Ali Baylay

Starring:  Desmond Elliot, Magid  Michel, Tonto Dikeh,Uru Eke, Ejine Okoroafor;  Producer: Okey Okonkwo, Director of Photography: Alex Effiong; Production Managers: Ifeanyi Udokwo, Boniface  Ogbonna; Executive Producer: Okey Okonkwo; Director: Daniel Ademinokan; Story: Ral Nwankwo. 100 mins. 2009

 All I Ever Wanted is a story with voice over narrative told from the point of view of Didi (Sandra Uchemba), the oldest daughter of Eddy (Desmond Elliot). She is not warming up to the girl friend and soon-to-be wife, Binye (Mercy Johnson) of her father. Didi’s idea of a happy family is nothing more than her, her two siblings, the father and the aunt, and she considers any other person, be the girlfriend of her father, as an intruder. She is at a tangent with her sibling sister, Kachi (Chidera Anih) who cunningly put both her father and Binye together, as she wants mother figure in the household. Didi abruptly stops eating, leaving her family at the dinner-table and bursts into tears, when her father announces he’ll soon be marrying Binye.

 With not much ado in this straight-jacketed story, Binye comes to the rescue of Didi, when Didi experiences her womanhood and gets really scared at the sight of blood. For the first time, Didi values the presence of another member in her father’s household and even goes on to cherish the child, a son, Binye brings into the family.

 Chinelo Uzoigwe’s screenplay, except for the wonderful acting of Desmond Elliot and Mercy Johnson, has poor plot mechanics, and no tearjarking incident that makes the story stand out as memorable.  In other words this story falls flat. It is the same run of the mill story: One character doesn’t like the other character for some reason, and bam, incident occurs that will unite the two. If All I Ever Wanted has had a radio or any other form of communication that will enable Eddy and Binye to get together, it would have been the classic case of the movie, Sleepless in Seattle. One thing in All I Ever Wanted that didn’t escape my notice is I can’t quite get a grasp on the scene of Eddy’s altercation with his wife in the bedroom and to the point of reference that his wife died in a plane crash. I want to believe this scene is a flashback but on the other hand, it seems in the present. You bet I wouldn’t have been confused if this scene had appeared in a prelude.

 Voice over narrative “I” as intended in All I Ever Wanted, is a beautiful device that can tell story from personal point of view, but just as useful as it can be, it is sometimes mostly overused or underused as in this film.

By Ali Baylay

Franco Films. Producer: Igboanago Chinedu Nathaniel. Director: Tchidi Chikere. Associate Producer: Tchidi Chikere. Executive Producer: Igboanago Chinedu Nathaniel.

Cast: Ini Edo, Tonto Dikeh, Mike Ezuruonye , Ifeanyi Ikechukwu.

Anyone who has ever read Thomas Hardy’s Return of the Native would be reminded of the book at a first glance of the title of this movie, Native Son. And come to watch the Native Son, the story plot is so akin to the classic, Return of the Native, that you’ll predict the beginning, middle and the end of Native Son.

Native Son however do not have the tangled love drama  of Clym Yeobright , Eustacia, Thomason, and Wildeve in Return of the Native, and in fact there is no such tragedy as befalls Thomas Hardy’s characters.

Native Son unfolds the same way Return of the Native starts, with a wagon rolling into town with Thomasin Yeobright. In Native Son, a van boarded by an older man and a young beau, Nerissa (Tonto Dikeh) slowly taxis into a village, and two native boys are playing football in the street, oblivious of the van. In another scene Nerissa, happens on a dwell between the same native boys umpired by a bigger native son, Igwe (Mike Ezuruonye). Nerissa is flabbergasted, shocked but on the other hand, there is an unspeakable exchange of interest between her and Igwe. Igwe’s would-be village girl Tochukwu (Ini Edo) happens upon the scene.

Nerissa introduces herself as a city girl by taking out a pack of cigarette, holds one to her lips, fires it up and pulls one big puff, turns around and leaves. All at present are askance, and particularly Tochukwu, envious and jealous. If Tochukwu thinks she’s the only rooster in this rural community, she’s got to compete with an urbanite over Igwe.

The serenity of the village is broken from this point on and the pastoral story is put into a speedway mode. A chance meet by Igwe and Nerissa on a secluded country road and, Igwe’s subsequent ride in Nerissa’s van to Igwe’s house, and Tochukwu’s chance arrival upon Igwe getting out of the van results in a brawl, that sets Igwe’s hut ablaze as both girls are locked in wrestling. This is the only tragedy in this film comparable to the snake bite and drowning of Hardy’s characters.

The village court authorised both Nerissa and Tochukwu to build back the hut and after which Nerissa leaves the village back for the city, broken hearted. Nerissa and Igwe however missed each other and their paths never crossed again until twelve years later, when Igwe, now educated and married with children sitting behind his office desk lets his secretary usher in a waiting business officer who turns out to be Nerissa.

I hate to say this, this movie is not a serious production.  Mike Ezuruonye’s part-one (Pidgin English) delivery is not quite convincing and I even keep thinking why an award winner like Mike could have taken part in this project. We all do pay bills, but with thirty or more films under ones belt, it is time we start filtering through the myriads of projects that showed up on our desks.  Again most supporting actors and actresses only say their lines and never actually deliver. 

The whole idea of producing a story akin to a classic is ruined by one single oversight or negligence: What in the world, a purple dot doing in the frame (lens) of every shot in this 150 minites film? The  movie has this annoying purple dot  following the actors wherever they go. One thing comes to mind that either some cinematographer was in training  or, Nollywood is not paying attention to dailies, or at best they do not really care what the end product turns out to be. This production isn’t an award winning  one.

• By Ali Baylay

Strength of Faith: Producer: Sunshine Movies Limited, Director: Ikechukwa Onyeka. Cast: Van Vicker, Uche Jombo, Tonto Dikeh.

Strength to Strength: Producer: Solomon Apete, Director: Ugezu J. Ugezu, Prod. Mgm: Ifeanyi Udoku, Exec. Prod: Ezenwa Collins Chinedu. Cast: Patience Ozorkwo, Mike Ezuruonye, Mercy Johnson, Tonto Dike.

I do not know how these two identical title of movies ended up on my desk but for some reason they were there, and I kept looking away because the titles in themselves are not eye catching or meaningful. However, I got curious at one point, and my critical mind forced me to watch them, simultaneously.

One thing about Strength of Faith and Strength to Strength production processes don’t sit well with me. I don’t know about you, but for me  the titles are too close for comfort. I can’t imagine two seperate productions would have so close a title and so close a theme. It seems Nollywood is running short of story ideas and titles.

If I could work up some similarity traits between the two movies, both are produced in 2008 and marketed in America. Strength of Faith, by Black Star Entertainment , 3832 White Plains Road, Bronx, New York 10467; Strength to Strength, by Executive Image African Movies, 2811 White Plains Road, Bronx, New York 10467. Both these companies live next door to each other.

The casts are either compromised or borrowed from one set to another. The notorious mother-in-law of Nick ( Mike Ezuruonye) in Strength to Strength, commonly known in the film as Nick’s mom (Camilla Mgbrekpe), is also Mama(Camela Mberekpe)  who plays the evil mother of Van Vicker in Strength of Faith. Then enters Tonto Dike, (Chekwube) in Strength of Faith, and (Angela) in Strength to Strength, and in both films she plays the tragic character who ends dead before the end credits roll. Oh, one more thing about these two flicks that stand out as similar is, they both explore marriage themes in reference to in-laws: The aggrandizing mother (Patience Ozokwor) of Jane (Mercy Johnson) in (Strength to Strength) who would like to sell Jane to the highest bidder, versus Nick’s Mom (Camilla Mgbereka) who could stop at nothing but to get her son a woman who would give her a grandchild. In Stregth of Faith, the mother-in-law bewitches Chekwube for the mere heck of the fact that she hates her.

The only difference found between the two movies is that while one explores (Strength to Strength), the biblical plot of Jacob marrying Rachel and her sister Leah, but deviates and takes on a plot curve from there, ending the story with the death of the younger sister, Angela (Tonto Dike) in labor; In  the use of  of in the title of Strength of Faith, I find a difference, and poetic justice in the story: Devil worshipping works, as equally as belief in the holy ghost’s fire depending on the strength of faith like we find in both factions responsible for the death of Chekwube (Tonto Dike) and Mama (Camela Mberekpe), respectively.

The reason why Hollywood uses working titles during production of a movie is, by the time of premier their movie must have been christened a title unique to it and to it alone. In today’s age of  google keywording, your movie with a similar title to the production next door,  in the same market, can easily get lost in the laybrinth. Are we getting short of titles in Nollywood?

By David Ajiboye

“I intend to be in Nollywood for a long time,” says actress Tonto Dike.

“I’m so sorry for the delay and recourse I have made you go through, sir,”  Tonto Dike, the fast rising Nigerian actress, who was one of the first housemates of the Next Movie Star, pleaded as she settled down in her Murano SUV and pleads with the director of the film on which location she was to have this chat with African Movie Star.

That the screen siren has done pretty well for herself in the movie industry is more like understatement as she has also been able to get some of the best of things in life for herself – a car and a good apartment.

Quite enthusiastic and passionate about what she does, Tonto seems ready to stay the course in Nollywood.

“My only reason for being in Nollywood is my increasing passion for acting that comes with every passing day. I wake up every morning yearning to do more in the industry. My interest developed many years back and it has been increasing daily.”

“To be serious with you, I intend to be in Nollywood for a long time,” she said.

The Port Harcourt-born vixen took the movie industry by storm just three years after her participation in a TV reality show, Next Movie Star. As a contestant in the reality show, she impressed quite a number of people with her skills and after emerging as the first runner-up, she took her chances in the industry and today she’s one of the most sought after.

” I think it was just God’s timing. God has everybody in mind and he has a particular time He wants you to hit it big. God and my talent have been responsible for the rise in my career within a short time. These things have been working for me like magic and it has been my strength. It has nothing to do with my beauty; in fact, beauty is the last thing that helped me in Nollywood because I believe if  I had no talent, after one or two movies, I would have been kicked out. The beauty is just a complement,”  Tonto said candidly.

The petrochemical engineering graduate of the River State University of Technology was quick to speak up when the issue of the opposite sex was brought up.

In her words: “I don’t think I’ve had any contact or brush with obsessed male fans or admirers, in fact,  all I know I have fans who love and appreciate me just the way I love and appreciate them.”

On marriage, she said:  “I won’t get married because I want to please anybody, I would only do it when I feel and know that the time is right. I would be waiting for God’s time to tie that knot when it comes but for now, I’m not rushing into anything that I might later regret. I only pray that my parents are alive to witness it all when it eventually comes.”

So, is she saying there isn’t any man in her life at the moment even with her wealth, fame and beauty?

“See, there are many boyfriend materials, but what about the husband materials? It’s just the same way with guys. I don’t want something I would do and in the next few months, it’s over or I’m out, so I want to be very careful before going into it, so that I can do it well.”

“At present, I’m not even thinking about any man because I don’t even have any! All I’m concerned about at the moment is my career and that for now is my priority!”

Why would she study petrochemical  engineering despite her love for the arts?

“I’ve always loved the oil sector and petrochemical engineering came as the only course I could read despite my love for acting. It remained with me all through my years in school because my father wanted a job that could pay my bills, something that is serious.”

“But I know that acting is far more serious than people take it to be and, in my third year I decided to start off the burning desire and here I am today.”

What would the light-skinned actress be doing when she eventually retires, pick up a white- collar job?

“There is no possibility of me working as a petrochemical engineer, but maybe doing contract or something. I doubt I want to leave Nollywood anytime soon.”

With the number of movies that she has taken part in since in 2006, Tonto must no doubt be smiling all the way to the bank.

“We thank God. I’m not doing bad and I give God the glory,”  was her tarse reply.