Monday, 9 March 2015

Review of Toyin Moore's Blood Type


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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