September 2016

Lee (Kate Mara) is a risk management officer sent by the corporate head office of a private bio engineering company to investigate the attack by an artificially engineered child (Anya Taylor-Joy) on one of her/its care givers. When Lee arrives the facility, she discoveres that things aren’t exactly as they seem…

First of all, they should not have called this movie a horror movie because there was not one scary scene in the whole 90 minutes of the movie. The poster and the tag line “Don’t let it out” are rather deceptive to what this movie really is- and that is a deep and dark but thought provoking movie. The producers weren’t comfortable in their own skin and probably wanted to pass it off as a thriller cum horror movie to appeal to a wider audience.

Notwithstanding the attempted deception, the movie was quite entertaining, they even found a way to put in some pretty decent fight sequences and even though I suspected the plot resolution, it was still quite pleasing.

Anya Taylor-Joy’s performance as Morgan was really convincing and kind of reminded me of Alicia Vikander’s performance in Ex- Machina. And Just like Ex- Machina, Morgan also asks the question of the morality or otherwise of Artificial Intelligence and extensive genetic engineering. It asks if we humans are ready to explore that aspect with its attendant legal, religious, social and moral consequences.

MORGAN may not appeal to a lot of audiences but it’s still a creepy but thought provoking movie with a wicked plot twist and earns a 6.0/10 rating on myawesome-o-metre.

Leave a comment below along with your twitter handle and follow me on social media on Twitter and Facebook andInstagram to see if you are the lucky winner of the free movie ticket from Genesis Cinemas is giving out to see MORGAN. Don’t forget to tag a friend.

Take care!

The Maveriq

Revue of 93 DAYS

Release Date: September 16, 2016

Genre: Drama

Directed By: Steve Gukas

93 days chronicles the events that occurred during the 93 days when Nigeria was under the threat of an Ebola pandemic. The story is told from the perspective of the doctors at First Consultant Hospital Obalende, Lagos where patient zero (Patrick Sawwyer) was admitted.

Bimbo Akintola gave an absolute sterling performance as Dr Adedevoh. She portrayed a soft spoken and brilliant doctor with and also a loving mother. Also, Somkhele Idhalama (Dr Ada Igonoh) did not joke with her role and gave it her all. Danny Glover (Dr Benjamin Ohiaeri) gave a great performance playing a father figure. I was glad the producers did not ask him to try out the phantom Nigerian accent which is more than I can say of Keppy Ekpeyong’s awful attempt at a Liberian accent. What stood out for me in the whole movie was the casting. It was absolutely spot on; Alastair MacKenzie, Tim Reid and even the extras did a marvelous job bringing this story to life.

There were a few sniffs around the cinema and I must admit that I got chills in some of the scenes especially where names of casualties were being written on the white board. At that point, I was struggling with a speck of dust that got into my eyes LOL. To further exuberate the unnerving effect of the movie was the hair-raising incidental music. The producers did an absolutely amazing job in their choice of music.

I am not one to go into technicalities when I talk about movies but I must mention the lighting and the camera works.. Also, I must commend the producers for using the actual locations where the events occurred but I was a little disappointed that the real people did not make any cameo appearances but it’s okay sha.

I have seen quite a number of true life dramas but none has ever resonated with me as much as 93 days has. This is probably because the events occurred right in my backyard, more so for me that Dr Ada Igonoh and her husband are people I know.

93 Days is a celebration of the Nigerian spirit and celebrates the heroes of the Ebola crisis and is a perfect way to immortalize Dr Adedevoh and all those who passed away in the fight to save Nigeria and probably the world from one bastard of a virus.

The movie was absolutely top notch and I will not be surprised if some awards nod in their direction. You can see the trailer of the movie here.

Leave a comment below along with your twitter handle and follow me on social media on Twitter and Facebookbecause Genesis Cinemas is going away 5 free tickets to see 93 DAYS. Make sure you tag a friend.

Ciao!

The Maveriq

Revue of THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY

Release Date: April 8, 2015

Genre: Drama/Biopic

Directed By: Mathew Brown

Set in the early 1900s, Dev Patel is Ramanujan a gifted mathematician who even without any real formal training is determined to take on the world of pure mathematics.

I am not sure why I missed this movie when it was released about a year ago. It is really strange how such a good movie went under the radar. However, when I researched on it, I saw that it was a movie made with a modest budget which probably accounts for the muted marketing.

Truly, I am not a fan of biopics because movies for me serve as a medium of escape and the more abstract it is, the better for me but this one was a terrific movie. Furthermore, mathematics isn’t my favorite subject, so when I saw a movie where someone was excelling at it, it intrigues me.

Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) did a magnificent job in his role interpretation of the gifted mathematician fighting battles against racism and the system and even his family all in his efforts to reach his dream. Jeremy Irons, Stephen Fry and Toby Jones also sprinkled the movie with some real star power.

One thing I took away from this movie is that talent is not enough. Also, I saw that being a maverick has its draw backs because the system will always push against you and so you need wisdom to navigate the system if you really want to reach the pinnacle of your chosen path and realize your dreams.

I bumped into this DVD over the weekend and I certainly enjoyed the movie and earns a 6.5/10 rating on my awesome-o-metre. I encourage you to look out for it; you won’t regret it.

I really appreciate you coming to my blog to read my reviews. I am indeed humbled. Leave a comment below along with your twitter handle and follow me on social media on Twitter and Facebook. Don’t forget to tag a friend cos I regularly give out free movie tickets.

Have a wonderful week.

The Maveriq

Revue of IT’S HER DAY

Release Date: September 9, 2016

Genre: Comedy/Romance

Directed By: Aniedi Awah

Bovi Ugbomma stars as an upwardly mobile guy who has just landed a good paying job and wants to marry his heartthrob who is from a wealthy family. To impress his bride and her family, he insists on single handedly footing the bill for the over-the-top fairy tale wedding his bride craves and this comes with some dire bank account draining consequences…

It’s Her Day is Bovi’s first feature film and it was a decent attempt. At the start, he seemed rather nervy but seemed to settle as the movie progressed. The plot was not an overly convoluted one so the interpretation of his role was not such an uphill task. However, I must say that his humorous side was slightly muffled but did come out once in a while, I guess he was just trying to be “mature” in his role interpretation.

There were a couple of scenes that would leave you in stitches especially where he “came to his senses”, that scene came out of nowhere and the element of surprise enhanced its humorous effect.

On the other hand, there were some parts of the movie which were overdrawn and lost the audience. Also, I was quite displeased with the producer’s choice of locations. The bride’s family boasted of so much wealth and opulence but their residence was quite underwhelming. By the way, no one was deceived by the airport scene which was obviously shot in front of a hotel…that was really cheesy. I understand the need to minimize cost but the producers could have done better.

The movie features an array of stars like Omoni Oboli, Adunni Ade, Shaffy Bello, Toni Tones, Amanda Ebeye etc and these stars gave the movie a much needed boost of star power. I was privileged to attend the exclusive premier of the movie at the Genesis Cinemas Lekki and I think they put together a really grand event which would really boost publicity and ticket sales.

You can see the trailer of the movie here.

Leave a comment below along with your twitter handle and follow me on social media on Twitter and Facebook to see if you are the lucky winner of the free movie ticket Genesis Cinemas is giving out to see IT’S HER DAY. Don’t forget to tag a friend.

Ciao!

The Maveriq

Revue of MORGAN

Release Date: September 2, 2016

Genre: Thriller/Sci-Fi

Directed By: Luke Scott

MORGAN may not appeal to a lot of audiences but it’s still a creepy but thought provoking movie with a wicked plot twist and earns a 6.0/10 rating on myawesome-o-metre.

Leave a comment below along with your twitter handle and follow me on social media on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram to see if you are the lucky winner of the free movie ticket from Genesis Cinemas is giving out to see MORGAN. Don’t forget to tag a friend.

Take care!

The Maveriq

Revue of THE SHALLOWS

Release Date: June 21, 2016

Genre: Thriller/Drama

Directed By: Jaume Collet-Serra

Nancy (Blake Lively) is a medical student mourning the loss of her mother and takes some time off to go surfing on a secret beach. Suddenly, a great white shark attacks her because she has inadvertently encroached on its feeding territory and forces her to take refuge on a rock 200 yards from the shore. To avoid becoming the shark’s next meal, she has to outwit the shark on its own turf to get to the shore.

Ladies and gentlemen, Jaws is back! Okay, maybe I exaggerate a bit but I supremely enjoyed this movie. Just as I anticipated it will be, it was exciting and intense. I have been a sucker for movies about sharks since Jaws, Deep Blue Sea and even the ridiculous Sharknado.

I was intrigued by the way the producers resisted the temptation to go overboard and make the movie another CGI fest about a hungry shark but rather about the resilience of the human spirit and mans will to survive the odds with our backs against the wall. Blake Lively gave a sterling performance because it is not easy for just one person stranded on a rock to hold an audience captive for a whole movie but she pulled it off magnificently. That being said, my favorite character in the whole movie was "Steven Seagull". Don’t worry, you will get the joke when you see the movie.

The producers tried to explain the overly aggressive character of the ravenous shark to human encroachment in the shark’s natural habitat which I think is an attempt to subliminally draw our attention to environmental degradation, global warming and poaching.

Ehen, there was one part of the movie that got me confused. Does anyone know where the oil slick which caught fire came from? Please let me know in the comments section below.

The crescendo of the movie was one that I did not see coming and lays credence to human ingenuity and made for a great climax. This movie is definitely one of my favorite movies for this year and chomps a 7.0/10 rating on myawesome-o-metre.

I am sure you want to see it ba? So leave a comment below along with your twitter handle and follow me on social media on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram to see if you are the lucky winner of the free movie ticket from Genesis Cinemas. Don’t forget to tag a friend.

Have fun!

The Maveriq

Revue of SKIPTRACE

Release Date: September 2, 2016

Genre: Action/Comedy

Directed By: Renny Harlin

Show of hands if you have missed Jackie Chan! I know I have! In Skiptrace, Jackie Chan is Bennie a Hong Kong cop on a revenge mission to take down the ever elusive Matador, who killed his partner. He teams up with an American conman Connor Watts (Johnny Knoxville) who has evidence that can help him nail the Matador, but first, they have to deal with each other.

When I heard there was a new Jackie Chan movie, I was super anxious to go see it because it has been quite a while I saw any new movies from him. Jackie has again partnered with a conman from the west (just like he did with Owen Wilson in Shanghai Knights) with comedic results. Knoxville is no Owen Wilson or Chris Tucker but I think he held his own- he managed to pull quite a few laughs.

There are some actors that I have not been able to get over the fact that they are getting old, and Jackie is at the top of that list. When I see Jackie now, I think back with nostalgia to his days as the drunken master and can’t help but think that old age is a b****. In Skiptrace, he is still his witty and artful athletic self, but the speed has been taken out of him. Gone are his six packs and high intensity stunts, because I noticed that he is beginning to use a lot more safety ropes for his stunts but that does not take away from the fact that he (as usual) hurt himself shooting this movie. Make sure you stick around till the end of the movie to see the bloopers in the making of the movie where he managed to bust his nose and leg.

However, the movie had one of the worst visual effects I have seen and I must say that I noticed that the movie focused on the sights and sounds of Hong Kong that I am beginning to believe it is one huge marketing strategy. Talking about marketing, BMW made sure we saw enough of their cars, even though they seemed out of place in the whole movie.

Oh by the way, have you guys hear that Jackie Chan is being given a well-deserved honorary Oscar for his accomplishments in movies? Me thinks he deserves it sha, but I digress….

Make sure you look out for Jackie’s funny adlibbed rendition of Adele’s song and some pretty good action sequences. SKIPTRACE scores a few punches and gets a few laughs so it earns a 5.9/10 rating on my awesome-o-metre.

Make sure you bookmark this page and visit us every day for new stuff. While you are at it, let’s hook up on social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram Make sure you follow me and tag a friend.

Have fun!

The Maveriq

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