth instead of shut your mouth, arguement instead of argument, competetion instead of competition, surgestion instead of suggestion, hursling instead of hustling, sit instead of seat to mention a few. Seems there was no post production editing. I do not speak Benin or Edo but it seems some lines far exceeded what was subtitled.

Towards the end of the movie Jerry and Odaho were meant to be singing or miming a song but they did not do that justice. Initially, they were not miming and eventually they did not mime to the beats. For the story line out of a 10, I would award 6

Picture Quality: The picture quality was not exceptional but not too bad. Having researched when headroom is needed, the movie could do with some headroom. Also arial view pictures could be improved. That said for picture quality, I would award a 6 out of 10.

Sound: There were some scenes where there were buzzy sounds and interference with what was being said. The sound was also escalating up and down in scenes, sometimes high and sometimes low even though what was being said was heard very faintly. Just for emphasis, one of such scenes was where Jerry and his friend from the village were practicing at home and his mother came in. The point here was there was no consistency in the sound.   For sound, i would award a 5.5 out of 10.

Cast: There were no known names amongst the actors and I did not see any extra ordinary actor or actress worthy of mention, but I think the cast just played the roles assigned to them. However, I watched some characters very closely and in my own view the mob boss did not really act like one would expect, very fierce looking and hard. I must say that the actor tried hard but  not hard enough. I think Odaho played his role just right and I see him as a promising and upcoming talent in the Nollywood industry. Nothing spectacular, would award a 5 out of 10

Overall performance: I would like to commend Omede for looking at a societal ill and telling the story in an indigenous manner. However, I feel a lot of time was spent in telling the story hence making it boring for non Edo speakers. Also, the post production as it is now on DVD could have been better. There were too many errors with subtitles that could easily have been corrected before premiering and eventually putting the movie on DVD, that shows lack of attention to detail. In his next production, I think there should be some members of the cast that should stand out and wow the audience. Although I am happy not to see the regular UK Nollywood actors, I still missed that wow factor. To me, it was a simple story told by a simple cast.

Overall for effort and having given it serious thought, I would like to award this movie a 3 star out of a possible 5+ stars. There were definitely good things in the movie and somethings not too good. The question remains if i would ask people to buy the DVD. For an Edo person, they would appreciate the movie and I guess that is the targeted audience, but for non Edos, I believe they would get bored easily.

I cannot ask to watch the trailer as there is no trailer on the internet.

New Review Criteria

Hi to all our Nollywood Directors, Producers, Crew, Cast, sponsors and of course to all the supporters of the industry.

At Babso.org, we listen to positive feedback as we do not claim to know it all. In the light of the above, from our next movie review, we would be looking at the following criteria and  awarding the following marks:

Storyline: We would look at the message that the movie is trying to bring out and how successful the message actually went out

Cast: We would look at the skills of the cast and how they portrayed the storyline. We would mark down for actors/actresses that cram their lines and do not portray the message via the roles they play

Sound: We are looking for clarity of sound where people can hear what the cast are saying and where props like gunshots are properly done. We would mark down for any kind of interruptions in the sound

Picture Quality: This is essential and we are looking for clear pictures from professional cameras. We can spot where pictures are bad due to the fact that professionals are not involved.

All the above criteria would be marked over 10.

We would write an overall performance but instead of using an average, we would look at the entirety of the movie and rate between 1 and 5 stars. In doing this if one gets a 4 star and another a 3 star, we are saying the 4 star is an overall better movie than the 3 star.

We pride ourselves in excellence and would continue to listen to what you are saying. It is important that script writers research their scripts as we would also dock marks for lack of researched scripts.

Together we can make the Nollywood industry better,

Review of London Premier of Helen "Gold" Osabutey's 18 Carat Mama

The movie was premiered on Friday 2^nd May 2014 at the Odeon Cinema Greenwich.

18 Carat Mama showcases some of Nollywood’s best actors and actresses including Helen "Gold" Osabutey, Theodora Ibekwe-Oyebade, Toyin Moore, Fred Aseroma, Lanre Balogun, Mac Edobor, Marie Gomez, Tolu Yesufu, Ade Bello and Mabel Ayeko Osabutey amongst others.

The movie was written and produced by Helen "Gold" Osabutey and directed by Titi Jacobs-Aseroma.

The premiere was hosted by the very fabulous DJ Abass and present on the red carpet were Ruke Amata, Fred Aseroma, Theodora Ibekwe Oyebade, Toyin Moore, Helen Gold Osabutey, Ayo Oyebade, Marie Gomez, Danny Erskin, Titi Jacobs-Aseroma, Mabel Osabutey, Godwin Osabutey, Pauline Long, Collins Archie-Pearce, Nelson Spyk, Tolu Yesufu, Lanre Balogun, captains of the UK Nollywood industry and members of the public.

Storyline: The movie is about giving women an awareness about the need to have a smear test with the view to an early detection and/or prevention of cervical cancer and treating cancer early if detected before it spreads.. It is written mainly around the three main female characters who live their lives without a care in the world, until one day tragedy struck. It is both a comedy and drama. While it is aimed primarily at the African woman who take issues of their health with levity more so the dislike of the intrusion of their privacy, it is a story for the family and the general public.

The story is mind-blowing, thought-provoking, educating, entertaining and full of laughter. It is a story of total friendship, loyalty, endurance, trust and reality of everyday life situations.

From the beginning of the movie, there was humour, a mix of new entrant Toyin Moore (Lynne), Theodora Ibekwe-Oyebade (Crystal) and Helen Gold Osabutey (Yetty) herself.  Although there was a major theme in the movie, as a reviewer and critic, I was impressed that there were other what I can call sub themes such as the theme of a family woman who was always trying to present herself to the society above her means. This was well demonstrated in the movie by Yetty. There could also have been the theme of miserable husbands and boyfriends. Again this theme was well demonstrated by the “3 musketeers” and their husbands as well as Kate and her boyfriend  (Mike).

This is one movie that I would give FULL credit to the story writer and those that edited the script. Without hesitation, for the storyline, I have no choice than to give a resounding 10

Picture Quality: Generally, the picture quality was brilliant. However, there were scenes where there was no headroom. Having thought of it long and hard, the balance was in favour of brilliant picture quality as opposed to a few scenes where there was no headroom. As a result of this for picture quality, I would award another mark of 10. However, in future productions, I would like to see the issue of headroom addressed.

Sound: Again generally, the sound in the movie was great. However, in my view, it is important that when music is playing and a new scene is to be introduced, the music needs to be lowered. Also, Sound there were slight buzzy sounds in one or two scenes. As a reviewer, the question I need to consider before issuing a score is whether the afore-mentioned points are enough to deprive the movie of maximum points in this category. In reaching my decision, I have asked whether the average viewer who watched this movie noticed these points. A post-movie survey I carried out showed that the viewers did not notice these points. In the light of the above, I would be issuing another 10 for the sound quality. However, I would like to put a caveat that the sound can be improved even better.

Cast: The movie showcased lots of talented actors and actresses including Nollywood veterans Lanre Balogun & Fred Aseroma, Theodora Ibekwe- Oyebade, Toyin Moore, Helen Gold Osabutey, Ayo Oyebade, Marie Gomez, Danny Erskin, Titi Jacobs-Aseroma, Ade Bello, Tolu Yesufu, Sarah Bello, Hilda Williams, Victoria Nicholas, Tyna Sonuga, Tiya Odebode, Mac Edobor, Mabel Osabutey, Godwin Osabutey, O'Tega Oyovbaire, Olakitan Adebayo and Jediah David.

What can I say about the cast? The audition was perfect as the cast played their roles professionally. I always like encouraging new acts and worthy of mention was Toyin Moore (Lynne). Although Tolu Yesufu (Kate) is not a new act and has produced a movie, she played her role naturally. Helen Gold Osabutey (Yetty) was first class. I am not sure if she has featured in other movies.

Experience also added to the glamour of the movie. The likes of Lanre Balogun and Fred Aseroma added the much needed balance to the cast. I love Ayo Oyebade in any movie he acts. He may not get major roles but does justice to any role he is given. Again, he did this in this movie. I cannot do justice to this category without mentioning I would like to Sarah Bello (Sharon’s daughter). Although she played a minor role, she did it with all excellence and I see her as an upcoming Nollywood talent.

While thinking about this review, I thought hard as to whether to mention names of people I did not think were up to par with their acting. As a reviewer and critic, I would not be doing justice to my review if I do not mention this. This is not a witch hunt, but while I am commending those that I think made the movie stand up, I should also make mention of those I think let the movie down.

In my view, I don’t think Danny Erskin (Tom) is quite ready for roles in the Nollywood industry. A good actor acts and does not speak so as to convince those that are watching him. In this movie, all I saw was Tom forcing himself into character and more or less cramming his lines to fit that role. In all honesty and I say this in good faith and without regrets, I think if Danny wants to get good roles and stay in this competitive industry, he should enrol and go for some acting classes so that when he comes back into the industry, he has all it takes to be a success. Diction is an integral part in the role that one plays.

In this case, on a balance of probabilities and having looked at the cast as a whole, I would be giving a 9 for the cast.

Overall performance: As a reviewer and critic, I do not always say this, but this movie was well researched in spite of little errors here and there. I am impressed with the major message of the movie which has to do with cervical cancer.

In reality, there is a lot of ignorance in this area and women tend to overlook what are possible symptoms of cervical cancer. While I understand that it is not only cervical cancer that has these symptoms, that was the main thrust of this movie.

I also like how at the end of the movie, there were scripted text messages highlighting the symptoms and what to do if any of these symptoms are noticed. This was relevant as people may have missed the message of the movie in the midst of the comedy and humour. It brought the movie back to its principal message.

Overall, this movies did me proud and so far I have not said this for many movies. For overall performance, I cannot but give this movie a resounding 10.

Out of a possible 50, I have awarded a well-respected 49. This gives the movie a 9.8 on average. I would like to conclude by saying that this movie ranks pari-pasu or in the same stead with movies that I have given the full marks of 10. Everything about this movie smells of excellence, well though out and well directed.

I would like to commend the Director, producer, cast and crew for a job well done.

Not only would I recommend it people to watch this movie, I would recommend that the Producer considers showing this movie in cinemas around the country.

Watch the trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3r5_LruUv0