Wednesday, April 20, 2016
| Posted by
The Entertainment Geek
I thought it would be good to see a light-hearted feature! And Since
this would be my first time seeing Lee Dong-Wok and Bae Jong-Ok reunited in a
series after the reality show, “Roommate,” I couldn’t resist!
“Are you two stuck together like bubble gum?”
The Rundown
Behind
the name: Original title—풍선껌Boung.sun.kkum—literally,
bubblegum
Compare to: Flower Boys Next Door, radio version & Emergency
Couple
Hate it or Love
it?Love it
Synopsis in a Sentence:Sibling-like friends since childhood
grow up to discover their love for one another, but can love stand its ground
with tragedy in the cards? And
even if it might, what kind of love would that be?
On Writing: The Plot
It’s a good story; fun, but not entirely
light-hearted, deep but not comepletley hearbreaking. It’s a story of love and
hope and family, and the plot does very wiell to relay that story. We get our experience
with these ideas right off the bat, as the series launches when a high schooler
calls into a radio station to announce her attempted suicide live on air!
After this dramatic start, it goes on with an exploration
into the real meaning of happiness, contentment, hope, love and of course,
family; for those who don’t have a biological family, for those whose families
are far away during the holidays, and for those who just have horrible
families! It juxtaposes these experiences to underscore what exactly family is
all about. I know; it sounds sappy, but it’s done very well! It’s not too
schmaltzy and it actually does a great job of finding a middle balance. A good
story!
(4/5)
On Acting: The Cast
So, I picked this one because Bae Jung-Ok’s and Lee
Dong-Wok were in it, and after seeing them on the TV series, Roommate, I had to
see them at work; and they didn’t disappoint!
Bae is elegant and sophisticated and a great actress!
Lee is the handsome lead, but still a good actor
Actress Jung Ryuh-Won is also fun to watch and
completely believable!
I wish I had the endemic steely aloofness of Kim
Ri-Na’s character, and she embodies it well!
A quick Shootout to actress, Kim
Jung-Nan who plays the delusional DJ
And while we’re at it,
another to the eccentric Park Jun-Keum to relays the eccentricity of her
character!
(4/5)
On Production: The Creativity
Production is
light and creative in the way that tvN does well! They’ve mastered the delivery
of their romance-infused real life dramas and production is an art!
(4.25/5)
On Resolution: The
Conclusion
The resolution is quite unique! For an almost-sappy,
almost melodramatic romantic drama this is a good, good conclusion, but I can’t
give it away. You’ll have to see it to the end to know what I mean!
Go on, it’s only 16 episodes!
(4.25/5)
The Verdict: A good,
light-hearted, not-so light-hearted watch exploring happiness, contentment,
hope and familial bonds!
Monday, February 29, 2016
| Posted by
The Entertainment Geek
For
Black History Month this February and with Women’s Month in March, why don’t we
merge both celebrations in one three-part TV series? So here’s Being Mary Jane,
the Season 1-3 review!
“The truth is
rarely pure and never simple.” – Oscar Wilde on an MJ note
The Rundown
Behind
the name: Original title—Single
Black Female—to spotlight what it means to be a single black female in the USA
Compare to: Can’t think of anything right now or the more
serious, older version of The Mindy Project
Hate it or Love
it?Love it
Synopsis in a Sentence:Mary-Jane, a television news anchor
navigates social issues in America as she works to balance family, career racial,
and social issues as a fabulous, endearing, and relatable Single Black Female—but she’s just being Mary-Jane.
On Writing: The Plot
The plot is interesting; it’s deep and hard-hitting,
it touches on subjects from singlehood to marriage, to female and racial issues
and even more. The writing is well done and very well executed. Since this
review covers 3 seasons, here’s a very, very quick run-down of the general plot
of each season:
Season 1: The Single Lady
Story – Season one was all about the story of the single girl, our
introduction to Mary Jane and here persistent balancing act between her single
life—which can be both a blessing and a curse—her family drama, and her
professional challenges.
Season 2: The Black Story
– Although an ever-present theme in this series, season two delved deeper into
the issues of being black in America, with of course, Mary-Jane’s singlehood
and search for a baby, professional growth, and of course, all the juicy family
drama.
Season 3: The Selfish
Story – In the latest season, we see a more layered and compley plot,
but overall a self-interested MJ. The plot focuses on her as an individual, and
delves into LGBT issues, racial and inter-racial issues, and spotlights on
various US, such as the “Black Lives Matter” movement, and even a small focus
on international issues. But more generally we see a more selfish MJ. She’s mad
at everyone, she seemingly doesn’t take time to mourn a best friend nor does
she take any sliver of responsibility she may have played in her decision to
commit suicide. Still, at the same time, Mary Jane is more centred and focused.
We find a character who is determined to get what she wants and we can’t completely
blame her for that!
This is a black show—more accurately—it is an African
American show, which is fabulous, because there aren’t many shows at all that
go this genuinely deep into Afro-American issues, especially from a female
perspective. Very importantly, it highlights a good section of African-American
experience that arguably has not been effectively covered in modern television.
At the same time, from some perspectives, it seemingly unwittingly has done so
at the expense of putting down another section of the black community—the
African community—in America. More than once, and over more than one season,
BMJ has, in reference, put down Africa not in an overt way, of course, but in a
condescending way that is handed down so inadvertently it is simply insulting!
And that is alienating. It’s great to celebrate brown people on television and
in media, but that should not come at the expense of another set of brown
people.
For a show that seeks to highlight issues faced by a
minority in society, it’s slightly putting down another minority on the world
stage. But this is a Single African-American’s story to tell. Africans will
tell their own story, and Africans are rooting for you, Mary Jane Paul!
(4/5)
On Acting: The Cast
Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Union is Mary Jane Paul and there’s almost nothing more to
say about that! Can you imagine if, one day, Production pulled a “Days of Our
Lives” and switched the actress for Mary Jane with another actress? Would you
care to watch? Union relays her characters assertive confidence and complexity
with ease and intrigue!
Love watching Lisa Vidal
as Kara Lynch in Being Mary
Lisa Vidal
Jane! Her drive and passion and expertise in her
work is great! And Vidal does well to relay all of that!
Stephen Bishop is the on-again off-again
boyfriend so we have to
keep him as a male rep on here. He plays his character so well I’m almost
exasperated writing about it right now!
Our other male rep. is BJ
Britt, MJ’s lil brother, and the smart young man. As the actor skilfully
portrays, book smart, but I wouldn’t say life smart as I am sure his not-so
smart decisions will come back to bite him. Just wait for season 4!
(4/5)
On Production: The Creativity
Oh production is
almost everything! The music is lit! The set design—MJ’s house is one fantasies
are made of! #LifeGoals #ProductionKillsIt
(4.5/5)
On Resolution: The
Conclusion
Each season ends well, hinging on an incomplete story
willing you to come back for more. Season three takes its newly found greater
focus on social issues to the next level, daring you to come back for season
four. Ratings show Being Mary Jane steadily
dropping despite its previously earned accolades. Are shows like Empire proving more competition, or is Mary Jane
as a personality becoming just too grating and overbearing? Will you watch to
see more or will you, of whatever reason, ditch Being
Mary Jane?
(3/5)
The Verdict: An interesting
look into social issues in America, and an entertaining watch too.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
| Posted by
The Entertainment Geek
In
celebration of Nextlix’s launch in Nigeria— not actually—but I found this Nollywood movie on
Netflix and dare I say it was my fave Nigerian movie of 2015? Yes, I dare say
so! The movie was sold out during its first
screenings in Lagos and London and celebrated at the 2015 London Film Festival!
“Fifty is the new 25”
The Rundown
Behind
the name: What happens when
women turn age 50 (on TV)
Country: Nigeria, 2015
Genre: Drama,
Romance, (The opposite of coming-of-age)
Compare to: Sex and the City: The Movie (with more depth), Flower Girl
Hate it or Love
it? Actually, love it
Synopsis in a Sentence:Four friends, about 50 years old, share their
successes and failures on-screen as their lives unravel before them; One’s a
primadonna diva, another a successful business woman, another's a prayer-loving
party planner, and the last a celebrity gynaecologist, but between these
successful women, one of them gets preggers for her friend’s husband, frolics with boys half her age, has a chronic illness, and the last has a
deep, dark secret; which one of them out does the others with her dirty little
secret?
On Writing: The Plot
The plot is quite layered and goes deeper than the
surface, unlike most movies like these appear to portray. You know the wannabe
‘modern’ Nigerian movies that try so hard to appeal to the international
audience that they loose their originality? Well this is not quite one of them!
It’s real and as authentic as ‘shine-shine’ movies like this can be. The plot
is fresh and the characters are round and multi-faceted. Forget the “good girl”
vs. “bad girl” (or in this case, good woman/bad woman) story that so many
Nigerian movies are known for. This one is new and actually, a bit profound, especially
at the end.
And I must add, Nigeria is on of those few places in
the world today where being older is a good thing. And this movie just
celebrates that. (4/5)
On Acting: The Cast
Dakore Egbuson
The cast is quite spot on! Shout out to
Dakore Egbuson, who plays the prima-donna-diva reality TV star. Her character is
multifaceted and she plays it quite well. It’s great to see Egbuson in
productions once again.
Ireti Doyle
Also cheers to Ireti Doyle
who plays Elizabeth, the sophisticated, but apparently loose obstetrician whose
personal life is a mess. Her character is lovable-hatable and Doyle nails it to
a T!
Omoni Oboli
Omoni
Oboli plays Maria, the accomplished businesswoman
who has everything down but love. At 49 her “time is ticking out” and so she
gets intertwined with a married man. Oboli does a good job of it.
And then there’s the
party-planning prayer-warrior, Kate, played by Nse Ikpe-Etim. Her life may seem
like a paradox, but there are struggles in there, and Ikpe-Etim is cast and
shot well for this role.
Overall a fabulous
cast! Great work, Mo Abdu, on getting this set-up together! But might I add,
because I know I would if I were fifty, that most of these women (according to
publicly-disclosed records, ahem!) are actually in their late forties. Would
have been great to have actual about-fifty year-olds or older play these roles.
How about Liz Benson, or Patience Ozokwor, or Eucharia Anunobi, or the
countless other older and talented Nigerian actresses that could have brought
these characters to life?
Then of course, there are the celebrity
appearances and performances from Waje
to Tiwa
Savage to Nneka
to Femi
Kuti to the Minister of Enjoyment himself, King
Sunny Adé! How cool?
(4.5/5)
On Production: The
Creativity
Production is almost
#Flawless! And speaking of the music, I once went on a mini-rant about terrible
sound production in Nigerian movies. In the last decade, video
quality in Nollywood movies have improved significantly, while sound
engineering fell behind. In this film though, the sound is quite perfect; sound
pairing, musical performances, and sound effects were spot-on! Great job with audio
editing and mixing! (And this is coming from a DJ)
And of course,
video production is fabulous as well. It’s well directed by Biyi Bandele,
who also directed the movie, Half of a Yellow Sun. Production was so good, this movie was featured in the 2015 London film Festival. Yayy! Go Naija!
(4.5/5)
On Resolution: The
Conclusion
Alright, the movie is almost perfect but like all
things in this world, there are a few flaws (which is why no movie in this
review blog will ever get a 20/20 score—If we were perfect, we’d be in heaven,
but we’re on earth, so…) This movie is almost perfect; it’s excellently
produced, and the ending of the film is also seamless too, but at the same
time, I find—in the unravelling of events in this movie—a reluctance to delve
into the deep and get dirty with all the nasty discoveries that we find here.
First, the movie seems to condone this idea: Man
cheats (due to no complete fault of his own, but still) the woman gets her ‘bashing,’
but the man doesn’t quite get the same. Why so?
Second we see that: Woman’s life is a mess so she goes
after little boys and gets played on, and then we discover a little-dark secret
that’s quite disturbing. It warrants a “what’s behind this kind of behaviour
thought” but we get nowhere near that. What we get is an attempt to smooth out
relationships, which is fine, but still…
Third: Struggling lady has to deal with a life-threatening illness,a gambling
husband, and all the bills on her plate, and so
goes to God in prayer—the endless Night Vigils, the pastor visits; this is
Nigeria, we can all relate, but we get a brushing over when it comes to exactly
how she deals with this, and the role of God and prayer in a struggling believer’s
life. I found a little caveat that could probably better portray how and
perhaps why so many Nigerians turn to religion for help. And then
Fourth: Seemingly fabulous Lady has some deep-dark
secrets that could make Tamar in the Bible weep for her in pitty, and all we
get is a sweep-over of a resolution. These are some Precious—the movie—type issues
but you know, life is fabulous and can we just brush over that; the movie’s
about to end.
No movie can portray a thorough
socio-psychological analysis of a people, but they certainly help with
portraying issues and aspects of other’s lives that many (especially
international viewers) and even local viewers may never have access to, and may
never develop and empathy for. In viewing the not-so-perfect lives of these seemingly
wealthy women, through this movie, we develop a deeper understanding for them.
No one’s life is perfect, and this movie does well to relay that. At the same
time, it does less than it could have to highlight some of the unique fragments
of modern Nigerian issues, and as a people who don’t and can’t get the same
global airtime with Western and even Asian audiences, it shouldn’t have taken
the luxury of sliding over some of the deeper issues. Still, in terms of movie
production, the resolution can’t be so easily faulted. Although I wish it had
ended in one huge party as the move had been teasing all along!
(4/5)
The Verdict: A good watch!
Light, but not so light, deep, but not so deep, original, Nigerian,
true-to-self movie! It’s what we’ve been waiting for since Flower Girl, and far,
far better!
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