I remember, over a decade ago, getting a glimpse of the last ten minutes of a movie someone was watching on their PC. I saw some blue beings fighting against humans, and the blue beings achieved victory in the end. The movie was called Avatar, and having only heard about and never seen the Avatar of the anime genre, I confused it for that, and I was quickly and playfully corrected by those around me and informed of the distinction between the two. I also got an ineffective crash course on the plot and premise of the film and learned…
Author: Ayodele Olawumi
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It’s the end of the year and we have another blockbuster from Funke Akindele productions, this time under her Funke Ayotunde Akindele Network banner. The food selling profession is one that is always filled with drama, from scandalous reports of them spicing up their food spiritually to guarantee an inflow of customers to the rivalry between food sellers. This competition makes them resort to several antics ranging from physical to the spiritual to denigrate their rival’s business and enjoy a monopoly in the business. Battle on Buka Street tells such a story but with more intricacies and different levels of…
Street gangs are a familiar phenomenon to almost all Nigerians, with their presence in every part of the country, especially in places like markets, car parks, etc. Their several activities can’t go unnoticed: supremacy battles, market tax collection and even involvement in government elections. Everyone has either witnessed a street gang activity or has heard of them and the deeper world of criminal street gangs are engaged in. Nollywood seems to have taken a new interest in portraying Nigeria’s crime scenes on screen and interesting stories have been released; Rising: City of Dreams joins a list of films in this…
Niyi Akinmolayan directs Palava, a lighthearted flick that explores the chaotic life of a randy musician and his daughters from several mothers. Osagie ‘Osa-Wonder’ (Richard Mofe Damijo), a once-forgotten highlife musician, has his career suddenly revived by a viral song, but his old habits continue to dog him and the shadows of his past follow him. Problems start when a former assistant posts a video carrying a baby boy that she claims to be Osa-Wonder’s. This puts everything in jeopardy, including endorsement deals and his relationship with his five daughters (Bisola Aiyeola, Beverly Naya, Beverly Osu, Jemima Osunde, and Linda…
The Stand Up, directed by Jide Oyegbile, is a story about a young man’s journey from Warri to becoming a top standup comedian in Lagos against the backdrop of the wild crime scene of both cities. Ovie (Paul Olope) is our lead, a Warri boy who works as a security guard with his father. One night, his father is shot and killed, and on the day of the burial, a local don, Devwor (Richard Mofe Damijo), comes out of nowhere with documents bearing proof that Ovie’s father owes him a whopping sum of two million naira, which Ovie has to…
“I regret being a Nigerian,” says Chidiebere Nnanna. Who can blame him; he is one of the 50,000 people who have been remanded in prison unjustly without any charge. Chidiebere in particular was kept in prison for eleven years after being picked up on his way to work in the early hours of the day alongside his brother by members of Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), a vigilante group, as suspects of a robbery. He is one of several cases brought to light in Chude Jideonwo’s documentary Awaiting Trial. WithChude Launches Unscripted Content Production Studio, Announces Debut #EndSARS-Focused Documentary ‘Awaiting Trial’…
Oh my, where do we begin? Weather For Two, a 2021 film, was released on Netflix on the 25th of November 2022, and after sitting (forced by duty) for the entire hour and nine minutes that this film (if we can call it that) runs for, it’s hard to explain the experience. Is this a movie about the disadvantages of infidelity in relationships, a family drama, or a mystery plot? ‘The Griot’ Review: An Enjoyable Storyteller’s Woes Boosted By the Acting Performances Kolade Johnson (Eso Dike) cheats serially on his wife, Adesua (Tope Olowoniyan); one of his cheating partners is…
The Griot joins the list of culturally themed Nollywood film releases in 2022, as the year seems to be a year of introspection for Nollywood, with many filmmakers deciding to tell original traditional stories. Adedimeji Lateef, who starred in one of the other films, King of Thieves, plays a more central role in The Griot. In the small village of Wakajaye known for its storytelling prowess, a shy and talented storyteller, Lakunle (Adedimeji Lateef) gives his more outspoken but unimaginative friend, Sanmi (Temiloluwa Fosudo), his stories to tell. Lakunle sets his sights on the beautiful village musician, Tiwa (Goodness Emmanuel),…
In 2018 Marvel’s theatrical release of Black Panther created a buzz in the film community—a spectacle never before seen, a black superhero in a fictional African nation getting their own movie. As a cultural statement, a whole demographic that previously seemed to have been ignored in movies of this nature was finally represented, on a grand scale too. Predictably, this film broke several records and garnered positive reviews not to talk about the sentimental impact it had on the black community, both the black American community with which it resonated more and the African community. Playing the titular superhero character,…
Written and directed by Abu-bkr Adamu, in this short horror film, three friends, Haidar (Abdullahi Mohamed Tauheed), Dare (Sylvester Uduku Umoru) and Bolaji (Israel Bartholomew) spurred by post exams boredom and a horror movie, decide to go and explore a forest. In the forest, they encounter an unknown entity that holds them at its mercy. ‘Samaria’ Review: In Cinema, as in Life, Things are Not Always What They Seem It is clear from the opening of the film, where the friends sit and come up with the idea of going into the forest that it is a very low-budget film…