sholay2011: a movie with clearly unbelievable special effects where bullets fly around amidst oppositions not minding if the plot is weak, character development is zero and directing and acting is at subpar.

That's why I was surprised when a friend of mine said 'Figurine' was trash. I was like seriously? He said he would rather sit down with 'Opa kan'.

Or maybe I'm too particular about the whole concept of 'world-class'...maybe we enjoy the way we are.

@ the bolded, is this your friend on Nairaland and does he go by the name afam4eva?

semid4lyfe:

@ the bolded, is this your friend on Nairaland and does he go by the name afam4eva?

sholay2011: Over the years, there has been clamour for Nollywood to improve on her film production quality. But my worry is that a quick survey would tell you what many Nigerians think as a definition of a 'good' movie- a movie with clearly unbelievable special effects where bullets fly around amidst oppositions not minding if the plot is weak, character development is zero and directing and acting is at subpar.

That's why I was surprised when a friend of mine said 'Figurine' was trash. I was like seriously? He said he would rather sit down with 'Opa kan'.

I would advocate that Nollywood filmmakers should keep producing world-class movies which can compete at the oscars, though discussing social issues and showcasing our rich african culture but not coming down to satisfy the needs of some that can't differentiate acting from mimicry.

We have a similar case in the music industry where people would prefer to listen to Terry G than Asa! Or maybe I'm too particular about the whole concept of 'world-class'...maybe we enjoy the way we are.

sholay2011: Afam4eva! It's obvious from ur name dat u wud surely love dose 'Alaba and Iweka road, Onitsha' movies. God help you.

VillageBoi:
I saw the Figurine and absolutely hated it. Why? It was a brilliant film for the first two-thirds of it and then all of a sudden it badly fell off a cliff into some silly gibberish.
Thankfully, Mr Afolayan has so grown since then and his new film 'Phone Swap' is probably one of the best Nollywood films ever in terms of storytelling, production values and cross-over audience (I saw it at the British Film Institute and over half of the audience was caucasian and were laughing just as hard as we were). It is an amazing, amazing, must see, must own film!

saxywale: I did not enjoy figurine as well. The storyline was boring.

semid4lyfe:

THE FIGURINE - MY REVIEW

Not your typical Nollywood movie and this was obvious from the first few scenes. . . i.e The bringing forth of the goddess to Earth by the Priest, the 7 years of prosperity & 7 years of misery, death of the priest and the subsequent burning of the shrine and the downpour of rain which was all done in a colour to reflect a period in the distant past was very impressive.

Script & Directing: The script is the written form and template from which a movie is made and a good script does so much for a movie. The story is very believable and the dialogue & interaction between characters was very well scripted & potrayed on screen. . .although there was some ''forced'' dialogue in one or two scenes to promote/advertise the movie sponsors. eg the Miccom Golf Resort, Osun State & Lagos Park scenes.

Despite the movie being a slow paced ''talk'' drama, it stayed interesting through-out, was evenly paced, never dragged or had a lull. Also, the transition between scenes was seamlessly done and all this is due to the excellent job done by the Director.

Cast & Acting: Everyone cast in this movie was perfect for his/her role and performed very well except Funlola Aofiyebi-Rahman who played Linda and was guilty of ''overacting''. She overdid the whole ''single'', ''upwardly mobile'', ''rich'' and ''successful'' young lady trying to hook a man and settle down thing IMO. Her gesticulations, rolling of eyes, flailing of hands etc was exaggerated, annoying and irritating to watch. Someone needs to sit that lady down and tell her to stop overacting cos she does exactly the same thing in the MNET tv soap, Tinsel.

Femi (Ramsey Noah) & Mona had maad chemistry and I really felt their vibes. However, I was most charmed by the man who played the role of Mona & Femi's lecturer. . .his performance was outstanding and he stole the show in the few scenes he appeared.

Cinematography, Costuming, Set Location & Design: Figurine also does well in these areas. The village life scenes at the beginning of the movie, the NYSC orientation camp (the best depiction of it I've seen in any Nollywood movie) and all the other scenes were vey well done. The costuming of characters and design/decor of locations/sets used in the movie was very good too. Take for example the Lecturer's office and it's interior decor which was very artistic, afrocentric and stunningly beautiful. . .with all the posters of african art forms, deities, plaques, sculptures etc. . . .and the parrot which squeaked when Shola touched it's cage grin

Score and Soundtrack: The background sounds that accompanied the different scenes and the soundtrack (the araromire song. . .and thankfully it wasn't a rehash of the story) of the movie were low key and not loud like in most Nollywood productions. Also the background sounds kept fading in & out and was in sync with whatever was happening at any given time in the movie. All in all, the musical score and soundtrack provided very good transitions between the scenes and perfectly portrayed the emotional viewpoint for the scenes and the film as a whole.

Language, Translation and Subtitling: I absolutely love the language used in the movie. . . .the combination of English, Pidgin and Yoruba spoken was perfect for a story set in 21st century Lagos and it wasn't misused at all in relation to the characters. As in, characters who were supposed to speak English to each other spoke English and those who were supposed to speak Pidgin or Yoruba spoke exactly that. For example, it would have being foolish for Shola to have conversed with his Lecturer in Pidgin or Yoruba.

The translation and English subtitling was okay too as there was no "tabons" but I felt it could have been better and more specific as there were times the subtitled English translation conveyed the general meaning of what was spoken and not the exact meaning. Also there were a few parts in which Yoruba was spoken and there was no subtitled translation shown on screen.

The Climax & Ending: This is what I like most about Figurine. When the truth unravels it'll shock you. Also, it's doesn't conclude it's self and has what I'll call an "Open Ending". . . as in, it leaves you to draw your own conclusion and make up your own mind on what to believe. It's the kinda movie you see at the Cinema, turn to your friend at the end to ask what happened and discuss with during the long drive home. . . and many days after.

Overall, it's a very good movie and I'll score it a 7/10

sholay2011: OMG! My thread got to the FP! This is a new year gift for me! I am very grateful for this, mods. I also thank my parents who have been in support of my nairaland endeavours, through thick and thin; God bless.

My friends who have always encouraged to keep creating topics- both meaningful and the less meaningful ones that with the hope of one getting to front page one day.

Finally, I thank my darling who whispered to me that 2013 is my year of excellence. It's nice that the excellence starts from here.

sholay2011: OMG! My thread got to the FP! This is a new year gift for me! I am very grateful for this, mods. I also thank my parents who have been in support of my nairaland endeavours, through thick and thin; God bless.

My friends who have always encouraged to keep creating topics- both meaningful and the less meaningful ones that with the hope of one getting to front page one day.

Finally, I thank my darling who whispered to me that 2013 is my year of excellence. It's nice that the excellence starts from here.

sholay2011: OMG! My thread got to the FP! This is a new year gift for me! I am very grateful for this, mods. I also thank my parents who have been in support of my nairaland endeavours, through thick and thin; God bless.

My friends who have always encouraged to keep creating topics- both meaningful and the less meaningful ones that with the hope of one getting to front page one day.

Finally, I thank my darling who whispered to me that 2013 is my year of excellence. It's nice that the excellence starts from here.

sholay2011: OMG! My thread got to the FP! This is a new year gift for me! I am very grateful for this, mods. I also thank my parents who have been in support of my nairaland endeavours, through thick and thin; God bless.

My friends who have always encouraged to keep creating topics- both meaningful and the less meaningful ones that with the hope of one getting to front page one day.

Finally, I thank my darling who whispered to me that 2013 is my year of excellence. It's nice that the excellence starts from here.

sholay2011:

Well, to each his own but I absolutely loved Figurine especially the end! I would have to see Phone Swap then but remember it was Figurine that won him AMAA best picture, Phone Swap didn't.

Sisi_Kill: Dude what kind of question is this?

What next. ..asking someone who has never eaten anything but trash from the bin if he knows what good food tastes like. Of course he's not going to know and when he does taste good food, it's only natural for him to reject it...not because it's not good but because his garbage food battered palate is not familiar with luxury.

How can Nollywood lovers enjoy a cerebral movie when they are used shoutfests where every single thing is spelled out.

How do you expect them to immediately get that a guy reaching for a door knob plans to open the door if he hasn't given them a blow by blow of what he is doing while he is doing it. ..

I will now touch this door knob, twist it to one side and open the door. ..this door oh, the one I am touching not the one on the other side of the room oh.

You are talking about a movie like FIGURINE to a group of people who almost peed on themselves in excitement over Jennifer and her many returns?

Really

Sometimes there arejust some questions that needn't be asked because it makes peoplequestion the asker's intelligence. ..No offense.

Francheezy:
.
.
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R u a learner ?

sholay2011: Over the years, there has been clamour for Nollywood to improve on her film production quality. But my worry is that a quick survey would tell you what many Nigerians think as a definition of a 'good' movie- a movie with clearly unbelievable special effects where bullets fly around amidst oppositions not minding if the plot is weak, character development is zero and directing and acting is at subpar.

That's why I was surprised when a friend of mine said 'Figurine' was trash. I was like seriously? He said he would rather sit down with 'Opa kan'.

I would advocate that Nollywood filmmakers should keep producing world-class movies which can compete at the oscars, though discussing social issues and showcasing our rich african culture but not coming down to satisfy the needs of some that can't differentiate acting from mimicry.

We have a similar case in the music industry where people would prefer to listen to Terry G than Asa! Or maybe I'm too particular about the whole concept of 'world-class'...maybe we enjoy the way we are.

sholay2011:

I was aware of the points you noted before I opened the thread. You don't have to be insulting to drive home your points.

sholay2011: OMG! My thread got to the FP! This is a new year gift for me! I am very grateful for this, mods. I also thank my parents who have been in support of my nairaland endeavours, through thick and thin; God bless.

My friends who have always encouraged to keep creating topics- both meaningful and the less meaningful ones that with the hope of one getting to front page one day.

Finally, I thank my darling who whispered to me that 2013 is my year of excellence. It's nice that the excellence starts from here

slimyem: I agree with the op.
Nigerians want to be entertained more than they want to be educated.
If Patience Ozokwor isn't acting the wicked step-mother,Jim Iyke isn't acting American returnee and Rita Dominic isn't acting a miserable wife, or Mr.Ibu acting the village fool,then they are not watching.
Nigerians have gotten used to the usual and comfortable with so much trash.
Figurine might not have been a wow movie but its certainly beats thousands of the "marketed and distributed at Alaba Intl. and 51,Iweka rd, Onitsha" movies.