Review of London Premiere of Mum, Dad meet Sam

The movie Mum, Dad meet Sam premiered at the Genesis Cinema Whitechapel on Saturday 6^th December 2014. Prominent on the red carpet were Joseph Benjamin, Helen Gold, HRH Theodora Ibekwe- Oyebade and Chief Ayo Oyebade, Malcolm Benson, Tiyike Alayande, DJ Abass, Danny Erskine, Florence Blaster Okonkwo,Nonso Nwaiwu cast and crew of the movie amongst others. Also showing support and appearing were Nollywood Prolific Director Obi Emenloye, Producer Sollins Archie-Pearce and TV Presenter and fashionista Mary Shittu.

Storyline: Josiah Abiola is at the peak of his career. The only thing left is to find the perfect girl to settle down with. Samantha Smith is stunning, intelligent and perfect. They meet and fall in love. They might just be perfect for each other. He decides to take her home to meet his family in Nigeria.

What is supposed to be a special occasion turns out to be their worst nightmare. Throw in a cocktail of a devious ex-girlfriend, an over protective, overdramatic mother, and the fact that Sam is English and you have a recipe for an explosive and disastrous encounter ripe with awkwardness and hilarity.

I must confess that this was comedy at its best. The storyline again is one that should really be told. It reflects the ancient ways of thinking (which still happens today) of how mothers are protective of their children and a Nigerian man marrying a white lady was a no no. The storyline was clear right from the beginning to the end and the viewers like myself were in no doubt as to what was happening. I commend the script writer. Nollywood is a developing industry and the stories being told need to be relevant. This was not only a relevant story, but was also humorous.

Cast: The movie showcased Joseph Bemjamin, A Dot Comedian, Daniella Down, Helen Gold, Anthony Ofoegbu, Edith Nwekenta, HRH Theodora Ibekwe Oyebade amonst others. The movie was written and produced by Segilola Ogidan, Edith Nwekenta and Directed by Tony Sebastian Ukpo.

In my view, there was a good balance in the cast. A Dot the Comedian playing Fola made the movie more comical, playing the role of a typical loud Nigerian man in London. Joseph Benjamin playing Josiah played (and very well too) the role of an obedient son, there was Helen Gold playing the typical Nigerian mother, Edith Nwekenta playing Morenike the typical ex and jealous girlfriend, Daniella Down playing the role of a gullible Sam. I believe the entire cast understood the script and complimented one another. I give kudos to the Director for ensuring the cast told the story appropriately but at the same time not losing the elements of comedy.

Picture Quality: Picture quality in some scenes were not too good. An example was at the Lagos airport. Overall, the picture quality was good but not excellent and as a reviewer and critic for such a good film, I would like to see a use of more 21^st century images. The use of a professional cinematographer would have taken the film to the highest pedestal. However, as with most Nollywood movies, funding may have been an issue, but personally, I would like to see greater images in future productions.

Sound Quality: At the beginning of the movie, the sound for mum was a bit distant. Also, the sound at the Lagos airport was not too good. In some cases, Fola seemed to be far from mic and ended up shouting. I know his role was to be a loud person, but if he was closer to the mic or if the sound was very good, there would have been elements of control in my view that would not have made it look as if he was shouting.

Overall performance:  The house that was meant to be in Lagos, was obviously in London. Lagos is a hot country and they do not need heaters to keep warm as it is naturally hot, rather they need air conditioners to keep cool. The Director may not have noticed, but good as the house was, we kept seeing heaters!!

I also did not realise that Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos had a car park as depicted in the movie. Obviously scenes depicted as being in Lagos were obviously shot in London or in the UK. I know that part of the movie was shot in Lagos, the market scene. The Director should have made efforts to ensure that they got locations in Lagos to shoot the Airport scene and the house in Lagos.

Also as a reviewer and critic, I must be picky especially when the movie was so good. Mum prepared cooked food for her son and packed it into his luggage for him to eat. It was not clear where he was going to eat the food, bur definitely not when he got to London as the food would be spoilt Just a little thought!!The movie was very comical with the entire cast contributing.

The final question I always ask as a reviewer and critic is if I would recommend the movie. Without blink in an eye or thinking twice about it, the answer is a categorical YES. The good thing about this movie is that anyone from any part of the world can watch and follow the story. It was comical and the truth is that it was a 2 hours well spent. I would recommend and I do not do this often that this movie should be shown in cinemas around the world. With good marketing, I believe that it would be a hit and would do the Nollywood industry proud.

All that is left for me to say is a big well done to the cast and crew of the movie, all the time that was spent on making the movie was well spent. Just to be clear, I would pay for an evening out with my wife to go watch this movie if it ever comes to the cinemas in the UK. Well done!!

Watch the trailer:

http://mdms-movie.com/videos/

Review of London Premiere of Afua's Diary

The movie Afuas Diary premiered at the Odeon Cinema Greenwich on Friday 5^thDecemmber 2014. Prominent on the red carpet were Cleopatra Wood, Fabio Abraham, Bibi Owusu-Shabholt, Ben Owusu, cast and crew of the movie, DJ Abass Danny Erskine, Riyike Alayande, Nelson Spyke, HRH Theodora Ibekwe Oyebade and Chief Ayo Oyebade. Also present at the premiere was prolific Nollywood Director Obi Emenlonye and his wife Amaka amongst others.

There were two things about this premiere that struck me and I must comment on them. Firstly, the premiere started early and finished early which is not usually the case with premieres held at the Odeon Cinema. The organisers took the risk to pay for premium time and in spite of heavy traffic on the day, the attendance was encouraging. Secondly, the setting for the red carpet was second to none that I have seen since I started to watch Nollywood or African premieres. There may not have been many known names but the setting was professional and almost akin to what you would see in Hollywood premieres. It was the best red carpet setting that I have seen so far. Having said all that, let us take a look at the movie itself.

Storyline: Alan Freeman is an Italian businessman who has suffered a bitter divorce. His ex wife was a South African woman who left him after she was given the right to stay in the UK. This divorce is affecting every facet of his life till he meets Afua Forson Brown.

Afua Forson Brown is a stunning African girl whose life is a catalogue of problems. She has a lazy, arrogant and aggressive boyfriend who depends on her for everything and an alcoholic father in Ghana who comes up with outrageously childish reasons to extort money from her. In addition to this, her visa is near expiration.

As Afua and Alan meet and fall in love, Afua’s problems become a big threat to their relationship. The movie was written by Bibi Owusu-Shadbolt and directed by Ben Owusu. 

The storyline centres around Afua who has been in the UK since she was 19. She has immigration challenges and has been refused leave to remain in the United Kingdom. The issue of immigration and amnesty, one that is a major issue in this part of the world is highlighted in this movie. The issue of arranged marriages where one of the parties gets married to the other to get their immigration status is also highlighted. The issue of illegal working and fines aid for employing those with no right to remain were also highlighted.

The other major theme was around  love and how destiny can bring people together. It showcased how a broken heart can change the life of a person especially when he feels his heart has been broken not once but twice.

In my view, I give credit to the script writer. The storyline was relevant and straight forward. Everyone that watched the movie could understand where the story was heading. The good thing about the movie was that the storyline was not dragged on or prolonged and went straight to the point.

Cast: The movie showcased Cleopatra Wood, KSM Kwaku Sintim Misa,  Fabio Abraham, Franciska Bijou-Steiner, Zion Johnson, Alexander Arthur, Louis Hyde, Richard Goble and Nataylia amongst others

What can I say about KSM? Natural actor, greedy father but he nailed the role, in other words, he played the role excellently. When I started to watch the movie initially, my first thoughts were that Fabio was doing a movie for the first time. His role was pivotal and central that I felt that initially, he did not capture the role. An example was where he got angry and threw his phone on the floor. To me that looked like play acting. It was not natural and did not convince me. It looked like he was just reading from a script and then following the script with his acting. I think he should have used his natural accent as he was not really good in trying to force an accent. I think gradually he got into the role and he improved eventually, but in my honest opinion, I think someone like him who is novel (he did his best, don’t get me wrong) should not have been cast for such a lead role. He should have been given a lesser role.

Cleopatra was just natural actress that played the role so well. She was the centre of the story and you could see innocence and inexperience in the role she played and empathise with her as if it was in real life. There were some scenes that I expected a bit better from her to carry that role but all in all, I am not sure if this is her first production or first major role, but I give her credit and I think she carried the storyline as a gullible young Ghanaian girl that was looking for love and wanting a better life for her.

There were some supporting members of the cast that did well. I see that young boy with more tutelage and proper direction as being a potential star in the future. The friend to Afua, I am not sure about the accent, I think the wrong accent was chosen for her, but in terms of playing the role of a close friend, I think she did well, could have been better though!

Some of the minor characters like the police crew and even the Registrar were more or less just scripting and not really acting. In my view, acting should be with passion for the role, big or small and the viewer should believe what the cast is trying to portray and believe it is happening in real life. It should not be about cramming a script and more or less reading it out.

All in all, as I believe most of the cast in this production were novel in this industry, I think they tried their best in their individual roles. With the resources available to him, I think the Director did the best he could to ensure the plot of the story is achieved. What is important to me as a reviewer and critic in spite of short comings is if they were able to bring to life in a believable manner the plot of the movie and in my view I believe they did.

Picture Quality: The picture quality was average. In some scenes between changing pictures, there was a slight break and the transition was not smooth. Some of the shots were not too good and could have been better. I think for future productions, this should be looked at and taken more seriously. Yes the storyline of a movie is important, but for people that pay to watch a movie, they want to see good picture quality. We are in a technological age where all sort of things can be done to capture good pictures and unfortunately, this was missing in this movie. This should be a learning point.

Sound Quality: I do not like to go to a movie and hear unnecessary interference in the sound. From the beginning of the movie, the sound was buzzy in some scenes. The buzzy sounds were still eminent even in scenes where the cast were indoors. This is something that could have been dealt with post production and again, I think this should be a learning point for future productions. The sound need to be clear and all that should be heard are the voices of the cast and any special effects that are being used.

Overall performance: Personally, I believe that before any movie is shot, there should be research. Whilst at the end of the movie, someone was credited as an Immigration Officer, in the movie, we saw only Police Officers. The role of bursting arranged marriages is the job of Immigration Officers. In times past, the Immigration Officers attended with Police Officers, but nowadays, most Immigration Officers are arrest trained and attend such functions themselves. Whatever the case, Immigration takes the lead and this was not the case in this movie.

Again, I would have like a bit of more flesh as to how Afua came back to the UK especially as she was not married before she came back. Having being removed from the UK as an overstayer, it would take convincing evidence to get her back. I would have made Alan go to Ghana and do some kind of wedding and even meet her father. In this day and age, one does not just pull strings in the British Embassy and the next thing one arrives back in the UK. I would have also added a scene showing Afua depressed in Ghana and her seeing the real life style her father was living back at home.

Having said that, I think overall for a first attempt, it was a good movie such that a potential investor has looked into taking it into some countries. The storyline being relevant and the simplicity in which the story was told made people emphasise and feel sorry for the lead characters.

The question that remains is if I would recommend this movie as a critic and reviewer. In my honest opinion, there were shortcomings to the movie, most which have been highlighted above, but overall, the movie has a storyline that is relevant and is sensible. For instance people can take away different things from the movie eg investigating the Solicitor one uses before paying loads of money only to discover that they have been closed down for incompetency, that is a reality in present day UK. As a result of this, I would recommend this movie and for people to watch it with an open mind and learn lessons from it.

All that is left to say is well done to the cast and crew. I am looking forward to the next production and I believe that the issues that have been raised in this review would be considered. Research any area you want to portray, legal, medical, immigration, don’t rush to get the movie out. I keep re-iterating the words of my Pastor “proper planning prevents poor performance”. You are unique as this storyline shows and not in competition with anyone. Let the next production come out with a bang and I really look forward to reviewing that.

In conclusion, this was a good effort for a first timer and I look forward to future productions.

Watch the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HV0Fd8DzTI

The movie Love or Something like that premiered at the Odeon Cinema Greenwich on Friday 28th November 2014. Prominent on the red carpet were O C Ukeje, John Dumelo, Shirley Frimpong-Manso, Ken Attoh, Hannah Barrett from the X Factor, Collins Archie Pearce, DJ Abass, amongst others. Also prominent at the movie were Ruke Amata, Danny Erskine, Marie Gomez who arrived straight from the shooting of a movie to support this movie.

Storyline: Love or something like that is about a young surgeon’s chaos when she makes a horrible discovery about her past and what could be the end of a great career and beautiful marriage. It is a poignant story about moving on when there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. The movie was produced by Ken Attoh and Shirley Frimpong-Manso

In the opening scene, I like the fact that there were extras to make the wedding look real. Again unlike most movies, the theatre in the hospital scene looked real. For a change, it was not just drips in the hospital. I liked the fact that there were what looked like real hospital notes and files for patients. The storyline was well researched and I give credit to the writer.

In this day and age, I applaud movie Producers and Directors that talk about real life issues and the way such issues are handled and turned into a movie. This was another epic storyline and I give credit to the writer, the Director, Producer, cast and crew for their boldness in bringing such real issues to life.

Cancer is what I call a demon that has hit so many innocent lives and taken people including people close to me in their prime. So when people are diagnosed with cancer, they react in various ways. HIV is another demon especially when one is diagnosed as being positive and is also seen by some in some parts of the world as a taboo. People do not realise that with proper care and medication, the carriers can still live normal lives without being ostracized or sentenced to death. A typical reaction of how people who are diagnosed as being positive are treated even by those closest to them is well highlighted in this movie where even the husband scrubs his body after making love with his wife as if that was a solution.

All in all, in my opinion, this was a relevant storyline, well researched and properly told with comic aspects to it. Taking a vow at one's wedding for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health is a very easy thing to do, but when the challenges actually come up, then the reality of those vows set in and that was what this movie was all about, how the husband in times of the need of his wife psychologically separated himself almost giving in only to realise the vows he had taken on his wedding day.

Cast: The movie showcased Joselyn Dumas, OC Ukeje, John Dumelo, Christabel Ekeh and Nana Mensah amongst others. Joselyn is just raw talent. In my view she studied and played the role very well.  The same was the case with OC Ukeje. One could empathize with him as if he was really suffering from those diseases. The experience of John Dumelo was like the icing on the cake.

I believe the compliment of the cast was great starting from the leads to the lesser roles including the elderly patient and Associate lawyer. Everyone in the movie knew what they were doing and complimented one another in their roles. I credit the Director for not only bringing out the gifts in the cast but in ensuring that they were able to articulate the scrip and present a good storyline. It is not often in a review that I write that I say well done that often, but without hesitation to the cast, the Producer and Director, well done!,

Picture Quality: The picture quality was good. I do not have much to say about this. Unlike most of the films I have reviewed, the picture shots were clear and not blurred. Initially, I was concerned about the blood shot eyes of OC Ukeje and thought this was going to form a part of my critic, but as time went on and putting everything in perspective, I realised that was all part of the plot. The focus was good. I would not class the picture quality as excellent, but as a critic and reviewer, it passes the litmus test and I commend the crew for this.

Sound Quality: from the beginning of the movie, the sound was clear and the words were clear and distinct. Again there were no distortions to the sound and throughout the movie. I did not hear any buzzy sounds. Again I would like to commend the crew for a job well done.

Overall performance: what can I say? I still hear people commending this movie as at the time I am writing this review. For those that know me, I write my reviews based on what I see at the premier. I believe that enough time was spent researching and preparing this movie and the end justifies the means. As I always say, proper planning prevents poor performance.

As a reviewer and critic, I always try to look out for the negatives but honestly speaking, there was a message or two in this movie and they were distinctly and clearly conveyed to the audience. Even my Associate Reviewer who is normally tougher than me when reviewing movies gave a positive nod to this movie.

The only thing I can critic and I am being picky is that I felt the movie dragged on a bit. Every time I thought the movie was ending, it went to another scene. That did not affect the message in anyway but I think the movie could have been a bit shorter and the message would still stand.

The question that remains to be answered is whether I would recommend this movie. I do not have to think or sleep over this. Without controversy, with all of my reputation on the line as a movie reviewer and critic, for those who love to watch and promote authentic African and Nollywood movies, I would recommend this movie. In my view, it is top notch and has a message. May not be 100% comical as some people are used to, but there are still elements of comedy in the movie.

All that is left to say to the Director, cast and crew of this movie is a big well done. It pays to research your movie and take time to do it properly and that has been done in this movie.

Watch the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4srpgpbIyM