The Players In 'The Game'.

Last night, I decided to relax by watching a new release on the Ghanaian movie market. Title - The Game. Its director Frank Raja Arase, taking lessons from movies such as Sin City, combines two different stories into one 'interesting' movie.

‘The Game’ tells a complex story of, love, affection, greed, betrayal, deceit, corruption, ambition, revenge and complete malice. Before I give my opinion on this movie, let's break the story into two parts, shall we?

Story One: This tells a tale of two brothers, Teddy (Majid Michel) and Bill (Johannes Maier) whose deceased father leaves behind a lot of money and a huge business empire for them to share. However as greed and betrayal sets in, Teddy, a master schemer, plans to have everything for himself. Teddy decides to take the life of his brother. After a failed assassination attempt, he decides to get married to Shenel (Yvonne Nelson) to push his diabolical plans through. Unbeknownst to Teddy, he isn't the only one with plans.

Story Two introduces us to Brandy (Yvonne Okoro), an accomplished liar who lies about being engaged to a big shot businessman, Ronny (John Dumelo) in order to enjoy media attention to boost her modeling agency. And after a series of interesting events, a lie eventually becomes the truth.

After watching the movie with my brother, these were the comments and questions that swam through the blood flowing in my complex brain.

First Question: What the hell is wrong with Frank Raja Arase? You would think that with the mistakes he made with Heart of Men, he would pay more attention to the script this time. The characters in Story One kept interchanging millions and thousands in terms of the amount of money involved. At one point is was a hundred thousand dollars and at another, it was a hundred million dollars. The difference is too significant to be overlooked.

If you would recall, in my review of the Heart of Men, Raja made a similar mistake by letting Nadia Buari’s character tell that of John Dumelo that Majid Michel’s character was at Accra-Ghana when, the former characters were only at the Northern Region and not another country.Raja should remember that, we those watching these movies are intellectuals and not daft beings. Or, am I being unduly harsh?

I heard that Raja was boasting about the movie being the best thing that Ghanaians had ever seen in the movie industry. (Scoffing) I beg... Someone should tell the guy to zip it and thank God that there aren't paid critics in Ghana, else he would be fried for breakfast!

It is true that this movie was a good attempt considering what we've seen over the years. However, in an attempt to create a complex story (especially Story One), Raja ends up taking us through a convoluted plot that makes watching the movie a chore instead of a fun-filled activity.

Oh, and did I forget to say that the concept of gamblers being introduced at certain points was a highly unnecessary and meaningless digression. The fact that the movie's title is The Game doesn't mean that we needed to see gamblers playing cards at the worst casino setting I've ever seen in my life. C'mon!  Were those characters really necessary?

I don't even want to talk about some of the new people casted in this movie; some were talking like babies whilst others sounded like they were kindergaten students at a poetry recital. Imagine.....

As you've probably surmised, I was't wowed by this one (I wasn't wowed by Sin City either). The elements of suspense are highly lauded but then again, how can you love one part of a movie and hate the other? I paid GH¢5 to enjoy a whole movie and not half of it (else I would have paid GH¢2.50, wouldn't I?).

So, if you've seen this movie, please let me know what your thoughts are on this one.

P.S I just found that scenes from this movie are too similar for comfort to an Indian movie titled "Race". Check out this link and see for yourself  http://www.apunkachoice.com/titles/rac/race/mid_896/preview/ .

And to think Frank Raja was even bragging when his material was probably "borrowed" from what, a Hindi movie? Geez! It gets better or should I say, worse.... every minute.

Movies And The Ghanaian Audience....

There was a time when, if you wanted to watch a movie, the only place you could go to was the local cinema or those video shed that showed movies for token fees. Then came video, which meant that you could record your favorite movies from your television and watch them time and time again, until the tape wore out. Buying the movies on video cassettes also meant that you could watch many films anytime you felt like it.

Then, with the advent of advanced technology came Cable TV, DVDs and the Internet. Now, looking at the Ghanaian scene, one can clearly see the popularity of movies in the country. You find people selling movies everywhere in the metropolitan capital Accra; from video shops to small stalls and kiosks and, in traffic (which I consider to be a risky purchase by the way ;-) . There are also posh cinemas like Silverbird who show mostly foreign movies and premiere a few Ghanaian and Nigerian movies.

And of course, those who can't afford to spend huge monies on cinema houses also exchange movies with friends who spend a few hours at the cafe and are able to download about 5-10 movies at the end of the day; depending on the connection speed.

Yes, we can say without a doubt that movies are popular in Ghana. So why then, do we always hear news stories indicating that the Ghanaian movie industry is in crisis? Why are there always censorship issues when there is supposed to be a Censorship Board?

People always complain about the sex scenes and nudity in our movies these days. As I was having an argument with a few friends last night, I asked them this question: what prompts the producers to make certain types of movies? The answer is simple.... its the audience.

So I decided then to conduct a survey to find out about the viewing preferences of the Ghanaian movie audience and see if we can all find out what majority of Ghanaians want to see in a movie that they choose to watch.

Here is the link to the survey so, Please Click to tell me your movie preferences. Please.....

I would be grateful if you could answer these few questions......

Cheers...

The Sex In "Heart Of Men"....

Two nights ago, after hours of working on laptops, my brother and I decided to rest our tired bodies by watching a movie. Our film of choice was the much talked about Heart of Men and I must confess that, due to all the talk about it being soft porn, I was really anxious to see the movie and, draw my own conclusions.

So, we started the movie and, boy Oh boy…. We couldn’t take our eyes off till we finished watching both parts (1&2). What a movie! Could you believe that several minutes after seeing the crack and some part of Majid Michel’s butt, my brother had to tell me to shut my mouth which was gaping in amazement? Yes oo….

But on a serious note, the Venus Movie Production which was directed by Frank Rajah Arase proved that Ghanaian movies have finally found “it”. Hasn’t it been a while since one could actually watch a movie and be unsure of its ending?

Yet, there were a few things that didn’t match up in my opinion. Like, wouldn’t it have been a thrill if John Dumelo’s character had appeared at the latter part of the movie instead of immediately after he was shot? That would have been brought in an intelligent element of surprise.

And why did Nadia Buari’s character tell that of John Dumelo that Majid Michel’s character was at Accra-Ghana when, the former characters were only at the Northern Region and not another country?

One question that I can’t seem to answer is this: Since we all watch Western movies which have more steamy scenes than this movie, why are people complaining and calling the actors and actresses porn stars? No one has called Sharon Stone a porn star for Basic Instinct, or Halle Berry a slut for that steamy scene with Billy Bob Thornton in Monster’s Ball.

Come on! even Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas weren’t called porn stars for their sex scene in Original Sin. These are movies that most people have probably seen several times.

Let us stop the hypocrisy and face the truth, Ghanaians like to see some “skin”. Why do you think business is booming for newspaper vendors who sell sex-related papers like Funtime, Ebony, among many others? Don’t you see the pictures on the papers? It’s either a topless lady with huge “bazookas” or a lady with nothing on at all. Why aren’t people talking about that? Think about it…

Nevertheless, there are real problems concerning the sex scenes in African movies. Unlike the foreign movies that have stunt actors/actresses and body doubles to play roles that the real actors/actresses find distasteful or too erotic as well as the ability to manipulate the camera in creating elements of deception, Ghana hasn’t gotten to that level in the film making industry. This leaves the actors with no choice than to act out all the scenes themselves.

In my opinion, sex scenes without so little clothing can still make an interesting movie. And we must remember that despite the hunger for international recognition, our movies industry will only grow when our citizens support it too. And we do hold onto our cultural values to some extent.

I conclude this post by saying that, despite a few flaws in the movie, the cast and crew especially, those in charge of editing, continuity e.t.c, must be applauded for their efforts.

Please, feel free to give your comments on this issue.

MY TOP TEN GHANAIAN MOVIES OF THE NINETIES

So, as a friend and I were chatting about the much awaited Shirley Frimpong Manso flick, A Sting in the Tale (showing in November), I couldn't help but praise and criticize the director at the same time. Why??? The answer is simple.

Her scripts get you interested in the plot and keep you in suspense; which is a good thing. But, I think she should find ways of incorporating little things that would truly reflect the origins of the movie. Don't get me wrong; I loved the way she used Amakye Dede's music in the Perfect Picture and even had characters speaking a bit of Akan. But I feel there should be more of Ghana in Ghanaian movies.

I mean..... lets take cues from Kwaw Ansah whose Heritage Africa blew the whole African Continent away.... Not to talk of Love Brewed in an African Pot which I still haven't been able to acquire for my personal collection..

Now..... Proceeding to the main issue of discussion. Do you remember when the early Ghanaian movies of the 20th Century which combined humor as well as creativity? I do, and its not because GBC was the only thing we had at the time and there was no room for choices.It was because it was a true reflection of realities that occur in our society.

So, as i asked my mom to list her top 10 films of the 1990s, I was shocked and disappointed to find that she could only remember The Stab in the dark which starred Edinam Atatsi and Pascaline Edwards..... What happened to the rest?

Thus, I decided to list my top ten Ghanaian movies of the nineties. Movies that captivated many audiences in many Ghanaian homes before the Nigerian movie industry infiltrated and dominated our markets.

Here we go.............................................

1. 
   
   Cracked Illusion (1996) : This movie gave me an idea of what happens in boarding schools. After all, people always claim to be what they aren't and even hurt those close to them in the process. 
   
   
   
2. 
   
   Dangerous Game: I have only two words for this movie and Victor Lutterodt's role. Papa Ninja
   
   
   
3. 
   
   Escape to Love: We all loved Kwame Sefa Kayi in this love story.
   
   
   
4. 
   
   A Stab In The Dark: We all agree that this movie shot Pascaline Edwards to straight to stardom.
   
   
   
5. 
   
   Loving You: I can't call Commando Schwarzznegger, so I call him Schwaabanana...ha!
   
   
   
6. 
   
   Who killed Nancy: I'm always thankful for Monegram and Western Union na, ya bre pein...
   
   
   
7. 
   
   Justice: Who wouldn't commit murder when after going to prison for David Dontoh, he jilts you and takes your friend as his bride in your stead. I loved the tragic ending.
   
   
   
8. 
   
   You Can't Laugh: Sha La, Sha la la. Eshe wo sisim.... MacJordan Amartey really did his thing then....
   
   
   
9. 
   
   The Police Officer: What do you do when your family house is robbed, your father killed, sister raped, and younger brother crippled? The answer is simple; you join the police force to take revenge on the culprits. Ah! how I miss Brew Riverson Junior.
   
   
   
10. 
    
    And lastly, Out of Sight, Out of Love: My advice to men is that if you can't satisfy your wife sexually, travel abroad and come back rejuvenated or better still, let David Dontoh satisfy her needs... just kidding....
    
    
    

Well folks, these are my top ten. Can you tell me yours? Feel free to paste comments for thats the only way I learn and get better at this blogging business.....

Peace out!