The
movie Blood Type premiered at the Odeon Cinema Greenwich on Friday 6th
March 2015. Prominent on the red carpet were Toyin Moore, Gladys Ndimuntoh, HRH
Theodora Ibekwe-Oyebade and Chief Ayo Oyebade, Ruke Amata, Florence Blaster
Okonkwo, Danny Erskine, Riyike Alayande, DJ Abass, Tolulope Yesufu, Adenike
Akeju Osabute and Mr Osabute, Toksy Bello, Peace Igodifo, Prince Tade, Pauline
Long, Sam & Tola Onigbanjo, Chiedu Nwanze, J2 Consults, Malcolm Benson, Nonso Nwaiwu cast and crew of the movie amongst others. The premiere
was hosted by DJ Abass.
This
movie cannot really be classified as Nollywood as it
was a collaboration and in the words of the host DJ Abass, should be called “Afrowood”. We should be seeing more of such in this industry.
Storyline: A young woman was tired of her marriage and wanted a separation. Desperate, her husband locked up
the door and called her mother, Queen (Toyin
Moore) who intervened in a
very casual and friendly manner by telling a story.
This story was a life changing and moving story, one that was a revelation to
her daughter and that was enough to convince her daughter to change her mind and stick in her
marriage. What exactly was this story? Whilst I am tempted to tell the whole story, I would encourage you to watch the movie.
The
storyline was packed with all sorts. It had elements of comedy, elements of
reality, elements of betrayal and deceit and was an eye opener and showed how far a man was prepared to go for his family.
I
commend Toyin who coupled both as the script writer and the Director. In fact,
it was her first movie as Director. From the beginning of the story of the
story, anyone could follow the story till the end of
the movie. The story in itself was realistic in terms of various characters that the movie depicted and
the real core of the storyline. There were various messages that one could take
away and for the purposes of this review I can easily pick
two.
One of the core messages is easily that a man should be able to give
anything to keep his marriage. Another theme could easily be the theme of
forgiveness. One other theme
could be that your past would always catch up with you or put it in another way whatever one sows, one would always reap. Whatever
way, there was definitely a message for everyone that watched the movie and in
my opinion, this is the way storylines in Nollywood
movies should be going.
There should be morals in the movies even if by being
negative as in the case of this movie, the end message is that the past always
catches up many years after.
Cast:
The movie showcased Toyin
Moore, Gladys Ndimuntoh, Doyin Owoeye, John Dumelo, John Remedy, Nnena Ani,
Collins Archie Pearce, Jedidah David, Pat Odiatu, Poshdee Rannigan, Hadizah
Mohammed, Jebi Ndimuntoh, Sukanmi Oduwole, Florence Blaster Okonkwo, Florence
Tucker, Princess Abiye Tobin Akinsanya, Samuel Fafowora, Cordelia Emeh, Dr Don
Dawodu, Jojo Manga, Adaeze Udemba, Prince Sho, Deborah Henry, Cidro amongst
others.
I would like to commend the lead
actress Toyin Moore. I have seen Toyin in about 3 movies now and when I see
her, I believe I have seen the best of her, but then she just comes up with
something new. I believe that if she continues to develop herself, she would be
one of the best in the Nollywood scene not only in UK but in the industry as a
whole. My advice is not to rest on her oars and keep developing herself. In
general, the cast played the roles that were allocated to them, Some of them
were average but seeing that they are not mainstay actors, I would let that
pass.
However, as a reviewer and critic, I need to be
picky. I think some of the characters did not really do justice to their roles
and made it obvious to people like us who look into little details that their
scenes and their scripts were rehearsed. One of such was Kikelomo who was the daughter.
Watching her at times was like she was reading from a script and not acting. In
my honest opinion, although probably new to the industry, when they have been
given a part, they need to rehearse privately even before their mirrors as if
they were acting before thousands of people. That would eliminate being
rehearsed.
Another person I would mention is the good
husband. It was obvious he was not Nigerian the way he pronounced Nigerian
names and phrases. It is my believe that if one wants to do something
excellence must be the watch word. In my honest opinion, he should have spent
time practicing those phrases and names such that people would believe he was
actually Nigerian. Once given a role, one has to perfect that role, Having said
that, apart from that hiccup, he played the role very well and could actually
go places. One other person I would like to commend is the character Helen who
was Queen’s colleague in the office and friend. She was just comedy
personified. She just made everyone laugh and though she still has a lot to
learn, I would like to commend her in this movie. All that said, all in all I
give a big kudos to the entire cast for producing such a brilliant movie.
Picture
Quality: The picture quality was generally good. However, there were scenes
that the pictures or images were fast forwarded. These were basically the
scenes in Tower Bridge. In my honest opinion, these pictures did not add any
value to the movie and should have been excluded. Apart from these, there were
no major issues. The picture quality was not shaky and was pleasant to the
eyes. I do not have much more to say on the picture quality.
Sound Quality: Again with regards to
the sound, there were some slight issues with sound in some scenes but not too
major. I really did not have cause for concern with the general sound quality
of the movie.. The sound was clear. I did not notice any interference with the
sound in any of the scenes.
Overall
performance: For those of us who
watched the movie, there were occasions that the movie just paused and the
sound continues with still images. One is not sure if this was a problem with
the movie itself or with the Cinema equipment as this is not the first time
this is happening in a Nollywood movie. What was funny is that the parts that
were still were parts that people would have wanted to see as from what we
could hear they were humorous. If this had to do with the movie submitted to
the cinema, it is a point that needs to be addressed. If it is the cinema
equipment, Odeon would also need to address this in future.
That said, overall this was a
good movie. I can say it was time well spent although the movie started pretty
late. As a reviewer and critic, I have no hesitation in recommending this
movie. In my honest opinion, there are marked improvements in all areas from
Toyin Moore’s previous effort and for that I give her a pat on the back.
I believe that Toyin has a
lot to give to this industry and has a pivotal role in helping to build the
industry in the UK and the diaspora. Doing a collaboration is great and also
directing is great. However, there is
still a lot to learn both in terms of directing, script writing and acting but
Toyin is definitely on the right path. I would finally like to commend Toyin
and the crew and hope to see this movie in the cinemas.
Watch
the trailer:
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