Banana Island Ghost

I’ll start by saying that Banana Island was a good attempt at a romantic comedy especially for a Nollywood movie. Sadly, it didn’t live up to a lot of expectations but managed to leave a good taste in our mouths nonetheless.

The visuals were a breath of fresh air and a lot of thought went into the aerial shots and angles that spoke of superb cinematography. The music by Nigerian artists definitely served as major highlights and helped fill in the blanks when necessary. Some of the songs that were definitely worth hearing again were Kale Ni by Ruby Gyang and Empty by Cobhams.

 

The movie’s flaws however were mostly as a result of empty dialogue and a story with more holes than a basket. This caused the Banana Island Ghost to have pacing issues and trivialized a lot of its highlights.

The film felt more like a collection of moments than a well thought out story and the inconsistencies and lack of buildup in the film caused it to fall flat in the wrong places.

That said, the Banana Island Ghost definitely scored an ‘A’ for effort and comedy with Akah Nnani sending us into peels of laughter and proving that all it takes is skill and commitment to pull off a memorable performance.

Patrick Diabuah was a sight for sore eyes and even though the movie did him little justice he still managed to give a stellar performance. Unfortunately, Chigurl’s character came off a tad bit confusing due to the various accent changes and the insincerity of her emotions during the particularly emotional scenes. It felt like she was playing multiple characters instead of one but the huge let down for me was her singing, particularly because I’ve heard her do way better.

Saheed Balogun managed to hold his end quite well and Makeeda Moka the Naija Ninja didn’t do too badly either.

Though a mesh of highs and lows, Banana Island Ghost takes credit for being a good attempt at what could’ve been an outstanding film.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Listen to

Kale Ni by Ruby Gyang http://smarturl.it/RubyGyangKaleNi

Empty by Cobhams http://tooxclusive.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Cobhams_Asuquo_-_Empty_tooxclusive.com.ng.mp3

 

 

Movie Review: Lion

Sometimes I wish I could have direct access to the people who inspire me, just so I can let them know just how much of an impact they’ve made.

Sadly, with celebrities you get pegged as a fan girl and would probably never get the chance. But that’s not why we are here.

I just got round to watching Lion.

Lion

It first caught my attention when Sunny Pawar’s interviews popped up on some of my favourite Bollywood review channels. Then, I watched Dev Patel and Octavia Spencer’s ‘Actor on Actor ‘ and knew it was a movie that was my calling name.

Alone and ready, I started the journey of this movie which ironically started with a journey. It took us through the hustle of brothers making ends meet on the roads of Ganesh Thalai. Soroo was young and eager to prove to his older brother, Guduu that he was tough enough to share the responsibilities of the home.

The love between them was evident and infectious. They had nothing yet loved each other as though they had everything. Guduu was protective, Soroo was determined. Their mum, a labourer, did all she could for the three children she had but could not afford to raise.

An unseen turn of events, changed all their lives forever. 

Lost at a train station, after insisting on accompanying Gudu on night ‘waka’, Soroo ends up locked in a train on a destination to nowhere. No education, no identity or clear idea of where he came from, Soroo went from abandoned, to street urchin to orphan. Despite his attempts, he could not find his way home and accepted his fate when adoption came knocking.

Nicole Kidman  played his adopted mother and both parents loved him unconditionally. Love was all the movie was about till Soroo was jolted to his past by an incident at a mini-indian party thrown by friends. The journey to finding himself after 25 years was a rollercoaster of emotions,deep and heavy, yet till the end we went with Soroo until he found himself and his family.

The beauty of the movie lay in the silences, the nuances and raw expression of selfless love. A love that exists but have forgotten how to share. A love that is blind to prejudice, race or country. A love that is there to give and receive. A love that just is.

Sunny Pawar is a child with a natural gift. I fell in love with his character before I could analyse it, lol. He broke through every emotion I owned by baring himself in the movie and playing it with innocence and zest.

Nicole Kidman breathed a life into this movie I had never seen before, the role hurt yet embraced my heart as her truth behind adoption gave me tears of grief and hope.

This is the world we should be living in, not the chaos we have chosen.

But Dev Patel had me from his first scene to to his last. Being lost is something I have experienced but this, this was a depth I had not seen coming. It was raw, confused, intense and real. I went through every emotion with him and at the end of the movie, with tears running my face, I was found.

A shared victory, I’d say.

Though I would have loved to see Nawazzudine Siddiqui a little more, the movie’s flawlessness left me perfectly happy.

I could go on and on but the movie was definitely worth every single Oscar nomination it got. In a world where sex is a sin and war is holy (Alicia Keys) Lion brings love that evicts all else.

I’m going with 4/5

 

Music Review: Jarell

All or Nothing- Jarell

I saved this review that I may do it justice.

I’ve had ‘All or nothing’ playing on a loop for a little over week now and that in itself is proof that the song is gold.

Jarell’s music bears the simplicity and depth common to artists who understand that a message requires nothing more than truth to hit home. His voice has a silky smooth tone that could melt a heart of stone much like Tracy Chapman but with a softness that evokes warmth.

 

The song speaks of the love artists yearn to share with that special person while struggling to be recognized for their craft.

The one line that stayed with me was ‘ I only get paid with exposure, it’s really hard when no one knows you’.

It sucks that the truly talented ones have to struggle way harder than the mediocre lot but I guess once it pays off, it’s always worth it.

If you think Jarell sounds amazing, you should try listening to him live, I bet you’d be swaying and swooning just like I was when he played at my best friend’s wedding.

OK, I’m done gushing

Listen and tell me what you think

https://soundcloud.com/jarell-ebuka/all-or-nothing

Rating

3.5/5