Ghanaian Movie Review: I DO 2015 *Kobi Rana Strikes Again*

Ok so my homeboy Lewis decided to give this movie review “thingy” a shot. Since I wasn't able to make it to the premiere and he was…. (With all those fine girls he was posing on IG with lol). 

It was a bit surprising to see the Silverbird cinemas this packed. I mean I frequent there a lot but had never seen a crowd this big all wanting to catch the premiere of “I Do”. This made me even more eager to see it and eventual tell how it goes. Leave it to young talented and overly confident Kobi Rana to do an awesome job to publicize his work to create so many wave and attention. 

“I DO”, a Ghanaian produced movie which stars the likes of Van Vicker, the producer herself Kafui Danku, Nana Ama Mcbrown, BBA star Elikem Kormodzi, Roselyn Ngissah, Jasmine Baroudi, Mauli Gavor and Jose Tolbert . The director Kobi Rana had the entire cinema applauding the great effort he put into making this movie a success. From start to end, throughout the 100 minutes long drama, romance and comedy filled movies.

Obviously you would would have high expectations from a movie with huge backing from brands like Hauwei, Moet and La Palm Royal 

The movie starts with the exchange of vows by the four couples without going through how they met up and all the “blah blah blah” stuff. It was right on point for that fact. It later goes on to reveal certain aspects of their lives to which their partners knew nothing about.

Though the entire movie takes place over one night (honeymoon) at an exquisite hotel, the rooms well prepared with some Champaign’s, shower robes and the beds well laid. The whole “one night” movie idea reminded me of another Kobi Rana movie, Hotel Babylon. 

The characters played their roles well without much flaws. Jasmine Baroudi, who plays Sena happens to be what society looks down upon, thus a lesbian, and so had to please society by marrying Eli (Elikem Kormordzi). Sena and her lesbian partner had their motives planned out for the night where they were to execute the groom and run off with her partner.

Adotey (Van Vicker) had an ordeal all night long with her partner. But he showed why love conquers all. In that, her partner Anita (Nana Ama McBrown) who had a secret of having contracted a sexually transmitted infection and couldn’t risk infecting Adotey. So out of fear and anxiety she tried committing suicide to end all things. But Adotey gave her reasons to stop her actions. He had a funny horror dream of Anita during his nap in the tub.

Randy (Jose Tolbert) the rich kid. He had an empire to inherit once he was married. He therefore had to marry Charlotte A.K.A. Shali Jata Jantra, (Producer Kafui Danku) a“hooker”. He signed a contract with her to get this done but later fell in love with her.

Ike (Mawuli Gavor) and Esi (Roselyn Ngissah), the funniest couple had their share of the breezy night. With Ike suffering with erectile dysfunction due to use of illicit drugs in the past and Esi wanting to let go off her cravings had to deal with their own funny problems.

The score for the movie was good. Most people might not pay attention to these things but the right score certainly adds a depth to the entire story line. The live band musical surprise for the grooms by their brides went well with the audience where they were singing along. The grooms had their go with teasing dance choreography for the ladies. Sort of something that you might of seen in Hollywood’s The Best Man Holiday. Either which way it wasn't corny as anyone would have expected it to be.

Honestly it was refreshing to see a Ghanaian movie that was not only well produced but equally indulging and entertaining as well. I have always believed that the Ghanaian film industry had a better future and after seeing “I Do” I am more reassured of that. 

In my books I rate this a perfect 7/10..... I enjoyed every single bit of this movie. 

This movie was good and did really match the hype.

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Movie Review: Focus 2015 *CON OR BE CONNED*

It’s been a very long while since I reviewed anything. I must apologize…. New work schedule keeping me awful busy but I am loving it… regardless.  It’s been a very busy past couple of weeks but I finally got some time on my hands and decided to see a movie to help de-stress.

I had to choose between Jupiter Ascending and Focus. But it was easy to pick because Jupiter Ascending had been showing for some time now already.

Focus tells the story of a con artist who encounters someone from his past on his latest scheme and how things get messy thereafter.

On the surface this seems more like a very simple plot… something most people would most likely over look and might not be so interested in seeing.  But then if you know Will Smith…. You certainly would be interested in seeing this movie. Yes… that was one of the “pluses” that aided in me choosing to see this title over Jupiter Ascending. He starred alongside Margot Robbie from The Wolf of Wall Street.  Considering that Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck both turned down the chance to play the lead role in this movie after Ryan Gosling had dropped out I feel Will Smith did save the day  otherwise this would have been a very good movie gone to waste.

Anyone would easily agree with me that this could be Will Smith’s most looked forward to movie since 2013’s After Earth which was a huge Hollywood miss.  For me it was considering that I hadn't seen him in any major lead role since After Earth.

This title didn't pack that much of a huge cast or popular faces surprisingly. But it was certainly worth the time I spent on seeing it. (My time matters more to me than the money spent on tickets lol). 

The script was perfect…  I have always thought it must be extra work writing a script about con artist and their modus operandi.  After seeing movies like Catch Me if You Can, Ocean’s  Eleven, American Hustle and MatchSick Men  (Several others as well) I had a fair idea of what to expect going in to see focus. But in the end I was more than impressed with the movie.

Focus had a very sophisticated -high end feel to the whole idea of con artistry. Something I don’t remember ever experiencing or noticing in all the other con art movies I mentioned.  The story line was not only just too clever as you would expect for a movie of its kind but also certainly had a lot of unexpected twists.. Not to mean it was hard to follow.. but most of the scenes just leaves you “Oh I didn't see that coming”.  Very unpredictable....for me that is a good thing in any movie. It was almost like getting myself coned in most parts of the story. A script is always as good as how surprising and unexpected the turn of events are as the story unfolds.  I can’t fault the story line in anyway. It just had me interested from start to finish. From the very impressive pick-pocketing up to the mind startling intellect scamming. It’s not always that you get to see conning made this much appealing and enticing.  Beneath it all you get to have a clear picture of how clever and smart you would need to be in order to be a successful con artist. (Not that I believe anyone would want to be...lol)

The entire movie kept a calm and steady pace from start to finish. If you are looking for some daring action sequences in this one don’t expect to find any because the story didn't have the need for any of that. One thing that it did have was a little tiny bit of romance. Not the corny, cliché kind… but it definitely did add some weight to the context of this movie. Half of the time I found my subconscious debating over if it was really love between Will and Margot all just part of the con.

My only problem with the movie was the fact that it was classed comedy. In no way do I see this movie under that category at all. And neither can it be classified as a Romantic Comedy.  Certainly it did pack some scenes of very mature and clever humor that are almost very easy to miss but it also certainly isn't the type of movie that would leave you holding on to your ribs whilst trying not to die from laughter. If you expecting to go to this movie to be cracked up good get ready to be disappointed in that area.

In all I was very impressed with this movie and I am glad that Will has got his groove back after disappointing us all in AfterEarth.  I won’t   hesitate to score this title 7.5/10 because it certainly did its job of helping me de-stress. I will definitely love to see this movie all over again.

I recommend this movie for anyone who appreciates a good story line 

[Click Here To Watch Trailer]

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