Author: Osamudiamen Joe

The day after Everybody Loves Jenifa had its theatrical release, I went to my local cinema looking to purchase a ticket. The only thing the attendant had to offer, however, was disappointment: “Come back tomorrow. It’s sold out.” I trudged back home with one thought, “I guess everybody really loves Jenifa. I wonder if I will.” I remember seeing posters for Jenifa at video clubs in 2009. I remember renting the movie, watching it with my family over dinner, and listening to my grandmother implore us while the credits rolled to always mind the company we keep. I remember the…

Cinema is a specificity of vision. It’s an approach in which everything matters. It’s the polar opposite of generic or arbitrary and the result is as unique as a signature or a fingerprint. It isn’t made by a committee, and it isn’t made by a company, and it isn’t made by the audience. – Steven Soderbergh If I had my way, I would find a way to repeat the above quote in my next ten reviews. Whether the film I’m writing about is terrible or outstanding, I imagine Soderbergh’s words would apply nonetheless. We can all do with being reminded…

Let’s get this out of the way: Suspicion is a terrible title, especially for what turns out to be a good film. Apparently, the film started out as a short released in 2008, titled The Suspicious Guy. But calling a thriller “Suspicion” is about the same as slapping “Conflict” onto a drama. The film could have done with a title that better espoused its themes, characters and story world. Stan Nze stars as Voke, a man who was fortified with powers as a boy by his mother. Voke tries to lead a normal life while keeping his family’s secret. His…

First Features is a Nigerian initiative dedicated to empowering a new generation of film directors who will bring their many talents and unique voices to the industry. The plan is to mentor and assist 12 first-time directors in making feature debuts. The first project in the lineup is Cake, directed by Prosper Edesiri. Love and Life is the second, with director Reuben Reng at the helm. I didn’t know what to expect going into this film, especially given the title. Still, I hoped I was in for a good surprise. In the end, I realized that the generic title was…

If a film is tagged “one of the greatest of all time,” chances are it’s done either of these very well: defined a particular genre or defied genre* altogether. A genre-defining film is so excellent that it sets the standard for others in that category. An example here is Casablanca, the classic romantic drama released in 1942. A genre-defining film is also one that is a perfect example of how to execute a story within that genre. Again, as far as romantic dramas go, it’s hard to top Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood For Love. Films that transcend genre are…

Barely thirty minutes into Ègún, I texted my editor: “I wonder who wrote it.” And I meant that in a good way. I had gone into the film completely blind, without any idea of the premise, tone, or actors involved. However, by the first act break, my interest was piqued. The characters, arranged like pieces on a chessboard, seemed ready to make intriguing moves. A few minutes later, while a bloody death played out on screen, two people in my audience sprang up and headed for the exit. Like me, they had probably missed the film’s promos and had not…

I had one line of thought when I came out of Small Talk: what is the Nigerian comedy film? What is its nature? What has it evolved from, and where is it going? The reason these questions were bouncing around in my head was simple: I had just sat through almost 2 hours of a comedy feature film, and unfortunately, an overwhelming part of it had not been funny. Naturally, I began to wonder why. Was I not the target demographic? Were my standards too high? Or was the film simply comically inert? It turns out there are rarely easy…

Heist movies come in all shapes and sizes. For some reason, there’s something about seeing a team of highly skilled people steal large sums of money, priceless artifacts, or some other MacGuffin that gets us excited. Sometimes, the heist happens offscreen, and we are only privy to the events surrounding it, like in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. Sometimes, the heist is motivated by a desire for revenge and features a long line of A-listers and famous character actors looking cool and having a good time; if you immediately thought of Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven (2001), then you know your movies. Sometimes,…

Nollywood is a cultural phenomenon and no doubt one of the most enduring ones of the 21st century. Like other industries, through the decades, it has had to adapt to various societal shifts and technological advancements, continuously changing to survive, to push the needle of creativity forward, as well as turn a handsome profit– it still is a business after all. On that front, things have never been better. Now the second largest film industry in the world by output, churning out over 2,500 films annually, Nigeria’s film industry contributed 2.3% (about N239 billion, or $660 million) to its Gross…

Editi Effiong’s The Black Book has a lot of bright ideas. On one level, it’s an action flick about a former member of a private undercover elite squad. Even people with power and influence tremble at his name. At the 47-minute mark, one character, completely freaking out, says, “You people went to kill Paul Edima’s son? The most feared man in the country.” Then he begins to reel off the man’s accomplishments, in a way that reminded me of vendors of herbal concoctions advertising their wares in markets: “23 assassinations, 113 domestic operations, plotted and participated in 8 coups d’état…