Film critic Oris Aigbokhaevbolo who was a talent at the 2014 Durban Talent Press has been invited as a mentor for the 2015 edition of the Talents Durban, during the 36th Durban International Film Festival which will be holding between the 16th and 26th of July, 2015.

Aigbokhaevbolo shared the following message on Facebook: “Talent Press is presented in cooperation with Fipresci, an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world which lobbies for the promotion and development of film culture.  The programme invites four critics to cover the films and events of the Durban International Film festival for online and print publication.  Talent press has four participants and they are Andrew Kaggwa, Oluwale Oluwadahunsi, Isabella Akinseye and Kennedy Omoro.  They will be mentored by film writers/reviewers Sarah Dawson, Oris Aigbokhaevbolo, Debashine Thangevelo and Shaibu Hussein.”
In the last one year, Aigbokhaevbolo has been invited for the Berlinale Talents, FESPACO and Rotterdam International Film Festival in addition to Talents Durban based on the strength of his film reviews.

The Derwin First Shot Initiative is an NGO set up to give young men and women their first shot at shooting their first feature films by providing the funding required for these first feature films.

Young and aspiring film-makers across Africa find it very difficult to raise funds to produce their own feature films.  They are also hardly given opportunities by existing film-producing companies to work as producers or directors because they are often seen as greenhorns that need experience before they can be given the “opportunity” to take on such projects.  Therefore, many of them suffer in their creative cocoons, feeling like fish-out-of-water in other sectors and sometimes, they end up frustrated.

The very first beneficiary of the Derwin First Shot Initiative is a talented, young female film-maker, Alexandra Kura’ave Hul, a graduate of Economics from the University of Abuja, who has to her credit two short films (one of which is i-Games) that have done very well in film festivals across Nigeria.  Under the Derwin First Shot Initiative, she has now directed her first feature film,  Mrs. & Mrs. Johnson, an urban drama with slight comic hues, which journeys through the rude awakening that shakes the world of two women, both named Mrs. Johnson, under a very unusual circumstance.

Kiki Omeili, Beverly Osu, Kunle Oluwaremi, Lord Frank, Tunbosun Aiyedehin, Layole Oyatogun & Mariam Lecky all star in  Mrs. & Mrs. Johnson.  The associate producers of Mrs. & Mrs. Johnson are Gbemiga Oladele and Akua Asiedua Boateng while the film is produced by Grace Edwin-Okon, the initiator of The Derwin First Shot Initiative.

Below are pictures from the movie:

Clara (Amaka Chukwujekwu) ditches Johnson Okwuozo (Ramsey Noah) after her sister pronounces that Johnson’s family is accursed because members of the family die in their prime.  Her marriage to Jordan (Joseph Benjamin) is constantly menaced by a ghost, which is invisible to everyone else, but Clara.

It is pleasant surprise to see Emeka Edokpayi, the mortician, and Emeka Okoro, Chijioke – the ghost, after donkey years.  Clara and her sister bear a resemblance to each other just like Chijioke and Johnson – good casting.

Ikechukwu Onyeka (Mr. and Mrs.) now seems to have a knack for stories, in which people are haunted by spooks.  However, the narratives (The Duplex and Grave Dust) are trivial round and hardly enliven the viewer contrary to the very nature of thrillers.  Worse still, the screenplay for Grave Dust is appalling – laced with constructions that fail to maintain the integrity of the English language, the chosen language for telling the story.  Apart from the fact that tenses are incorrectly used; simple words like concern, concerned, listen, death and anything are wrongly pronounced.

The visual effect during the inferno is not convincing in any way.

In Grave Dust, Onyeka serves his audience a film that not only moves at snail’s pace, but one that has been told time and again.  The characters and situations created by the screenwriter are very familiar: an overbearing mother who interferes with her son’s choice of wife; a grown man who is tied to his mother’s apron strings and a marriage which, like every other, faces challenges, but one where the people involved think that parting ways and remarrying is the best solution to the problems they face.

Most followers of Nollywood are constantly in search of fascinating films that will thoroughly entertain them and also task their imaginations at the same time.  Indeed, there are a couple of horror flicks and thrillers that fit this bill.  People were thrilled by Diamond Ring (RMD, Liz Benson, Bimbo Akintola, Teju Babyface), a 1998/99 Tade Ogidan movie on a young man whose life is immensely threatened after he joins a secret cult in the university.  Granted that there is nothing new under the sun, Diamond Ring was preceded by at least two other Nollywood films on secret cults in universities: Another Campus Tale and Rampage.  However, Diamond Ring told its story remarkably well.

Recently, Eric Aghimien directed A Mile from Home; another movie on savagery in universities; whose greatest strength lies in the visual effects that show the distressing violence these young people mete out to their rivals.  A Mile from Home probably has the best visual effects ever seen in a Nollywood film.

Amaka Igwe’s To Live Again (Uche Macaulay, Nobert Young, Stella Damasus, John Njamah, Fred Aseroma) is another 1999 thriller, in which a typical story of infidelity is turned into a monster hit.  Who will forget Aquila Njamah’s The Untold (Emeka Ike, Hank Anuku), where a pastor with powers from the occult unleashes mayhem on unwary victims?

Therefore, Grave Dust woefully falls below expectations in almost every regard.

Dagogo Diminas, who started his career in Nollywood in the 1990s as a make-up artist has joined the league of movie producers/directors.  The brain behind 13 Fatman, his make-up outfit, which also shares the same name with his production company, recently premiered his feature film, Stigma.

Ibiso (Hilda Dokubo) and her daughter, Vanessa (Jackie Appiah), are Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs), who contract HIV from their vocation.  They battle for their lives as friends and relatives desert them.

Emeka Ike, Francis Duru, Ngozi Nwosu, Clem Ohameze, Sobifa Dokubo, Columbus Irosianga and a host of other actors also feature in Stigma.  Sonja Nina Gellweiler is the film’s Executive Producer whilst Okwuchukwu Victor Eze and Vincent Bura-Bari wrote the script.

Pictures from the set of Stigma:

Kwaaley (Jocelyn Dumas), a newly married medical doctor, finds out she is HIV positive and tells her husband, Alex (John Dumelo).  The ensuing resentment becomes a spanner in the wheel of their otherwise happy union.

Shirley Frimpong Manso (Contract, Devil in the Detail) returns with another love story, which tells a tale that is similar to Tango with Me.  In both films, the men find it difficult to make love to their wives.  In Tango with Me, the lady is raped in her husband’s presence while in Love or Something like That, the man resents the wife when she tests positive to HIV.  Incidentally, she was also raped by her lover.  In Tango with Me, the man begins to have an affair while in Love or Something like That, the woman goes back to her former lover.  In the end, the men blame themselves for not keeping to their marital vows to love their wives through thick and thin.

Asantua (Nana Mensah), though vulgar, provides comic relief in the film and surprisingly offers her friend, Kwaaley, good advice.  When Kwaaley complains that Alex is mad at her, Asantua observes that he is rather mad at the situation, urging her friend to give it time.  She equally tells Kwaaley that Alex still loves her, but is only more human than her lover, Henry.  When Kwaaley furthers wonders what will become of her whole life: husband, career, children, Asantua assures her that everything will come full circle.  She says that to imply that everything will come to fruition.  When Kwaaley says she loathes Henry for wrecking her life, Asantua assures her that Henry probably hates himself more, urging Kwaaley to forgive him.

Sonia (Christabel Eke) is a very knowledgeable woman, who seems to have a mind of her own, but really doesn’t.  It is curious if people like her truly exist.  Given her heart-to-hearts with Alex, it is astonishing to see her trying to derail Alex’s marriage.  She sensibly asks Alex how fair it is to abandon one’s dreams to pursue someone else’s; which, for her, is what marriage does to people.  She states that she is afraid of marriage owing to its numerous demands; but as it turns out, her action is one of the problems, bedevilling marriage.

Kwaaley fails her medical profession and humanity by putting another person at risk when she could have confirmed her suspicion and let Alex know what he was going into.  On the other hand, it takes a negative HIV result for Alex to have a discussion with his wife after a period of barely talking to each other.  It is very easy to guess that he would have reacted aggressively if the result had gone the other way.  Where, then, is empathy?

The man who played a mirror character in Devil in the Detail plays a similar role in Love or Something like That, giving a feeling of déjà vu.  He offers the same kind of advice, the same way.

There are inconsistencies in the film.  Why is Kwaaley shocked when Henry Dominic (O. C. Ukeje) walks into her consulting room whilst his file is the topmost one on her table?  Does it mean she never knew her former lover’s surname?

Kwaaley serves her husband breakfast and initiates a conversation on the most sensitive issue in their lives.  Of course, that was never going to end well.  She should have allowed him to eat before raising the matter.  Timing is of the essence when people want to discuss delicate matters and Kwaaley is supposed to know this.

How unscientific it is for Alex to wash his penis vigorously after sexual contact with his wife.  Though he is not a scientist, he is educated all the same and should know better.  Why is Sonia’s hair-do almost the same throughout the film in a motion picture that spans a couple of months?

Alex talks about a lifetime of protective sex.  Did he mean to say protected sex?

The story in Love or Something like That is built on a faulty premise because today, many churches demand recent HIV test results before joining couples in matrimony.  Therefore, a contemporary story of an HIV positive patient who discovers her status after her wedding is far-fetched.

Read more #Nollywood Movie Reviews Here

Ajoa (Jocelyn Dumas), a homeless young lady meets Bruce (Enyinna Nwigwe), a young man from a wealthy background, who takes a liking to her.  Eventually, they fall in love, but the gulf in their backgrounds proves overpowering.

There are countless films in Nollywood that tell a similar story and so, Juliet Asante’s movie could be said to be derivative.  Yet, it is a captivating film enhanced through stimulating dialogue, quality acting and plants, whose pay-offs never really came.

Mark (Chumani Liberty Pam) is immensely talented and a delight to see throughout the film; same for Bruce’s mum.  Enyinna Nwigwe does not also disappoint as the playboy, Bruce.  Uru Eke (Loreal) is true-to-type as a relentless social climber and, of course, Ajoa (Dumas) elicits a lot of emotional response from the audience as a poverty-stricken young lady.

Thrilling dialogue is an indispensable element in a screenplay and film expected to engross an audience and Silver Rain deploys it to commendable ends.  In fact, one almost forgets that the film tells an all too familiar story.

Why do all the mothers in films like Silver Rain behave the same way?  Can’t the women show their disdain for their sons’ lovers in a more subtle way instead of the nasty verbal and, at times, violent confrontations to which they subject the ladies?

Is the Chief-of-Staff in a democracy supposed to be a military man or did they mean to say Chief-of-Defence-Staff?  How come the Chief of Staff (Elikem Kumordzie), a military man, plans a violent attack on visiting foreign dignitaries, at all, and then why does he plan it with civilians?

Ajoa’s make-up as a poor woman is funny.  She looks extremely dark, even burnt.  Then, all of a sudden, she becomes fair-complexioned.  What happened?  Why is Bruce attracted to her?  She refuses his money initially, but on further promptings, she collects the money.  She is neither sensible nor frugal; she usually requests those expensive meals yet has no roof over her head!

How unrealistic of Bruce to ask Mark to go look for a needle in a haystack for that is what asking him to find Ajoa, with the description he gave, entails?  Furthermore, how idealistic of Mark to set out on that wild goose chase?

Weren’t the people who stood at the sidelines to watch the traders being chased away not supposed to be on the run themselves?  Were they engaged in some kind of legitimate activity that conferred, on them, the right to be spectators?  I mean, wasn’t the whole area supposed to be rid of its inhabitants and street traders?

Despite its gaping holes, Silver Rain is entertaining.

Click here to get more engaging #Nollywood Movie Reviews and the latest happenings in Nollywood from the author, Amarachukwu Iwuala

Jimmy Jean Louis, the Haitian-born actor lands in Lagos in April, 2012 to co-host the Africa Movie Academy Awards, AMAA, and decides to record his experiences in the documentary film, Jimmy Goes to Nollywood.

In telling his story, Jean Louis combines interviews with clips from many films – from the serious to the funny and the downright ridiculous.  He interviews Leila Djansi, in whose film, Sinking Sand, he stars.  Djansi makes a profound statement on how African film-makers strive to survive the harsh economic realities of doing the motion picture business in this part of the world.  She says, “When we push, the wall moves.”

Jean Louis also interviews Tony Abulu, the producer of Doctor Bello; Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Hotel Rwanda, Inale, Last Flight to Abuja), Akin Omotoso (director, Man on Ground), Isaiah Washington, Majid Michel, Ebbe Bassey, O. C. Ukeje and Chris Ikejimbe.

The beauty of this film is that Jean Louis not only identifies the right people to speak with, but also asks the right questions.  It is cheering to know that despite the fact that Jean Louis had only spent a short time as an actor in Nollywood before undertaking the project, he understands the industry’s challenges and accomplishments.  Most importantly, the film is engaging and entertaining.

Jimmy Goes to Nollywood beats Dayo Balogun’s Project Rebranding Nollywood, another documentary which treats a similar issue, but fails to tackle its subject appropriately.  The disconcerting thing about Balogun’s film is that it is very easy to see that he did not carry out ample research before embarking on the project.  Whereas Balogun is of Nigerian parentage and is currently studying Film-making, which necessitated the documentary, Jean Louis is an actor, who has only featured in a few Nollywood films, but must have taken out time to study the art and business of Film-making in Nigeria; culminating in a better executed project.

Consequently, the place of research in Documentary Film-making cannot be overstated.

The iRepresent Documentary Film Festival, whose fifth edition took place in March, 2015, continues to soar higher as it gains more global recognition.  Recently, iREP was the Co-Host of the Dok.Network Africa programme at the 30th edition of the Dok.Fest Munich, one of the prime documentary film festivals in Europe.  Femi Odugbemi, Co-founder and Executive Director of IREP was a featured Speaker.  He also presented Miners’ Shot Down on behalf of South African director, Rehad Desai.
he collaboration has also yielded another opportunity as DOK.Fest has asked iREP to send in one of its operation staff to once again undertake a six-week internship starting in November, 2015.  The cooperation between iREP and DOK.Fest was midwifed by the Goethe Institute, Lagos, which had also been the intermediary of the relationship between iREP and the Ag-Dok – the highly influential German association of independent film producers, which in the past four years, has brought groups of German film-makers to every edition of the yearly iREP festival.

Shortly after staging this year’s iREP festival in March at the Freedom Park, Lagos, iREP received gladdening news from Cape Town in South Africa that it should send a representative to the Encounters Documentary Film Festival – a highly competitive international documentary film workshop and industry gathering for a three-week training and internship that will usher in collaborative programming.  iREP 2015 Festival Manager, Lanre Olupona, went to South Africa on that attachment, where he worked and understudied the programming team of Encounters Festival over an intensive 3-week period with a view to learning best practice in festival operations and management.  It will be recalled that 2 years ago, another IREP Festival Manager, Toyin Poju-Oyemade, was in Munich, Germany to understudy the operations of the Dok.Fest Documentary Festival as well.  All of these exchanges have strengthened IREP’s global network and enshrined global best practice in its operations.

Earlier in June, 2015, at the prestigious Sheffield Documentary Film Festival, UK, Femi Odugbemi also spoke on the subject of “Imperialism or Inquiry – How fair is Foreign Filming?”, a major panel of the Documentary Campus Industry Conference.

In July, Odugbemi will also be attending the People2People Conference scheduled for the 2015 Durban International Film Festival in South Africa.  Odugbemi is on the Advisory Board of the People2People Conference and iREP is a founding signatory to the Documentary Network Africa, DNA, an influential documentary platform; featuring film-makers from over 45 countries in the continent.
Source: nollywoodmindspace.com

Ever tried picking up a girl on the side of the raid and then she turns into a food item in your car! Well, BollyLomo had his encounter with a girl (Saeon) who turns into amala and a banana after picking her up.

#360Nobs & #iCirculate have decided to bring you @BollyLomo’s tales past a 15 second #instagram video post. It’s only fair that we had Bolly give you the full gist of his daily encounters.

Here’s the fourth episode of BollyLomo’s tale

Watch:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Subsequent upon the success of last year’s EAVE Co-Production and Script Development Workshop, Goethe-Institut Nigeria is organizing a 2015 edition in conjunction with the European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs (EAVE).

The second mini-EAVE will take place in Lagos between July 20 and 24, 2015.  Application Deadline is now Friday, 10th July, 2015

Download the forms below:

EAVE_ApplFormLagos2015 (1)

EaveOnDemand_Lagos2015 (1)

EAVE_ApplFormLagos2015

Outbreak 2020 is a zombie film about a virus created by a company to infect people, who will then be cured by the antidote they also plan to sell and make millions of naira.  However, in the process of making the virus, an accident occurs, causing people to mutate into zombies;

of course the uninfected few fight for survival.

It is written and produced by Oyebanji Oyemaja, a final year Business Administration student of the University of Lagos; who developed interest in Film-making at 8 and has been undergoing training in cinematography, photography, 3D Animation and Graphic Design since 2008.  Directed by Sam Perry, the film stars Tunji Shotimirin, Sambas Nzeribe, Kunbi Black, Ayo Ade, Ikechukwu Asonye and Joy Bolouere.

Below are pictures from the set of Outbreak 2020:

Watch the trailer below:

It has been six years since the demise of Dan’s parents and Tracy, who is believed to have been out of the country ever since, is expected back for the commemoration of the anniversary.  Dan invites close friends to his parents’ house, which was abandoned under curious circumstances, for a party.  These young people are then enmeshed in events, for which they are unprepared.

Kpians is a horror film written and directed by Stanlee Ohikhuare with Grace Edwin-Okon as the producer.  The film stars Ijeoma Grace Agu, Deyemi Okanlawon, Kiki Omeili, Ashionye Raccah, Uzor Osimkpa, Nosa (Luni) Omusi, Taiwo Gasper, Kunle Oluwaremi, Leonora Okine, Tunbosun Aiyedehin, Prisca Iwuoha, Kelechi Udegbe, Titi Kayode, Awelle Mekwunye and Meg Otanwa.

The film is slated for release on Haloween, 31st October, 2015.

Pictures:

Ever taken a girl out and she orders the world but isn’t there when you need to “push to start”? Bolly shares his ordeal.

#360Nobs & #iCirculate have decided to bring you @BollyLomo’s tales past a 15 second #instagram video post. It’s only fair that we had Bolly give you the full gist of his daily encounters.

Here’s the fifth episode of BollyLomo’s tale

Click here to view the embedded video.

The controversial actress and singer, Tonto Dike in a recent interview said she has not been lucky with love and she also shed light on a couple of things going on in her life.

Tonto has been linked with business man “Mr X aka Churchill Olakunke Oladunni” and recently she shut down reports that she was pregnant and married to him. However in a recent chat with Punch she talks about how she wasn’t always so lucky in love.

She said, “I have not always been lucky with love and relationships but right now, I am happy I’ve found love. I have too many thoughts on marriage and I can spend an entire day speaking about it. I will marry whoever God leads me to. The inspiration behind my hit track, Sugar Rush is the fact that love conquers all”.

READ;Meet Tonto Dike’s Boyfriend, The Famous Mr X

She also touched on her “beef” with fellow Nollywood actress – Mercy Johnson Okojie.
“I have a cordial relationship with all my colleagues and I have absolutely no issues with Mercy Johnson-Okojie as it was once speculated; we are all cool people”.

READ; So Cute! See Tonto Dike And Her Dogs

When asked about music, she said “Acting is my first love and I did not abandon it to become a musician. I still act and I will continue to do so. I will not abandon singing either. In fact, I am working at becoming a better musician because I am still learning the ropes. I am currently working on releasing an album so my fans should expect nothing but the best from me. I am collaborating with a foreign artiste whose name I am not going to mention because I want it to be a surprise”.

Imagecredit;www.nigeriandailynews.com

The Ghanian actor, Majid Michel and his wife renewed their marital vows in celebration of their 10th wedding anniversary.

They had the occasion in a beautiful outdoor with celeb guests including Joselyn Dumas & others in attendance.

Interview: Ghanaian Actor Majid Michel Compares His Wife – Virna’s Body To That Of Halle Berry (Video)

Imagecredit;www.informtionng.com

Nadia Buari wore this gorgeous dress to the Majid Michel’s wedding vow renewal occasion.

Holiday Photos Of Nadia Buari Looking Super Fit

Director – Ernest Obi

Producers – Yvonne Jegede

Screenplay: Chuka Onuigbo

Story: Yvonne Jegede

Cast – Yvonne Jegede, OC Ukeje, Wole Ojo and Peggy Ovire

Time – 1:37:50

Year – 2015

Genre – Drama

Do I look like I come from a long line of slaves… Eunice Eze

Eunice and Chuma are a young married couple with a seemingly witty, struggling friend Fred. As a project manager, Eunice faces her demons at work with an overbearing colleague who she can’t stand until herself and husband’s best friend and third wheel falls head over heels for her.

3 is Company is the first production of Yvonne Jegede, an aspiring actress, why do I say aspiring, cause I haven’t seen any film from her neither have I paid any notice to headlines or pictures that mention her so she is our basic green horn. As producer and part writer, she plays the lead and wife of Chuma played by OC Ukeje. As a wife she gets a pass, as a worker having to deal with an overbearing colleague, she could have infused decorum in the character in handling her colleagues antics. So basically, that aspect was a fail for me.

OC seemed to be the only logical character in the production who held his own. He was calm and collected. The movie didn’t task him or add to his credits really and as a husband, I guess the director just said, you know what, do what you do everyday at home!

As it relates to the 3rd wheel in this production Wole Ojo from he’s Maami days, he has come a long way, to want to take up small projects like this that do nothing for his career. He had nothing less than 1000 lines to his credit that I wondered why use him in the first place surely a relatively new comer could have done this (chill, isn’t it the same way he was in “Maami”?) His character as 3rd wheel, was handled okay, as the guy searching and finding love, he was an epic fail. Being witty and having spunk were attributes that would have paid him, as his conversation revolved around dating, women, food and work, but even those lines were not worth remembering. Food for thought though, do our actors add or infuse stuff in their characters? For his role, I don’t think so!

For Komsi played by Peggy sigh! I am wary about month and finger emphasis when one should be acting really! She seemed stiff and if the planned was for her to be an uptight, nasty worker, she lost me at the exchange of names! For pete’s sake, people are nasty without resorting to name calling especially in an office plus what was that fight scene, been a while I saw such market behavior in film.

Production quality wasn’t too shabby, with clean and clear picture quality but I hit a snag with sound and the camera dude reflecting in a scene. For the story or would I say screenplay, this production felt like a slap on my face. We all work, we have had our share of overbearing colleagues, if you can’t work with them, there are clear cut process for
dealing with that than resorting to name calling and complete removal of any professional decency what’s so ever. While I also understand that it is a film meant to be over under a certain time limit, it was a far cry from reality and this just left me angry and displease. For Ernest Obi, a nollywood veteran, (hoping this is the same one) he might not have written the script but he could have guided Yvonne who we all know is a novice in the industry.

Playing the duo role of actress, producer and story creator, is no easy feat, I say it all the time. But the Yvonne Jegede production “3 is Company” however was lacking the dexterity of a good script, immature lines a functional costume department and doze of reality.

From Xplore, it earns a 3/10.

The post #Nollywood Movie Review of 3 Is Company appeared first on 360Nobs.com.

*Director-* Desmond Elliot
*Producers- *Mina Christine
*Written by-* Mina Christine
*Cast-* Rita Dominic, John Dumelo, Uti Nwachukwu, Desmond Elliot
and Adunni Ade
*Time-* 1:30:15 *Year-* 2014
*Genre*- Drama

Is this what you meant by in sickness and in health – Rosemary

Review of Rosemary’s Fight

Mina Productions presents this Desmond Elliot movie ‘Rosemary’s Fight’. The movie revolves around Rose played by Rita Dominic the wife of John Dumelo’s character who is physically and emotionally abused by him.

The movie kicks off with a narrative that wasn’t too shabby, but haven’t seen that recently so I guess it ticks the box of being creative. The chemistry between the couple seemed to work and I came off with a new level of respect for both Dominic and Dumelo.

Rita, the upcoming copy writer, dropping her career to become a stay at home wife and mom, was good to watch. She carried her role properly for a 27 year old. Her lines were clean and clear as she was one with her character. Like women who have been abused, she tried her best to stand her ground and drive her points and thoughts. Make-up and costume was a mighty plus for her and did her justice, the red eyes, the coughing brought to light the plight which is violence against women.

John, oh John; was true to form, authoritative and straight to the point. At no point did he look back or flinch when he was punching the love of his life & mother of his kids. He’s showing up at random was epic and showed
his obsessive character. How he moved from slap to a showed a some level of growth from him.

All other supporting characters did just that, support. Couldn’t stand the friends in the restaurant scene, counting words, the accent was horrible and showed why Rita is the best at what she does, as she was down to earth and real. Uti was just there, wasn’t really feeling his compassion or the empathy at what was happening to Rita and their chemistry was nonexistent. Why Desmond feels the need to be in a role of most of the movies he directs is beyond me, but he felt like a yo-yo as he moved from English, Yoruba and Igbo accent it was appalling and lacked professionalism even for the profession he was representing.

Script was a knockout and really welcome. ‘Once is Enough’ would have been a good title *(Xplore taking a shot at movie naming)* as it only takes one slap to know that your husband or boyfriend needs help. The fight against domestic violence for both men and women is real and there is need to use the arts to correct the wrongs out there. Yes, it had its cheesy lines, but it also showed the various stages of hurt women go through in a violent home. It would have been pretty nice if there was a scene where she reached out to a support group instead of her wacky friends, but I guess since we don’t have that many out there, the lawyer angle worked. Not sure how atching her husband beating her on tape was her only satisfaction as well as getting half of his wealth. It would have been epic if it was a total take down and ruin.

Production was also done well, the movie was right on point with time. Scenes were straight to the point and no beating about the bush. Costumes were on point, make-up after the beating looked real and showed properly on Rita’s face however the make up couldn’t hide the sweat that was ever so glaring on most of the acts.

Desmond is soaring as as a director and he did great work here. The beating angles are a necessity for production such this and it shone through here however, there is need to work on special effects to make beating and punches more believable, even from the recording we could see and hear it was fake. The angle of the first strangling scene was one we needed to see Rita’s reaction to appreciate but we were denied that. All in all not a totally bad one and did Desmond make Rita in heels, that was funny.

Rosemary’s Fight is a storyline we can never have enough off, and earns a 5.5/10 from Xplore.

The post #Nollywood Review of Rosemary’s Fight appeared first on 360Nobs.com.

In September, lovers of entertainment will be treated to a month of exclusive new movies featuring the biggest Nollywood stars as Africa Magic, the continent’s leading provider of entertainment for Africa by Africans,  kicks off its Original Blockbuster Festival.

The Africa Magic Original Blockbuster Festival is in line with Africa Magic’s mission of providing entertainment for Africa by Africans, and involves the production of eight made for television movies that feature established and renowned names behind and in front of the camera. The movies will feature on Africa Magic Showcase (DStv 151) every weekend throughout September, 2015 with the first title scheduled to show on Saturday, 5th September at 22:15 CAT.

Speaking at an event to kick off the festival, the Regional Director, M-Net (West Africa), Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, said: “Africa Magic remains at the forefront of not only showcasing quality indigenous entertainment for Africa and the rest of the world, but also in developing world class content. Our Original Blockbusters initiative is part of our ongoing investment drive in the Nigerian film and television industry, and we have partnered with renowned actors, directors and producers to give our viewers a truly memorable September.”:

The eight original blockbuster films which premiered at the event are Red Card, Carpe Diem, Love Struck, Amiable, Merciful, Dowry Man, After the I Dos, and Subterfuge. These films feature popular faces such as Olu Jacobs, Joke Silva, Patrick Doyle, Ini Edo, Monalisa Chinda, A.Y Makun, Bimbo Akintola, Chidi Mokeme, Nonso Diobi and Ufoma McDermott amongst many others. The producers involved with the films include renowned industry names like Zik Zulu Okafor, Zeb Ejiro, Obi Emelonye, Stanlee Ohikhuare and the actor-producers Desmond Elliot and Lillian Amah-Aluko.

The eight Original Blockbusters come even as Africa Magic continues to shoot and produce other made for television films which continue to air on the various Africa Magic channels.

“Nollywood remains at the centre of entertainment not just in Nigeria, but across West Africa and indeed the rest of the continent. Our relationship with the finest talent in the film and television industry not only ensures that our viewers are continuously spoilt for choice, but also ensures that the industry continues the rapid development for which it is renowned for. We continue to support the Nigerian film industry and the exceptional talent that powers it and it is this relationship that ensures that the Africa Magic channels remain the go-to source for world class, African entertainment content,” added Mba-Uzoukwu.

The Africa Magic Original Blockbuster Festival kicks off on the 5th of September, 2015 and the films air on Africa Magic Showcase every weekend (Saturday and Sunday) throughout September. For more information on Africa Magic’s programmes and channels, please visit www.africamagic.tv

The post Desmond Elliot, Ini Edo, Olu Jacobs and Others Thrill as Africa Magic Promises ‘a September to remember’ With Blockbuster Festival appeared first on 360Nobs.com.