Category Archives: Editor’s Pick

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Revue of Amina

Release Date: November 5, 2021 (Netflix)

Genre: Drama

Directed By: Izu Ojukwu

Cast: Lucy Ameh,Ali Nuhu,Clarion Chukwura, Magaji Mijinyawa and Nuhu,Lucy

Awesome-o-metre : 4/10

I remember when I saw the trailer for this movie I was excited. I am a fan of Nigerian epics, and then throw in a female hero? I am sold. Nigeria is full of beautiful untold history and folklore and I am always very supportive and partial to movie producers who tap into this resource.

This was my mindset when I settled in to watch the movie Amina. A movie that tried to tell the story of the famous Queen Amina of Zazzau who led and ruled in the North at a time when no woman dared to. The story was spiced with a few plot twists here and there, that portrayed her as a great but flawed heroine.

The cinematography was amazing and when I mentioned this to a friend, he reminded me that the movie was actually directed by the super talented Izu Ojukwu same person who directed the movie 76. This was the best part of the movie, everything else was sub-par.

The costumes were abysmal, the north is blessed with a rich cultural heritage and we all know how their traditional outfits look like, rather they dressed the actors in rags. Weird looking raggedly clothes that looked like mix-match between Indian and Arabian outfits.

The acting was poor, which is shocking because there were quite a good number of talented performers there; from Clarion Chukwura,Ali Nuhu,Lucy Ameh and Magaji Mijinyawa. I feel they found it hard to interpret their roles, probably from poor direction? Or a poorly written script? It would have been great to have a few phrases in Hausa thrown around, here and there for authenticity. The music was weird and vaguely sounded Arabic. I did not get the feeling that I was watching a movie based on northern history

The scene transition was terrible too, they didn’t flow well into one another. One minute you are here the next you are seeing something totally unrelated. It was very hard to follow the story; I was confused infact all of us watching it were confused. The story was poorly told, many parts didn’t just add up.

For a story with such a massive potential this movie didn’t do any justice to it. I was underwhelmed and felt I wasted over 90 minutes of my time. I was bored and had to really push through to complete the movie.

This is one review I feel unhappy writing, as I really wanted it to be fantastic movie. I was rooting for it.

Amina is still showing on Netflix so you can check it out and make up your own mind. When you do see it, please feel free to leave a comment below or on Twitter or Facebook !

Have an awesome weekend

 

Guest Revued by Gina

0/5 (2)

Your Turn!

Revue of The Tomorrow War

Release Date: July 21, 2021 (Amazon Prime)
Genre: Sci-Fi
Directed By: Zach Dean
Produced By: David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Jules Daly, David S. Goyer and Adam Kolbrenner
Cast: Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, J. K. Simmons, Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson and Edwin Hodge

Awesome-o-metre: 6.0/10

During the broadcast of the World Cup, soldiers from the year 2051 arrive to warn that humanity is on the brink of extinction due to a war with alien invaders referred to as the "Whitespikes." The Whitespikes will arrive in November 2048 and kill most humanity within three years after their arrival. In response, the world's militaries (including Chris Pratt, an ex- military guy who is currently a biology teacher) are sent into the future to fight the Whitespikes.


Without a doubt The Tomorrow War is my best film (so far) for this year 2021 and that is largely due to the novel plot. I mean, coming from the future to take soldiers to fight in a war that happens in the future is so cool. Although, the question will be asked as to what is at stake for the present when the future is already pre-determined, but that is another conversation all together.

Another thing I liked with The Tomorrow War is the design of the aliens which are super creepy and kinda reminded me of the creatures from Skull Island. The CGI is top notch and this is not unrelated to the fact that The Tomorrow War was originally set for theatrical release but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Amazon bought the rights and released it on their platform.


Chris Pratt did a great job carrying the film which he did effortlessly. His performance reminded me of his Jurassic World and his performance is entertaining and keeps the film fun and entertaining. Talking about humor, the character and performance of Sam Richardson is entirely unnecessary because his wit seemed forced and almost felt like he was transplanted from another film and dropped into this. I guess the producers were looking for another witty outlet other than Chriss Pratt, but this just wasn’t it.

Have you seen The Tomorrow War? What did you think? Sound off in the comment sectionbelow or on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook !

The Maveriq

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Revue of Black Widow

Release Date:  July 9, 2021 (Nigeria)

Genre: Action

Directed By: Cate Shortland

Produced By: Kevin Feige

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, Olga Kurylenko, William Hurt, Ray Winstone and Rachel Weisz

Awesome-o-metre : 5.0/10

Black Widow is set after the events of Avengers: Civil War and follows the story of Natasha Romanov aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) who has gone back to face her dark past as a Russian Spy to seek answers about her family and history and also to make amends for wrongs she had wrought long before she was an avenger.
Not to be left out of the female lead/hero tide that is washing over movie land, Marvel have kicked off phase 4 of the MCU with the story of Black Widow and I am here to tell you that it is unnecessary. To be honest, there was no need for this film because we all know what came of Natasha Romanov during the events of Endgame so the stakes in this film isn’t as high.


Furth more, the funny thing about this film is that even though Black Widow is the main character, the real hero is Yelena, Black Widow’s sister played by Florence Pugh because she stole the show. Frankly speaking, this film exposed Black Widows lack of superpowers and her one skill fight style. Shey we all know that she likes that move where she jumps on a villain’s shoulder and spins them to the floor? Well, that is really all she brought to the table while Yelena on the other hand brought some real charisma and even humor about her and to me, she is the hero of this film.

One thing I found off putting in this film is that even though it claims to be an origin story, nothing material or significant is introduced…well that is if you don’t count the (immaterial) story of how she got her utility vest and the aircraft she used in Infinity War.


However, the film did have a few laughs and just like Dome Loretto, harped on the importance of family. David Harbour brought in a few laughs and by laughs, I mean his weak (and inconsistent) attempt at a Russian accent.

Marvel Phase 4 has kicked off on a rather dull note but I hope it picks up. Have you seen Black Widow? What did you think? Sound off in the comment section below or on

Instagram, Twitter or Facebook !

The Maveriq

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Revue of Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins

Release Date:  July 23, 2021 (Nigeria)

Genre: Action

Directed By: Robert Schwentke

Produced By: Brian Goldner, Erik Howsam and Lorenzo di Bonaventura Cast: Henry Golding, Andrew Koji, Úrsula Corberó, Samara Weaving and Iko Uwais

Awesome-o-metre : 4.5/10

Snake Eyes is the origin story of one of the GI Joe’s enigmatic characters called Snake Eyes played by Henry Goulding. The film revolves around the titular character who joins an ancient Japanese clan called the Arashikage. However, when secrets from Snake Eyes' past are revealed, his honor and allegiance get tested and he has to decide on which path to take- good or evil.


Snake Eyes is another origin story, literally nobody asked for…but here we are! If you ask me, the quality that most endears us to the Snake Eyes character is the mysteriousness and enigma about him, so doing an original story which seems to unveil such a puzzling character is a huge act of disservice to him. Speaking particularly to the events of this film, NOTHING about his back story is intriguing, if anything it is full of banalities and inconsequential stuff. Seriously, who wanted to know how he got his suit? The most amazing thing is that we never even got to know how he learnt to fight, we just met him with fighting skills!


Another thing about this film is how unmemorable it is. None of the characters struck a chord with us and for a film that is touted as an action film, none of the fight scenes are amazing and this is a film that touts the talent that is Iko Uwais. Most of the action sequences involved fights with faceless mercenaries taking place n the dark of night.
Again, the film is full with so much inconsistency, sometimes characters start fights at night and end in the day time. I don’t know if this is a continuity issue, or the producers used the cover of darkness to hide their subpar fight sequences. Also, the skill levels of some characters were just not conflicting as sometimes they are good, sometimes not so it was hard to really decipher their progress or otherwise.


If like me you are a huge fan if this Hasbro property, you might need to brace for a disappointing ride. But once you do get to see Snake Eyes, please feel free to leave a comment in the comment section below or on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook !

The Maveriq

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