Monday, 1 December 2014


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 surgeons 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 theres 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:

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