Review of Phillippa Abraham's Basira in London

The movie Basira in London premiered at the Odeon Cinema Greenwich on Friday 21^st August 2015. The attendance of this movie was unbelievable and in the words of the MC for the night DJ Abass, with an attendance of 1200 people, that was the highest record for a Nollywood premiere in the UK. The movie was shown in 6 screens so it was a challenge to identify people on the red carpet but in summary on the red carpet were the cast and crew of the movie as well as members of the public.

Storyline: An African woman Basira (Eniola Badmus) relocates to London with great expectations. She came in with her elderly husband and jilted him in the airport. All her efforts to "fit in" result in hilarious consequences.

Initially she did not realise that the job that was found for her was a cleaning job and as a proud lady that she was, she did not stay long in the job as she wanted a managerial job. She went on to a salon and before she even started she messed up and had to run away. She was desperate to get the right to remain in the UK. To what extent would Basira go? You need to watch the movie yourself for answers.

The storyline is one that is a common occurrence not only for Nigerians but for people from less developed countries who believe that once they get into the UK their lives would be better. On a daily basis, we hear of people risking their lives staying in different parts of the plane and dying of suffocation or trying to cross the Calais borders or hiding in trailers just to get into the UK to stay. These people go to any levels to regularize their stay including claiming asylum even where there is peace in their countries, doing arranged marriages etc. so Basira’s case is not a strange one.

I would like to commend Philippa for telling such a story that is real to life. However, there are one or two flaws that I saw in the story itself and this is just me being fastidious and the average person may not know.

At a wedding where three persons were to be arrested, you never send two Immigration Officers. The number of Officers must exceed the people to be arrested and in reality, the chances of Basira escaping would be nil as all the exits would be covered by Immigration Officers.

Worse still was the purported arrest by one officer of Basira in her house. Again this would not happen in reality and at least two officers would attend. In fact, if properly researched, you would find out that a team of six officers would attend to arrest Basira.

I am of the school of thought that for this industry to attain a place of excellence, we need to shoot movies that people can relate with and believe. More extras should have been used to make this part of the storyline look real. If Immigration Officers were in the audience today, they would have laughed. I used to watch soaps like The Bill and the setting and storylines reflect exactly how things are done in the metropolitan police.

Secondly, at the end of the scene in the lawyer’s office, the lawyer wore a wig over his suit and a s a lawyer myself, I questioned if he was a solicitor or a barrister. If a barrister he should not have worn the wig or should have dressed in a bib not a wig over a tie and suit.

I was seating close to a producer/Marketer from Nollywood Nigeria and one thing we both agreed was that the movie dragged on longer than it should have. I think parts of the movie should have been edited out to make the storyline short and sweet. That said, the storyline was full of comedy and people kept laughing all the time.

Cast: The cast included Eniola Badmus, Philippa Abraham, Timothy Byrne, Theodora Ibekwe-Oyebade, Ayo Oyebade, Riyike Alayande, Tolu Yesufu, Jason Abraham Junior, Destinee Anthony, Dapo Oloja,  Frank Williams and many more.

Let me start from the positives. There were two people that shone for me in the movie. Firstly was Eniola herself. She was the backbone of the movie and like Julius Agu cracked many ribs by making people laugh. I could not see any other person playing that role and I commend the casting Director for giving her the role and the Director Phillippa for bringing her role to life.

I have seen Tolulope Yesufu develop and I left this choice to my Producer/Marketer fro Nollywood Nigeria to make. I did not tell her about previous movies that Tolu had done, but she picked her as having a flair to act and playing the role properly. I would like to encourage Tolu to keep working hard as her potential would hit the skies.

Again having said that and I don’t want to break the morale of people who are trying hard to make it in Nollywood. There was a lot of scripted acting and by this I mean cast just cramming their lines and reciting them without any passion for the role that is being played. I saw some upcoming actresses that I have seen playing minor roles in some recent movies struggling to act and basically delivering lines.

My pastor says proper preparation prevents poor performance. One thing I have noticed in this industry is that people do not want to better themselves. Seeing a review like this should prompt people to go to acting classes even if for a few weeks but people think they are good enough when they are not. This being Phillippa’s first Nollywood job, I would not really blame her for casting such people, but we should get to a place in the Nollywood industry where if you are not good enough, you are just not good enough. I rest my case!

Picture Quality: The cinematography for this movie was generally good. There were no shaky pictures and generally pictures were within their frames. However, is some scenes, there was a slight gap between the close of one scene and the beginning of another. This usually lasted about two seconds.

Also of concern, were two scene where two people in one case Basira and Aunty Ifeoma (Phillippa) and in the other case Basira and Bose (Tolu) were having a conversation and for most parts of that scene all we saw was Basira. I believe proper editing can correct that and show both parties in the conversation.

Sound Quality: For a Nollywood movie, I am happy that the sound was good and there was no external interference. I was concerned at a stage when I heard a siren when the cast were inside a studio, but I discovered it was deliberate as it was meant to be that the photographer had called the police.

I also commend the wisdom of the Director for not allowing the cast actually converse this not having problems with interference in public places like the Rye Street Market.

However, my friend from Nollywood Nigeria who reviewed this movie with me was concerned about lips moving sometimes before sound and vice versa in some scenes. I believe that can be corrected in editing.

Overall performance:  Overall, in spite of my little critics, the film was a very good movie. It was comical and I read some of the comments on Bella Nigeria and in my view they were just a figment of the imagination of the writers. People kept laughing and could not leave their seats to the extent that there was a queue in the ladies toilet after the movie.

I would say a big well done to Phillippa who wrote the script, directed and produced it as well as the cast and the crew for a job well done!

The question remains if I would recommend this movie. As a reviewer and critic, and without a doubt, I would recommend this movie. As an individual, I would watch the edited and shorter version of the movie any day anytime

Once more well done to the team

Watch the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krBkDTlTk5k

Review of Francis Uwadi's London premiere of Oga Detective

The movie Oga Detective premiered at the Broadway Theatre Barking on Saturday 1^st August 2015. Prominent on the red carpet were HRH Theodora and Chief Oyebade, Francis Uwadi, Nonso Nwaiwu, John Remedy, Tolulope Yesufu, Toksy B, Ruke Amata, Malcolm A Benson, Danny Erskine,  Mr and Mrs  Osabutey, Toyin Moore, Fred Aseroma and Mrs Aseroma, Riyike Alayande, Florence Blaster Okonkwo, cast and crew and members of the public

Storyline: Mr Joe Jack (Samuel Fafunwora) drops dead from a heart attack after a sip of drink in the bar with friends (Sibngile and Jab). Two inexperienced detectives one from Africa DC Moja (Nonso Nwaiwu) and the other from the UK DC Cars (Vinga Lucia) are tasked by the Chief Superintendent Smith (Danny Erskine) with investigating why he died. They suspect poison but who would want to kill Mr. Joe?

According to the Director’s brief on the movie, Oga Detective is a movie that brings changes. It is a movie that is created to suit different ethnic groups. Oga detective is a film of suspense, a movie one cannot predict. It demands high concentration to understand the story which is the purpose of film and it is needed to make difference to other films the Nollywood industry is used to. Oga detective is a film created with various genre such as drama, comedy and action with a lot of funny clumsiness and slapstick. The shooting angles, the coloration and music are applied to suit the purpose of the Director.

That said I sat down and watched the movie and although I was MC for the night, I would be objective in my review. Although I passed this message at the beginning of the movie to the audience and it was re-echoed by the Director, Francis Uwadi, I am of the opinion that there should have been some form of disclaimer in the movie stating the intentions of the Director.

The movie was definitely not realistic as most of the things displayed in the movie were unrealistic. Probably that is what the Director referred to as Slapstick. I was confused how DC Moja (Nonso Nwaiwu) arrived from Nigeria and was talking with someone and the next thing we see is he is a DC. I was told by one of the cast that it was an exchange programme between the two nations. There was nothing to show that.

Let me look at some other incidents of concern, Would not look at everything but those that saw the premier can conclude themselves. Again looking at the styles of DC Moja beating people to get a confession and even clearing CCTV is unheard of in a country like the UK. As if that was not bad enough, the DC went on air and confessed to his style of getting evidence and was proud of it claiming he got results. I really did not understand the mind of the Director and where he was going with this.

The Nollywood industry is an evolving industry with foreign actors wanting a piece of the action by adding Nollywood to their cvs. Our premiers are beginning to attract people from various nationalities especially Britons so when we show a movie, people need to understand what is going on and things need to be real so people can appreciate what is happening and follow the movie.

If like the Director claimed that he wanted to do something different, if I were the one, after such scenes, I would put a disclaimer and probably an image of someone laughing to show that what just happened was not real, that would even add to the comedy. Calling the unprofessional forensics to a crime scene before the police, punching people or beating people without any wounds or blood all ended up confusing me. I have thought hard and fast and actually revisited the Director’s brief, but seriously speaking I don’t see how this movie at least not in the positive way is unique from what we are used to watching as Nollywood movies.

Cast: The movie boasted of Samuel Fafunwora, Nonso Nwaiwu, Vinga Lucia, Danny Erskine, Riyike Alayande, Nnena Ani, Posh D, Adaeze Etoniru, William Kemeh, Harmand Yogon, Mabel Osabutey, Gift Boyo, Fred Ebere and many more.

I think the cast list was too much and some members of the cast did not add value to the movie and could be done without. I am a fan of Nollywood collaborations, but again I believe the cast must understand the industry. Some of the foreigners of the cast just read their lines in my view and did not act their roles as I would have expected.

I would like to mention two people that impressed me. Firstly, a big thumbs up to Nnena Ani. I am informed that this is the first lead role she is playing in Nollywood. She was given what I consider to be a difficult part having to stammer and still act and did she do it well, o YES well done. If she continues in this way and keeps improving, she would be a star.

Nonso Nwaiwu, I did not expect any less from you. You are just a natural comedian and you showed that in this movie, You made the audience laugh and in my view you carried the whole movie with your character. On a lighter note watch what you eat and stop farting in public.

On the flip side, the nurse was more or less making noise and not acting (sorry to be blunt, but that is my job). Again I would like to see more acting and less of scripts from Samuel. The likes of the news casters and even the accompanying police officers and even DC Cars in my view don’t understand the concept of Nollywood and in my view crammed up their lines and did not really impress me. Would have wanted a touch of some kind of flavor from them.

Picture Quality: There were issues with the picture quality with some pictures outside the frames and some shaky. All I would like to say is that in future productions, the picture quality can be better. Having said this, it was not a bad attempt.

Sound Quality: In the premiere of this movie, a lot of the sound was distorted as there was a lot of external interference. I understand that post production costs a lot of money, but I believe the interference was  too much that some post production would have helped. In future, in my view ,it is important to count costs before making a movie. People love to come and enjoy movies with clear sound. Unfortunately in this movie that was not the case.

Overall performance:  We were informed by the Director Francis Uwadi that the movie is a television series and that over four hours of footage had to be edited to two and a half hours. I observed that important scenes were cut off and that for most of the movie, there was no correlation between acts. In other words, one thing did not lead to another as scenes were cut off. In some cases, it became obvious where the scenes had been cut as a character started something and half way when the audience was trying to follow that part of the story got terminated. I think that should be reviewed.

When I watch a movie, I expect to go away with a theme of some kind or a message. Getting half way through the movie such a message should be obvious. In this movie, I cannot tell what the theme or message if the movie was (Please correct me if I am wrong)

The question remains if I would recommend this movie. As a reviewer and critic, and without prejudice to the intents of the Director, I cannot recommend this movie. The Director may have his thoughts, but at the end of the day it is all about the audience not only understanding the storyline but being able to line up and align with the storyline. I agree there was some comedy in the movie and that is fine but the storyline itself is so unbelievable and unrealistic.

In my view, Nollywood is a brand and we should be telling stories that address issues that are relevant with the end of the story portraying a resolve to such issues. If police brutality was the theme of this movie and it definitely was not, it should end with the fact that it would not be tolerated. I appreciate the heart of the Director Francis, but I think your concept in this movie is faulted. One can attempt what the Director tried to achieve but with a clear and concise storyline that is realistic.

 Watch the trailer:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOYBnOg_67o

Review of London Premier of Abigail Irving's Enchained

The movie Enchained premiered at the Odeon Cinema Greenwich on Friday 10^th July 2015. Prominent on the red carpet were John Remedy, Tolulope Yesufu, Abigail Irving, Princess Abiye Tobin-Spiff Okusanya,  Posh Dee, Collins Archie Pearce, Danny Erskine,  HRH and Chief Oyebade, Adenike Helen Osabutey, Riyike Alayande, cast and crew and members of the public The premier was hosted by Toyin Moore and Prince Kevwe Ogunje

Storyline: Enchained is a movie shot in the UK about Ryan, a short- sighted young man from Nigeria, who was born to educated respectable parents and grew up within a God fearing family. Unfortunately whilst growing up in his native Nigeria, he fell in with some bad company which influenced his life tremendously.

As Ryan became further entrenched in this world of negative peers, his parents sent him to live with his aunt in the UK, to remove him from the negative influences that were plaging their son’s life. They also hoped that this would allow Ryan to further his education and lead him to turn his life around and make something of himself and make them proud.

On getting to the UK, Ryan tries his best to stay out of trouble but this did not last long before he falls back into his wayward ways. Eventually his aunt throws him out making him homeless and all the positive and good things in his life start to unravel.

Ryan’s luck changes when he becomes involved in a relationship with a classy professional woman Shanti. They fall in love and she becomes pregnant. Life starts off good for them as they try to build a life and family together. However it is not long before his lies, jealousy, cheating and violence chips away at the foundation of their family. Shanti is hopelessly devoted to him and despite her loved ones telling her to leave him and find someone better, she refuses to listen.

Eventually the pain and heartbreak become too much for her to cope with and Shanti finds the courage to leave him. Ryan cannot cope with the loss and rejection of her love and his family. He becomes consumed with paranoia, jealousy and hate. As anger rages within him, he goes in search of Shanti and his actions on this fateful day lead to terrible consequences not just to his life but that of those closest to him.

Again the storyline was one that could be related with and I commend the writer and the Producer for the concept and the Director and cast for bringing to live a heartfelt storyline that encompassed societal issues as abuse, envy, love etc. without compromising the storyline much.

However, I would not be doing my job as a critic and reviewer if I don’t mention some points. In the movie, there was a storyline about a teenage pregnancy which was left unresolved and concluded abruptly. Although, one of the characters was meant to come speak to the sister of the affected teenager and was eventually raped, while we were told that the lady dropped the case of rape which is a conclusion of that part of the story, the issue of the teenage pregnancy died a natural death leaving people to wander what happened. As a reviewer and critic, I do not see what the point of that scene was and I think if the storyline was not concluded, it should have been left out.

Also, I was concerned that the lady that was raped did not press charges. To me in spite of the fact that I know in reality, this happens a lot and people suffer for life the consequences of rape, I would either have not included that part of the storyline or reported it and made Ryan suffer the consequences by going to prison and coming out again and build the story further. To me the message there was that rapists could walk away free and the lady suffers and I think the message as was conveyed in the end should have been do the crime and pay the price and that crime does not pay.

I trained as a lawyer so I am familiar with procedures and processes regarding the legal field and as such I become very critical if things are not done properly. At the end of the movie, Ryan was arrested and charged to court. Although we are not told which court it was, one could presume from the wig and gowns worn and the length of the sentence he got (17 years) that it was either the Crown Court or Old Bailey as the Magistrate Court does not have such jurisdiction.

My concerns were two folds. Firstly, the wigs and gown worn by the Judge and Barristers were not anything like the real thing. This can even be seen from the picture at the beginning of this review. Secondly, in either of these courts, even when a plea is taken talk not of when sentence is to be pronounced, the accused person is in the dock and not next to their Barrister and if found guilty would be led down straight to be detained otherwise people would overpower guards and just escape from court.

As a critic and reviewer, I am of the solid opinion that your storyline must be real and believable. If there were any Barristers, Solicitors or even law students in the audience or if any would watch this in future, they would laugh. If Eastenders can build special effects and create their own props and it looks like an area in London, as an evolving industry, if we are to compete and beat Hollywood, we need to start being creative. We could design a courtroom and it would look like the real thing and make the story more authentic. 

Alternatively, in these days of computer magic, I believe a good Cinematographer could have done something that would make us the viewers believe the accused was in a dock.

Apart from these points, I don’t have more to say on the storyline.

Cast: The movie boasted of John Remedy, Tolulope Yesufu, Abigail Irving, Princess Abiye Tobin-Spiff Okusanya, Van Vicker, Posh Dee, Collins Archie Pearce, Kelly Umezurike, Cordelia Emeh, Nkem Umezurike, Vee Nick, Olukunle Samuel Fafowora, Judith Okonkwo, and more. The movie was Directed by Nkem Umezurike

In this review, I would particularly like to make mention of two people who actually played lead namely John Remedy and Tolulope Yesufu. I saw John in a movie about three weeks ago and was full of praises for him. This is the second movie that I am seeing him and in my opinion, he nailed the role he was given. Apart from looking at the role he was playing, I looked a bit deeper and saw someone with passion for acting and for the industry and also a professional that was willing to do whatever it took to play his role and play it well. If he stays focussed and does not let popularity get into his head, I see him in the next few years as being one of the top new breed actors in the industry and winning accolades,

Now to Tolulope Yesufu, I have seen her in a series of movies and one thing I have noticed throughout is consistency. She takes the role that she is given, interprets it and tries to make the best of it. That again she did well in this movie. She was passionate in the love scenes and was very believable. All I can say to Tolu is keep working hard and do not relent in what you are doing, make your next project better than the last and you would go places.

I must also commend some of the people I call veterans and people who work tirelessly to help build the Nollywood UK industry for supporting this movie by agreeing to cast in what I call “special appearance roles”. Would like to commend HRH and Chief Theodora and Ayo Oyebade as well as Collins Archie Pearce. You experience and love for this industry would help encourage the upcoming stars in the industry.

In this movie, I would also like to recognise upcoming talents like Posh Dee, I would like to encourage you to continue doing what you are doing and stay focused and I look forward to seeing you soon in a lead role.

Whilst, I have picked on these few people, there was also some bad acting. I would like to re-iterate that I am not witch hunting or picking on people, but this industry is now becoming competitive and new talents are being discovered every time and if one wants to stay in this industry, they need to be on top of their game. I think the gentleman that played Michael and his companion in the office for example were too scripted. This is meant to be a movie and not like an exam where lines are crammed. The audience need to be convinced of the role that is being played and I am sorry, in their case I was not. Hope to see them in future movies carrying me along and convincing me.

Having said all these, let me congratulate the entire cast and crew as I know it is not easy to learn lines talk not of acting those lines so well done for a successful production.

Picture Quality: From the beginning of the movie to the end of the movie, I was very happy with the quality of the pictures. I commend the Director of Photography for a job well done. No critics about the pictures. To say the least, they were clear as clear could be. I cannot remember seeing blurred images and I stand to be corrected.

Sound Quality: Whilst the picture quality was good, unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the sound quality. There was a lot of buzzy sounds from the beginning of the movie till the end. However, in spite of these interference, one could still hear what the cast were saying. I think post production would have sorted this problem out.

Overall performance:  Generally, in spite of the issues that I have raised, I think the movie was a good one overall. Not perfect but good and I believe that in future, the producer Abigail would look at some of my concerns and address them in future productions.

I would like to commend the Director Nkem Umezurike, the Producer Abigail Irving and the entire cast and crew for a job well done. The question remains if I would recommend this movie. As a reviewer and critic, although I have mentioned some of my concerns, I would definitely recommend this movie.

Watch the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS1MDAVVKeU&feature=youtu.be

Review of London Premiere of Tolulope Yesufu's Murderer in Law

The movie Murderer in law premiered at the Odeon Cinema Greenwich on Friday 26^th June 2015. Prominent on the Blue carpet were Nelson Spyk, Danny Erskine, Tolulope Yesufu, HRH and Chief Oyebade, Ruke Amata, Francis Uwadi, Nonso Nwaiwu, M A Benson, Adenike Helen Osabutey, Ade Bello,  Ken Smart, Riyike Alayande, DJ Abass,Kenneth Benson, Gift Boyo, Ifeoma Okeke and Vanessa Adekola.and a host of other important people. In fact the premiere was more like a carnival a the crowds kepy coming in. The premier was hosted in 2 screens by DJ Abass CEO of DJ Media and sponsored by Lebara who also launched Lebara play at the premiere.

Storyline: Murderer-in-law tells the story of Lola and TJ, both in a relationship. Lola lives with her friend whilst TJ lives at home with his mother who sees Lola as a threat to a relationship with her son. The movie reveals how the mother in law and daughter law managed their relationship to a success story. The storylime was full of suspense and a lot of humour.

I commend the writer and Producer Tolulope Yesufu for coming up with such a brilliant storyline. In the African culture, the mother never wants to leave her son particularly to a woman no matter how much in love they may be. This story line is so real and although not all mother in laws are like the one projected in the movie, mothers have this thing of reminding children how they carried them for 9 months and took care of them till they became men.

The crunch of this particular storyline is that Lola the proposed daughter in law was ready to fight fire for fire and was ready to do anything to win the love of her fiancé even if it mean plotting against her mother in law. The good thing about this storyline is that the audience were able to flow with the storyline and were able to adapt quickly following the whole story through.

My only critic would be that I though the story dragged on for too long and that one or two scenes could have been removed as they did not add anything relevant to the storyline. Also having said that, I would also commend the script writer again. Not only did she write about a societal ill, she tried to exploit ways of dealing with the ill even though the methods were unconventional, but in the end she achieved results. Not only did she get her fiancé back, she got the blessing and repect of her mother in law. In earnest, it was a cycle making the syory a complete story.

Cast: Directed by London based director, Nelson Spyk, the movie featured Tolulope Yesufu, Adenike Helen Osabutey, Ade Bello,  Ken Smart, Danny Erskine, Theodora Ibekwe-Oyebade, Marie Kumba Gomez, Gift Boyo, Ifeoma Okeke and Vanessa Adekola.

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Watching the movie, I wouls particularly like to commend three people. Firstly, I want to commend Ken Smart who played the part of a landlord. I have seen Ken in two or three movies prior to this one, nut he (pardon my language), he nailed this role. He was humorous and alive, you could see a real womanizing landlord in him and he did it with so much ease. I believe the role suited him such that I am looking forward to seeing him do even better in subsequent movies.

This is the first movie I am seeing Vanessa Adekoya who played the role of the house help (Folake aka Suru). I am used to seeing Vanessa on the red carpet doing interviews. What can I say about her? If I was a scout, she would definitely win my vote. In fact, I was shocked as she made me laugh and not only me but the majority of those that were at the premiere. She depicted a typical local village girl, she played the role so well and to me if she stays focused and does not lose track, she is an upcoming talent not only in Nollywood but in any where she chooses to go. I see more Directors casting her in subsequent movies.

I thought I had seen the best of  Adenike Helen Osabutey> However, she blew me beyond my socks in this movie. She  is just a natural talent with so much potential. Throughout the movie, we saw exactly what was expected of her as a dominating mother and mother in law and what was more exciting is how she played that role with ease. Her command of the Yoruba language added and contributed largely in sealing the role and the fact that she added comedy and humour to the role was a bonus. Could not really fault her. I see Adenike going places, but like I always advice, it is always good not to lose focus and keep improving and the sky would be too small to be her limit.

I would like to commend the Producer Tolulope Yesufu for giving her vision of the movie and the Director Nelson Spyk for taking the talent he had in terms of the cast and creating such an awesome movie. Yes I said it, the movie cannot be describes as anything else but awesome. As a reviewer and critic, I think there was a right balance in the cast and everyone did a perfect job even outside their comfort zones. Was nice seeing HRH Theodora Ibekwe Oyebade playing the role of a mistress and a back stabbing friend as well as being a tale bearer (Amebo) as we call them in Yoruba.

The Nollywood industry is evolving very quickly and with what   I saw in the premiere of this movie, there is talent, some so raw that are waiting to be harnessed. Directors within the industry need to fish these talents out and build them up so that a new set of actors and actresses are being produced. I would like to cry out to the actors guild to help identify and develop these talents so that our industry can grow to greater heights.

Picture Quality: The picture quality was generally good.  Although some transitions were a bit slow, pictures were clear and generally within the frame. I am not a fan of the fast paced pictures taken to display the city, but non the less on the whole I could not fault the picture quality.

Sound Quality: With regards to the sound, again for most parts, the sound was of very good quality. The sound was clear and you could hear clearly what the cast were saying. I think in some cases the music was too loud and may have slightly overshadowed part of the voice of the cast but on the whole, I think with relation to the sound, there were more positives than negatives.

Overall performance:  One thing I would have liked to see especially for those that don’t speak Yoruba or Ibo was sub titles. Helen, Tolu, the fake mum and the house help spoke both languages and sub titles would have assisted in explaining what they were saying.

This movie has been in the pipeline for long and it is obvious that a lot of work was put into the movie. The movie not only had a story to tell, it was well articulated, brilliantly presented and above all full of humour.

Though I do not score or rate movies anymore, without any doubts in my mind, this movie is an A class movie.  I would like to commend the Director Nelson Spyk, the Producer Tolulope Yesufu and the entire cast and crew for a job well done. At the end of the movie, I had to give an  only would I recommend this movie as a applause and believe me, I don’t do that in many movies.

The question remains if I would recommend this movie. Undoubtedly, the movie has a definite message and as a  reviewer and critic, I would like to see it go beyond the London premier possibly to cinemas or to places like Iroko, Netflix or even Lebara Play. The movie is simple to follow and ticks all the boxes with regards to sound and pictures. I would recommend the movie any day and anytime of the day and all that is left to say to the cast and crew is a big well done!!

Watch the trailer:

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

Review of London Premier of Princess Abiye's Saving Grace

The movie Saving Grace premiered at the Odeon Cinema Greenwich on Friday 19^th June 2015. Prominent on the red carpet were Princess Abiye, Danny Erskine, John Remedy, Director Emmanuel Olabode, HRH and Chief Oyebade, Ruke Amata, Francis Uwadi, Nonso Nwaiwu, M A Benson, Florence Blaster Okonkwo, Ritike Alayande, Tolu Yesufu, Collins Archie Pearce, Kenneth Benson, and a host of other important people.

Storyline:  A story about a Radio presenter, a young widowed mother who has an undying love for Christ. Her radio messages that she hoped would lead to the salvation of many became more passionate, so passionate that she does not notice she was losing instead of gaining followers because of the content of the messages.

She didn’t see herself as a proof of God’s love, being a struggling single mother and a widow, but what she knew she wanted or needed was to win souls for Christ. Then a man comes along, and with engaging conversations, she was “lightened”.

Let me start by saying that I was impressed with such a storyline being a Christian story being told and told well in a Nollywood setting. It is a realistic story of how someone is passionate for Christ and yet the way she is spreading the gospel make people hate than love God. Having said so, I think that the story dragged on a little bit and should have been sharp and sweet.

The use of subtitles did not do the storyline justice either. This is because before someone spoke, the audience already knew what was going to be said making the storyline predictable in advance.  I would be dealing on the subtitle further in my overall comments about this movie.

Cast: The film starred Starring: Princess Abiye Tobin-Spiff, Eliza Okusanya, Chioma Toplis, Danny Erskine, John Remedy, Adaeze Etoniru, Udemba Abigail, irving Yolanda, Sanda Nicole, Boyeni Jennifer, Simao Stella, Simao Romeo, Simao Marisa, and many more. The film was directed by Emmanuel Olabode.

I would like to commend two particular people. The first is  John Remedy. John played the part of Gabriel who eventually became Angel Gabriel. Apart from where he kept referring to the Nigerian Naira as N played the part he was given very professionally and was able to convince those that were watching the movie. From pretending to fall in love with Grace (Princess Abiye) to the end where he was revealed as Angel Gabriel, permit me to say he nailed his role.

The second character I would like to commend is the man Danny Erskine himself. Previously, I had been critical of his Nollywood acting skills, but in the last two movies I have seen him, this included, he has been given roles he can identify with and I believe he did extremely well. Danny played the role of a Radio DJ. As a DJ he was natural, but when he started falling in love with Grace again I think he was cool, interpreted the script and acted in line with what the Director would have instructed.

Worthy of mention is the potential Nollywood and possible Hollywood actress of the future Eliza Okusanya. For her age, with the correct guidance, she can go places.

Picture Quality: The picture quality was generally good.  Pictures were clear and generally within the frame. There were one or two scenes where there were poor pictures, but apart from those, generally good picture qualities.

Sound Quality: With regards to the sound, again for most parts, the sound was of very good quality. I was beginning to panic at the beginning of the movie that the sound was so good. However, there were some external scenes where the sound quality was below par. However, on the whole, I think with relation to the sound, there were more positives than negatives.

Overall performance:  Firstly, I would like to deal with the subtitles. Disappointingly, there were too many spelling mistakes and in some cases, the cast were not saying exactly what was displayed on the sub titles. I believe that if sub titles are to be used, the titles and what is being said should be the same.

I would like to commend the Director and the cast and crew for a job well done. At the end of the movie, I had to give applause. Apart from the fact that I believe the movie dragged a bit, I could not find much fault with the movie.

The question remains if I would recommend this movie. Undoubtedly, the movie has a definite message and carries the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The movie is simple to follow and ticks all the boxes with regards to sound and pictures. I would recommend the movie and all that is left to say to the cast and crew is a big well done!!

Watch the trailer:

https://www.facebook.com/577013395765327/videos/vb.577013395765327/641517829314883/?type=2&theater