KDrama

I do not like film characters that I am supposed to like.

I'm watching this Korean Drama, popularly referred to as KDrama, and I cannot find complexity in the characters.

The King 2 Hearts                                        Rooftop Prince

See KDramas have this formula, in the same way a culture's movie's does: Hollywood, Nollywood, etc. The girl is weak, the guy is mean and needs redemption and he gets it through the girl. I got it. I just want some twist in it. I want a Romeo and Juliet type of thing, according to the way Shakespeare wrote it, where both main characters both die, there is a lot of comedy (a la my favorite character Mercutio), and most importantly the characters are dynamic and complex. There is a reason why Romeo fell for Juliet so quickly (Rosaline dumped him) and Juliet was the rebound girl.

I'd like to see a rebound girl/guy in a KDrama. And if there is already a drama with a rebound girl/guy, please let me know.

So in Rooftop Prince, which tries too hard to be funny, the characters are in some reincarnation twist similar to Once Upon A Time (USA show). While I do love the twist, the past explores the complexity of the characters more than the present does. In the past, it is shown why the female antagonist is the way she is: she wanted to be the bride of the Crown Prince but her father sidelined her for being older for her younger sister (and females are taller than males pre-puberty) and her mother gave her prized ribbon to her younger sister to look pretty for the prince. There is an accident with an iron, which may or may not have been intentional, and the sister is scarred for life. I get why she is evil to the sister, I do. Kids at that age, especially pre-teens and teens at that age are fragile. The younger sister could not help it but the parents could and they basically fucked up both of their daughters. Now it's up to the audience to decide whom to root for: the psychologically damaged older sister or the younger sister who just wants her unni's love?

And in The King 2 Hearts, another prince tagline, three members of both Koreas are combined for a WOC fighting-soldier-armed-forces tournament. That soldiers from North and South Korea are participating in the fictional WOC is meant for a unification of both Koreas. I do like the idea and given that the current tide is North Korea is undergoing a leadership change, this is good. The Crown Prince of South Korea is on the South Korea (SK) team to please the people who pay for his upkeep. Y'know, to make the taxpayers proud. On the North Korea (NK) team is a female and two guys. I love that the North team has the female, the symbolism of that is just beautiful. As usual, the Crown Prince is the one in need of redemption and his character gets complexity. He did not want to be king, even though he has the IQ for it. He is lazy and he does not like the added pressure from being in the royal family.

Now when the two teams get together, the pranks begin. The Crown Prince disrupts the team's campfire bonding because he's excluded (more like he excluded himself), and the NK team play one on him where they have him convinced he will be killed with a poisonous needle in his sleep. The Crown Prince comes back with telling the team and the entire faculty, where they are practicing for the WOC, that the female got dumped (ouchie), and he delivers a low blow telling her he does not see her as a woman. The two keep going back and forth, mainly between the main leads (crown prince and female) until the Crown Prince shoots the woman in an exercise.

Now I admit, that has got to be awful, getting shot by someone you are supposed to trust. But...where was the trust? Both of them are acting like little kids and it doesn't help that you have a gun in my face. Yes, the guy gave a low blow and so did the girl when she gave a psycho-analysis. However, I cannot connect with the female because by the 4th episode, there is no complexity to her. She seems like a strong person--physically and mentally--who uses both her fists and tricks to get what she wants. Except I never know what she wants. One minute, she's brave and fearless, the next she is coy and fearful. The abrupt switch between both traits is too jarring and uncomfortable.

A part of me was actually hoping her character died with that gunshot. Her teammates have more complexity than she does, and I cannot even remember her name.

Naija films-the good

Gugu E. Michaels: Here is an action film. There are no cars not hitting someone who then falls and dies. There are no lazy punches and thankfully no horrible sounding blows.

   

Dangerous Men and Unge's War

Naija films-the bad

I applaud actors for what they do, Nigerian actors most especially. I laud the creative bodies behind an art piece: music, film, literature.

One thing I find irritating with Naija films--perhaps above the crappy writing and editing, is the speaking or the butchering of what is supposed to be said.

With the Yoruba movies, I get irritated when an English word is used when its Yoruba equivalent does exist. This is not just bits and pieces of English, but entire sentences and phrases when unneeded. I might as well stick with periodicals, except those are near going extinct. With the English genre, my grouse comes when the actor starts speaking English. Many actors--both male and female, are guilty of this.

But I am not faulting the actors. I blame the director for not catching it and for not fixing it. And I blame the producer for allowing it. It shows laziness on both the producer and the director. This particular post is aimed at the director and producers. If an actor makes a mistake, the director and producer are the ones who should and must catch the and rectify it.

Acting does not mean impeccable language, be it Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa or English.

Now some Nigerians say English is not our mother tongue. That is a sad excuse. The institutions of learning are in English: primary, secondary, poly and Uni. Governing is conducted in guess what? English. So stuff it with the English is not the mother tongue. English is the official language--keep the mother tongues, those tones and vernacular are beautiful. And stop using this pathetic excuse as a crutch to allow "educated people" butcher it. It's yours, and that is not likely to change. 

Acting also does not mean incorporating an accent just because. If the character is a poor rural girl/guy, she should sound like one. Now if a character is supposed to be a student, in University, then he/she should not be butchering the lingua franca. Unless she is supposed to portray an uneducated person.

Acting is also not about just speaking English: Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo actors show us that. It is not about having a British-Carribbean-Australian-American accent when you are a poor and struggling guy/girl who has never left the country. 

But then again, it could be a reflection of the current Nigerian society. The weaves are already in competition for the longest and most outrageous, so it may not be completely wrong that the accents are equally so.

back in the day films

I decided to find the old Naija movies, the early ones of back in the day. If I had the money, and the access, I would purchase these things. If I had even the website to buy these things from sef, I would buy. So far I have seen:

The Diamond Ring

Top (Left-Right): Bukky Ajayi, Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD), Shola Shobowale, Liz Benson
Bottom (Left-Right): Teju Babyface, Bimbo Akintola
Directed by: Tade Ogidan

Synopsis:
The son (Teju Babyface) of a wealthy man (RMD) is sent to a Nigerian university where he is pushed to join a cult (XG) and later alongside his fellow cult members, robs the grave of a rich woman (Liz Benson). They steal a diamond ring and then become hunted, dying one after the other. The son falls ill and refuses to tell his parents the story behind his ill health, until his aunt (Bukky Ajayi) ,a seer ,intercedes with the ghost on his behalf. His father is faced with the task of finding the diamond ring which had been sold to someone in the UK.
--culled from Sola

I remember watching this movie as a kid, but seeing it again several years later sealed so many things for me. One, Teju Babyface is adorable. This confirms my crush on the guy. Second, Bimbo Akintola, Sola Sobowale, and Bukky Ajayi are amazing. Watching them was spectacular. Third, Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD) is seriously good. The man is just so good. The cast was so perfect, I was sad when the movie ended. And you get to see everyone while they were young: Lanre Balogun (ah-mazing actor) and Funsho Adeolu.

More Money

Left-Right: Lanre Balogun, Bimbo Akintola, Jake Aernan, Segun Arinze
Directed by: Unknown

Synopsis:
This is story of a young school dropout (Jake Aernan), he retires in the village and resolves to do art works, he soon falls in love with a village girl Amaka (Bimbo Akintola) but does not have the money to marry her. 
--culled from Irokotv

This film featured Segun Arinze, who is seriously underrated or maybe ignored. He is one of Naija's finest actors, perhaps even better than RMD but not as gorgeous. It is similar to the Genevieve/Bimbo matter. He plays a professor here. Ramsey Nouah is also in this as well as the talented Jake Aernan. Now, we all know Ramsey is good and I will credit him as such. But this blog is dedicated to those who are not so harped upon in the Naija film industry. Jake Aernan is simply divine, especially with Bimbo Akintola. My favorite part of this is when the film actually shows the two of them courting. The directing was poor here, the trees were interfering and the scenes kept overlapping which is seriously distracting. But the process by which one actually falls in love with another is displayed.

Lest I forget, John Okafor plays the village jester. The kids love him but the adults do not take him seriously. This is the first time I have actually found him funny; that I actually remember him weeks after watching this film. Lanre Balogun plays Bimbo Akintola's father, an Igbo man. His acting here sealed it for me that he is in fact good. I completely forgot that he is Yoruba. There were some other actors, particularly the man who broke the news to Aernan's character that his parent is dead...I will find the man's name, I shall.

Deadly Affair

Left-Right: Sam Loco-Efe (deceased), Dolly Unachukwu, Emeka Ike, Sandra Achums, Jide Kosoko, Toyin Afolayan (Lola Idije)
Directed By: Chico Ejiro

Synopsis:

Ikechukwu (Emeka Ike) loves two women, Isabella (Dolly Unachukwu) and Bola (Sandra Achums). Isabella is a gangster and she is determined to have Ikechukwu (IK) at all cost, even if it means destroying Bola and her beloved IK. 


I have no idea what happened to Emeka Ike, but in this film he is absolutely good. Not exceptional but really really good. A 180 from what he does today, and I would like to see him return to that. The man is a pretty good actor, when he delivers. The film is great, it showcases Igbo, Yoruba, English and Pidgin English. I'm seeing Jide Kosoko, Toyin Afolayan (Lola Idije), Emeka Ike, Sandra Achums and  the deceased Sam Loco Efe. The story is pleasant and unpredictable, but somehow very Nigerian.