Arts

Arts, Entertainment

Movie Review: My Wife And I | By: Jerry Chiemeke

Movie Title: MY WIFE AND I
Year of Release: 2017
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Cast: Ramsey Nouah, Omoni Oboli, Dorcas Shola Fapson, Jemima Osunde, Sambasa Nzeribe, Seyi Law, Rachel Oniga, Ngozi Nwosu
Director: Bunmi Ajakaiye

“My Wife And I” is the story of a couple who have been married for seventeen years, but whose union is on the brink of collapse, amidst incessant arguments. Toyosi (Nouah) is calm, cool-headed and spends more time with the kids, a situation made easier after he quit his job at Haliburton to start up a farm. Ebere (Oboli), a thriving oil executive, is feisty, temperamental and frequently spoiling for a fight.
In a last-ditch effort to save their marriage, they reluctantly agree to visit Pastor Theophilus (Seyi Law) for counselling, only to wake up the following morning in each other’s bodies, apparently owing to the pastor’s prayer for them to “understand each other”. They have to adapt to each other’s traditional roles at home and at work, while fighting to keep the complex situation under wraps, only bringing the body swap to the knowledge of Toyosi’s assistant Jumoke (Fapson) and Ebere’s brother Emeka (Nzeribe). They also have to work out their complicated relationship with their children, who are almost resigned to fate in terms of an impending divorce.
ALSO READ: Isoken Movie Review
ALSO READ:  Banana Island Ghost review
ALSO READ : In Line movie review

For all its speculation, this story is nothing new; we have seen it in Hollywood with “Freaky Friday” (starring Lindsay Lohan) and “The Hot Chick” (starring Rachel McAdams), but the crew in this movie did a pretty decent job with adaptation. Omoni Oboli often attracts divided opinion with her acting, but she pulls this one off; it’s not easy to interprete two different roles with outstanding personalities, ask John Travolta from “Face-Off”. Nouah rises to the occasion, Fapson and Nzeribe do not have much to do but fare pretty alright, and Osunde aces her role as Ireti, the couple’s rebellious teenage daughter, even where she is a tad overdramatic. Seyi Law’s performance is not exactly remarkable, but he is not a piss poor actor either.
Credit has to be given to the lead actors for scenes where they had to walk in each other’s shoes, literally on some occasions. Living in each other’s bodies makes for a totally awkward mess, but it is the awkwardness that defines the movie, and it is well executed, even though there are points where they seem too comfortable. It’s fun watching Ramsey Nouah sway his hips, and Omoni swing a “manly” punch.
Beyond family and marriage, the movie also subtly explores other themes, like fidelity, career and the question of female breadwinners. The movie slows down in pace towards the end however, and ultimately fades into cliches like following dreams and the ultimate power of love. For all the action, the dialogue could have been better too.
Ultimately, “My Wife and I” is a passable effort at experimentation. It is not perfect, but it is good, and it deserves an extended run in cinemas.
Rating: 6.4/10
 

Jerry Chiemeke is a lawyer and freelance writer who lives in Lagos. An amateur photographer and sports enthusiast as well, Jerry’s works have appeared on Blanck Digital, Elsieisy, Oshodi.tv, The Kalahari Review and Brittle Paper. He is the author of ‘The Colours In These Leaves’. Get the book Here 
You can follow him on Twitter @J_Chiemeke, and also check out his craft on his blog at pensofchi.com

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Arts, Entertainment

Movie Review: In Line | By: Jerry Chiemeke

Movie Title: IN LINE
Year of Release: 2017
Genre: Romantic Drama
Cast: Adesua Etomi, Uzor Arukwe, Chris Attoh, Sika Osei, Shawn Farqua, Tina Mba
Director: Tope Oshin
“In Line” is a movie about a man named Debo (Arukwe), who goes to jail for murdering his own father, but obtains presidential pardon six years later thanks to the influence of his mother (Mba). He returns home, but things are awkward between him and Kate (Etomi), the wife he left behind. She refuses to sleep with him, prefers work at her advertising agency to being around Debo, and finds comfort in the company of David (Attoh), Debo’s best friend and lawyer.
On his part, Debo exhibits a lot of possessiveness, he is given to outbursts of anger and violence, and he cannot seem to trust Kate, suspecting her of cheating. He enlists the help of his ex-girlfriend Bella (Osei), a private investigator, to spy on his wife. Debo and Kate get caught up in a web of lies, distrust, manipulation and power play.
The movie does well in raising some modern issues, from spousal abuse to marital infidelity, toxic relationships and domestic violence. Adesua Etomi, who was far from impressive with “Ten Days In Sun City”, interpretes her role quite well here. Uzor Arukwe gets into character as the obsessive control freak, Sika Osei puts up a good show, Chris Attoh’s role is unremarkable but relevant to the plot, while Tina Mba and Shawn Farqua could have used a little more screen time, but made an impression nonetheless.

ALSO READ: Isoken Movie Review
ALSO READ:  Banana Island Ghost review
While the movie is quite well laid out, a few points are impossible to ignore. First, there is something too seamless about the way Debo is re-integrated into society and into work, Nigeria is not so kind to ex-convicts, let alone convicted murderers. There are also a few glitches with the scenes, like where Kate ties a scarf round her neck after an altercation with Debo even when she isn’t quite Caucasian to have the choke marks show, or where Bella’s headscarf appears in two different ways in the same scene. Again, the part where Bella trails Kate to find out her moves has to be the most unstealthy spooking ever; someone needs to watch more thrillers or play more video games. The part where David and Kate try to forge Debo’s signature (as husband and wife were co-signatories to the company account) also raises questions as to how Kate had access to money during Debo’s imprisonment, but in their defence, one signatory could have a limit to how much he/she can approve alone, and that may have been the case here. Beyond that, having Bella become a maid in Debo’s house as part of the spying process was just too predictable.
The movie starts well, and the conclusion is properly tied too, and while the middle begs for pace, you can’t argue with the delivery of the lead characters. This may not be one of the most memorable clips in the history of cinematic Nollywood, but it is a more than passable effort, and it is worth the watch.
Rating: 6/10
 

Jerry Chiemeke is a lawyer and freelance writer who lives in Lagos. An amateur photographer and sports enthusiast as well, Jerry’s works have appeared on Blanck Digital, Elsieisy, Oshodi.tv, The Kalahari Review and Brittle Paper. He is the author of ‘The Colours In These Leaves’. Get the book Here 
You can follow him on Twitter @J_Chiemeke, and also check out his craft on his blog at pensofchi.com
 
 
 

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Nominations Now Open For Nigerian Writers Awards 2018.

 
Another Nigerian Writers Awards is upon us!
The prestigious platform  rewards excellence and celebrates Nigerian Writers of different genres from literature, journalism entertainment and arts in Nigeria as well as in the diaspora. The first of its kind awards do not only reward writers of different genres but also writers’ supportive brands.
Following the successes of the 1st and 2nd edition the Nigerian Writers Awards opens nomination for the 3rd edition. The award will consider nominations of writers who have proven their worth and commitment in writing, entries will be received from individuals, private sectors, civil society or government and will  be rewarded based on Originality, Creativity, and Message delivery.
The 3rd edition will consider nomination for activities in the following period under review: March 2016- June 2017.
Categories includes; Business writer of the year, Entertainment writer, Feature writer, Blogger of the year, Literary blogger, Health writer, Sports writer, Script writer, Poetry writer, Spoken Word, Poetry Promoter, Campus writer, Fiction writer, Non-fiction writer, Faith-based writer, Romance writer, Diaspora Writer Child/teenage writer, Young writer of the year, Writer of the year, Media House of the year (TV/Radio/Print) and Writers’ Most Supportive Brand of the year.
Nomination will run through from 24th of August 2017 – 20th of October 2017, there will be pre-selection after the deadline of nominations and nominee list will be released in December 2017.
Award Ceremony: The announcement of the winners will be at the grand event which will hold in March 2018 in Nigeria.
HOW TO NOMINATE

  1. Send a brief about the Nominee.
  2. The Nominee’s Work. (Web Links or Reviews)

For Journalism Categories (send web links of published works, stories, features etc. Maximum of 3 links).
 For Published Books (Send a Review of the Book(s) not more than 850 words and where the book(s) can be gotten-Online or Bookstores).

  • Nominee Contact details if possible (Social Networks, Email or Telephone contact-To receive notification of nomination, event details and other necessary information).

Send entries to [email protected]
NB: All works must fall between March 2016- June 2017. 
 For more information log on to www.nwaward.com;  if you are experiencing any  difficulty, further inquiry or  Support/Sponsorship/Media partnership, contact +2348069090340, +2349090333976 email; [email protected], [email protected].

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Arts, Features

Photos from Pastor EA Adeboye's surprise book launch

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Image may contain: 5 people, people standing
Dignitaries thronged The RCCG Youth Centre, on August 15, 2017 for the launch of Pastor EA Adeboye’s new book titled: ‘Pastor EA Adeboye: His Life And Calling’.  The distinguished man of God had no inkling of the project as his wife had hid information about the book from her husband for one year, saying that she planned it to coincide with his 75th birthday.
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The 40-page book offers a fresh insight into the life and calling of Pastor EA Adeboye, it documents his challenges and achievements through the years.
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Roll call of guests at the event include Presiding Bishop, Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) Bishop David Oyedepo, Acting President of Nigeria, His Excellency Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and his wife, Dolapo, Former President, General Olusegun Obasanjo, Wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Her Excellency Bolanle Ambode, Chief Executive Officer of Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Limited, Dr Stella Okoli and a host of others.
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In his remark, the revered cleric said, “The event of today, without any doubt, has been a great surprise to me. This is because my wife hid it from me, and we don’t normally hide anything from each other, because we have been married for 50 years and we are still on honeymoon. Why the event is a surprise to me is that God also hid it for me. I had no inkling at all from my Daddy that something like this is happening. If God hid it from me, it must mean that He approved of it. My wife knows that if I had any idea about what is happening today, it will never happen. I would have stopped it long ago because who am I without Jesus Christ? If there is anyone to be celebrated, it should be Him.
He continued, “People say I am humble, but people need to know where I am coming from. I cannot say I have any ability or wisdom. Everything has been the Lord Himself. When I was about 40 and I saw grey hairs on my head, I wondered why and God said I was carrying a burden that was not mine.
“God said, ‘I am just using you as camouflage. People need to see someone. So, I am putting you forward so that I can do the work from behind.’ So, everything that is happening in RCCG, nothing is of Adeboye at all; it is all about God. So, for you to say you are writing a book about somebody that is nothing, someone who has almost zero beginning, from a poor family and passed through secondary school by God’s grace. For God to allow today to happen without telling me, it can only be that He wants to draw your attention to Himself that if you allow Him, He will do great things, using you as camouflage.”
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Eulogising his wife of 50 years, Daddy GO as fondly called said, “If you can find a woman that can stand by you with 40 days of prayer and fasting, first, second, third time and willing to go with you as long as possible, then I will classify your wife as second to mine. Without my wife, I cannot be doing what I am doing today,” he said.
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Photo Credit: Open Heavens International Centre 
https://www.facebook.com/OpenHeavensIC
www.ohic.org
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Arts, Entertainment

Movie Review: Banana Island Ghost | By: Jerry Chiemeke

Movie Title: BANANA ISLAND GHOST
Genre:  Comedy
Year of Release: 2017
Cast: Chigul, Patrick Diabuah, Bimbo Manuel, Damilola Adegbite, Saheed Balogun, Ali Nuhu, Tina Mba
Director: BB Sasore

Image result for banana island ghost

“Banana Island Ghost” is about a young man named Patrick (Diabuah) who dies, but is scared to step into Heaven because he does not have a soulmate. He is given three days by God (Bimbo Manuel) to find a lady and get her to love him. Patrick has the luxury of being unseen or unheard by anyone except the lady he chooses, and he requests for a lady who lives in Banana Island. He ends up waking next to Ijeoma (Chigul), a plus-size lady who is about to lose her father’s house unless she can raise 18 million naira in three days. She takes to combining her 9-5 with a gig as a mascot and pilfering of gadgets, amidst the looming purchase of the house by a certain Mr. King (Nuhu) and her self-esteem issues.

One lovely thing about the movie is the choice of music put to use. Viewers would have their ears treated to Bez’s “Over You”, the lovely Ruby Gyang’s “Kale Ni”, Ill Bliss’ “Bank Alert”, amongst others. If this movie were to have an O. S. T, I would definitely go on to buy it.

The movie also scores high in mischief value. In Banana Island Ghost, we see Patrick, the male lead, use his ghostly nature to his advantage, from freely changing his wardrobe at The Palms, spiking the drink of Ijeoma’s cheating boyfriend with laxatives, scaring a lady by “scooping her Coldstone mid-air”, and spraying fire extinguisher on the hair of Ijeoma’s mean colleagues. He also assists Ijeoma in giving the impression that her car is A. I – operated at a charity event.

ALSO READ: Isoken Movie Review

However, that’s all there is to this movie. From her acting, it is clear that Chigul is better off with her comedy skits. She has no place in feature films, with her forced and mechanical acting, and her tendency to change accents with every other scene. Her attempts at humour were pretty much 50-50, and this performance is anything but memorable.

Bimbo Manuel may not exactly be a Morgan Freeman, but he pulled off his omniscient character, even indulging in some mischief as he blurred Adegbite’s full nakedness from Patrick’s view. The same cannot be said for Saheed Balogun and Ali Nuhu; both darlings in their respective indigenous movie circles, the two actors did next to nothing here, and were a waste of screen time. It would be laughable to add this movie to their videographies, if you ask me.

Much is made about Nollywood’s improved cinematography, but a number of scenes left much to be desired. The bus scene where Patrick flings a passenger’s phone out of the window as a ghost culminates in the most artificial bus scuffle I have ever seen, and in the scene where Ijeoma sings at a charity event, there is just something plastic about the guests in attendance.

The script falls short too. At the end, Ijeoma has the chance to win 20 million naira by participating in a poker tournament…organised by the very man who wants to buy her father’s house! How cliché can we get? The part involving the policemen is dragged on for too long as well, to the point that the humour wears off and the jokes becomes annoying. The point of self-realization on Ijeoma’s part, and Patrick finally being able to love, is a bit cheesy too.

Banana Island Ghost is a movie that cinema lovers are not advised to go for with high hopes. It has its good points, but it is ultimately another disappointing “boutique” movie. I want a refund of the money for my ticket, and the ticket purchased for my date.

Rating: 5/10

Jerry Chiemeke is a lawyer and freelance writer who lives in Lagos. An amateur photographer and sports enthusiast as well, Jerry’s works have appeared on Blanck Digital, Elsieisy, Oshodi.tv, The Kalahari Review and Brittle Paper. He is the author of ‘The Colours In These Leaves’. Get the book Here 

You can follow him on Twitter @J_Chiemeke, and also check out his craft on his blog at pensofchi.com

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Arts, Entertainment

Movie Review: Isoken | By: Jerry Chiemeke

Movie Title: ISOKEN
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Year of Release: 2017
Cast: Dakore Akande, Joseph Benjamin, Tina Mba, Funke Akindele, Lydia Forson, Patrick Doyle, Marc Rhys, Damilola Adegbite
Director: Jadesola Osiberu
“Isoken” is about a independent, 35-year-old lady (played by Dakore) who is being pressurised by her mother (played by Tina Mba) to get married. She has three friends; Agnes (Funke), Kukua (Lydia) and Joke (Damilola), the latter going through a marriage bedeviled by miscarriages. She gets acquainted with a man named Osaze (Benjamin), and later on, an Englishman named Kevin (Rhys), who works at her office on a contract basis, and keeps bumping into her in awkward situations, from panties forgotten in washing machines to faces smeared with flour. Osaze seems like the perfect guy, but Kevin with his dry British humour, Afrophilia and love for the arts begins to get through to Isoken, and things get complicated.
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For one, the script and the plot are non-cliche, the plot is well acted out, and the dialogue is pretty top notch. There are no excessively long scenes, Dakore shows us what we have missed for so long, Marc Rhys makes British humour really appealing, Joseph Benjamin sticks to his lines, Funke does not try too hard to be funny, and Tina Mba plays the classic Benin mother to perfection, drama and all, down to the accent. All in all, it makes for a great movie.

There are, however, a few observations. Isoken’s character is artsy and feminist in nature. That appears to be a major theme in the movie, and that is fine, but in about four scenes, the cameras seemed to focus a little too much on Isoken’s pile of books. We get it. she is an independent woman, can we move to other parts of the room? Again, the plot seemed a bit too “obvious” in trying to paint Kevin (Rhys) as a better fit for Isoken. The point is clear to see, but Osaze’s character could have used a little more flesh and personality, the shallowness seemed a tad too deliberate.
At the end of the movie, Kevin feels defeated and intends to leave Nigeria, seeing that his contract is up, but Isoken professes her love, and he agrees to stay. That is as improbable an ending as we can get! Yea yea, Love makes us do things, but ditch England for Nigeria? Oh well. I don’t know. There is also the wedding choreography at the end, similar to that overly hyped you-know-which-movie, but ultimately, the movie is watchable.
Rating: 6.5/10

Jerry Chiemeke is a lawyer and freelance writer who lives in Lagos. An amateur photographer and sports enthusiast as well, Jerry’s works have appeared on Blanck Digital, Elsieisy, Oshodi.tv, The Kalahari Review and Brittle Paper. He is the author of ‘The Colours In These Leaves’. Get the book Here 

You can follow him on Twitter @J_Chiemeke, and also check out his craft on his blog at pensofchi.com

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Chimamanda Adichie elected into American Academy of Arts and Science.

Award-winning Nigerian novelist, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie  has been elected to the prestigious American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of the highest honors for intellectuals in the US. She is the second Nigerian after Professor Wole Soyinka to be bestowed with the honour and her induction comes up in May. Chimamanda was listed among 40 Foreign Honorary Members from 19 countries elected by the Academy.
Among the people elected are some of the world’s most accomplished scholars, scientists, writers, artists, as well as civic, business, and philanthropic leaders. They will all form the 237th class of the academy.
“It is an honor to welcome this new class of exceptional women and men as part of our distinguished membership,” said Don Randel, Chair of the Academy’s Board of Directors. “Their talents and expertise will enrich the life of the Academy and strengthen our capacity to spread knowledge and understanding in service to the nation.” “In a tradition reaching back to the earliest days of our nation, the honor of election to the American Academy is also a call to service,” said Academy President Jonathan F. Fanton. “Through our projects, publications, and events, the Academy provides members with opportunities to make common cause and produce the useful knowledge for which the Academy’s 1780 charter calls.”  
The new class will be inducted at a ceremony on October 7, 2017, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Full list : www.amacad.org/members.

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Chimamanda Adichie named in world leaders list

Famous Nigerian author, Chimamanda Adichie has been named amongst the 50 greatest world leaders in the 2017  by Fortune magazine ranking.
The novelist was ranked at number 42 on the list  that features Colombian music superstar Shakira, Chicago Cubs baseball team president Theo Epstein and frontline business man, Jack Ma of AliBaba group of companies whose names appeared at numbers 1 and 2 respectively. Others include Catholic leader Pope Francis, Melinda Gates, basketball player, LeBron James and many more.

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Short Story: Brightly In The Shadows | By: Victoria Adebileje

Alani was just giving himself one last look over when he heard a knock on the door.
“Isn’t it just annoying how people feel comfortable coming to someone else’s house early in the morning?” He mused.
Alani looked around and made sure nothing was out of place. He then assumed the manly gait it seemed he could never get used to before walking to the door to open it.
“Alani my friend! I thought you would still be asleep.”
“I’m an early riser Labisi. Good morning, what brings you here at this time of the day?” He stepped back as Labisi made to come into the house.
“It never ceases to amaze me how neat your house always is. Is that why you haven’t chosen one of the girls as a wife? I know they can be burdensome, but since warming your bed and taking care of the house is what they are made for you really should bring one of them in…or two if you want.”
Alani sighed silently. Labisi is one of the very silly, very shallow ‘friends’ he unfortunately has to put up with. His brain must be the size of a peanut.
“Hahahahah! Labisi my funny friend! You really shouldn’t think of women that lowly though, they are much more than cleaners and cooks.”
“Please don’t start with your pet talks this morning joor. You speak so highly of women, yet we never see any around you, you know you actually don’t have to marry them if marriage is what you are scared of. Just frequently throw some little change at any of your choosing and she will do all your bidding for as long as you want.”
The smile on Alani’s face slightly went dim. What Labisi said couldn’t be farther from the truth, it is so sad that women have buried their self-worth for meaningless things.
“Did you come to my house this early to lecture me about my lack of a woman?”
20 minutes later, Labisi left. He had come to ask if some of Alani’s farm workers could come help on his own farm.
Alani hurried out of his house, Labisi had set him back on the numerous things he had to do before the day ends. He checked his wrist watch and saw that he had barely 5 minutes to make the monthly elders meeting. He of course had no business attending the elders meeting, but 6 months ago, the elders had permanently invited him to their monthly meetings stating that his unique and manly wisdom was needed. When he had asked why there was no single woman in the meeting, they had simply said; “what would be their function if we included them?”
How ironic…
After the meeting with the elders, he went on his routine rounds to all of his 7 farms. It was early evening before he finished from his last farm. He had earlier on received a message from the king asking that he comes to the palace at his convenience. The always ran his ideas and decisions by Alani before executing them. Alani had once told the king that he is sure his daughters would do a good job of listening and offering advice when needed, and the king had had a very good laugh with tears running down his black, strong face.
When Alani finally got home, he walked straight into his room and fell face down on his bed. He then slowly got up after a while and stood before his mirror, staring at his own image.
“I really do miss my hair, it used to be full, and long, and shiny.” He pulled off his dansiki and slowly rolled off the swaddle of cloth wrapped tightly over his breasts.
With a deep, long breath she thought; “It feels good to be woman again…”

Victoria is an editor and writer. She blogs at mytwocentsnmore.blogspot.com

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Popular novelist, Buchi Emechata dies

 
Popular Novelist, Buchi Emecheta OBE has died. The veteran author of  ‘The Joys of Motherhood’, ‘Second-Class Citizen’, ‘The Bride Price’, ‘The Slave Girl’ and many others reportedly died in her home in London on Wednesday January 25, 2017 at the age of 72.
Confirming her passing, Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, President, Denja Abdullahi said  “We have lost a rare gem in this field. Her works would forever live to speak for her. It is a sad loss to our circle and we pray that God would give the family the fortitude to bear the loss. She was known for championing the female gender and we would forever miss her.”
May her soul find repose. Amen!

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