AllenSpencer:





Just give that guy a corner kick and its a goal or he will get a penalty.

Maybe Lamelo Ball will be the assist provider or should we call Zion Williamson?

toluxa1:
Which kind pitch be this one? Looks like out Church field.

The pitch dey bounce nor be small...

AllenSpencer:
We need a player like Ja Morant. That midfield-Attack is not biting enough!

Our defence is weak also. The coach should bring-in Dennis Rodman.

Na Wabanyama dem go bring...

Amokachi... so you can't pronounce AINA correctly? Abi wetin you dey form?

abbyyzino:

Speaking nonsense with confidence

I dey tell you

Who send Amokachi commentary work?

tonykel1:
4 years is the standard to start Primary School

Primary school for 4 years? Like Primary 1?

Naijagoodman:
Broja is a real goat 🐐

How the guy take become footballer need to be studied

VAR verdict: Offside... goal have been chopped off
Still 1-1

Goal..
Chelsea 2 Palace 1
N. Jackson on the beat
Modified: VAR ruled it for offside..
Scores 1:1

MamaletASO:
1-0 is nothing..

Michael olise will soon cancel it out..

Chelsea FC is a useless*ess team

Score is 1-1 even before half time... And Yes M. Olise scored

BabaO2:
That referee is a criminal. how that challenge on maatsen was not a strong and potentially harmful tackle?

Clean tackle and it was right in front of the ref... VAR no bother check because it was a well won ball.

spencekat:
It ought to have been a foul.

Nah... the ball was cleanly won

Mod update scores na...

Manchester United losing at home... Unsurprising though..

Things we love to see on boxing day

fergie001:
Arsenal has to give West Ham extra cash.

Declan Rice is an excellent footballer.

Cosigned

A top table clash.. End-to-end stuff
Very good point for both team

wiseone28:
If Liverpool draw the match i will smash my phone i need outright win today

Martinelli needs to be sub

crazygod:
Very bad officiating. Blatant handball from odegaard and Saka should have seen a red by now.

Red as how? A body check on Tmikas?

wiseone28:
Blame game don start

Nah.. we always call out when the player is at fault and praise them when they do well... that is why it is called Football

holluwai:
Why use Raya?? ? ?

Ain't Raya fault, put it squarely on Zinny

Ofunaofu:



https://dailypost.ng/2023/12/22/if-he-were-in-china-emefiele-would-face-firing-squad-bayo-onanuga/

He that lives in glass house shouldn't throw stones...

Nice2023:
I remembered when they both toiled to see me through this difficult world,especially my dad who made sure me and my two brothers attended University and graduated.

Today,I decided to build this house for them and to make their remaining years on earth a fulfilled one.

Below are the pictures.

You have done well..
The blessings of honoring your father and mother, will be made manifest for you... Longevity in health and prosperity will continuously flow towards you and your children.
Thank you for making them smile, I assure you, it will add years to their lives.

COYG!!!!

Menclothing:

So you don’t know there is standard HMO for a bank manager have u seen a sick bank manager begging for money to treat sickness

If you understand how HMO work in 9ja, you for nor write this thing.

bolabizzle:
Just got word from a friend about someone who made the move from being a bank manager in Nigeria to working as a skyscraper cleaner in the UK. 😕

Smart move or not?

Give him 3-5 years, he won't be a cleaner... FYI, skyscrapers cleaners earn well but risky job.

KingCold:
Pogba on the list but this guy not?

Obertan "the great"

Enemyofpeace:
- Bebe
2 - Paul Pogba
3 - Eric Djemba-Djemba
4 - Ralph Milne
5 - Donny van de Beek
6 - Alexis Sanchez
7 - Harry Maguire
8 - Massimo Taibi
9 - Jadon Sancho
10 - Angel Di Maria
11 - Radamel Falcao
12 - Morgan Schneiderlin
13 - Kleberson
14 - Diego Forlan
15 - Owen Hargreaves
16 - Henrikh Mkhitaryan
17 - Wilfried Zaha
18 - Manucho
19 - Karel Poborsky
20 - Garry Birtles

Thoughts 🤔🤔

Where is Phil Jones? Welbeck? Antony? Quinton Fortune? Antony Elanga (very useless player)

Chummynoni:
Can it be watched with kids?

Nope

safarigirl:
Hello Nairaland, it has been ages!

I realise I haven't done a movie review in a while and I just want to sharpen my pencil once again.

So, I'm here with the Netflix/PlayNetwork movie, Blood Vessel, a movie set in the Niger Delta about six unlikely characters that end up as stowaways on a ship.

I saw this movie in the middle of the night, and to be honest, I didn't have much expectations, but brethren, my mind was blown and it blew from the first five minutes when I realised the characters were speaking an indigenous language that WAS NOT WaZoBia. I was so excited just for that, because for the last few years, I have been advocating for broader storytelling in Nollywood and inclusion of minority languages. A few filmmakers opined that this was a big ask, as it was difficult to market a non-WaZoBia movie to the general Nigerian market. I've always thought this was balderdash, and rooted more in inferiority complex than actual facts, so, I was so glad to see that I was, after all, not wrong, and you can use a non-majority language to make a movie and it will bang.

Shout out to Charles Okpaleke of Play Network, he has been criticised overtime by Nollywood enthusiasts for producing somewhat low quality storylines that are rooted more in aesthetics than actual storytelling, and this movie was his big F*CK YOU! To such criticism.

Without further ado, let me get into the meat of this stew


Movie Title: Blood Vessel

Cast:
David Ezekiel
Adaobi Dibor
Levi Chikere
Sylvester Ekanem
Jidekene Achufusi
Alex Cyr Budin
Obinna Okenwa
Bimbo Manuel
Ebele Okaro


Plot:

Six people fleeing an oil-polluted community overrun by security agents, cross paths by chance and end up as stowaways on an ill-fated ship, unaware of the dangers aboard.


Movie Review:

This movie was marketed on the ground that it was a Niger Delta story, and to be honest, I was a bit unsure of what role Jidekene Achufusi would be playing in such a movie, since he isn't Niger Deltan. I temporarily forgot that actors exist TO ACT.

The first props I'd like to give this movie, is for AUTHENTICITY. When they said the movie would be set in Niger Delta, there were no plans to half-arse it. They fully planned to go the whole nine yards, and the first ode to this decision was seen in the use of the Ijaw language as the main language of dialogue in this movie. The first few minutes, I was trying to place the language, I was certain it wasn't Efik/Ibibio, and then when I realised it was Ijaw, I was happy for the inclusion and I decided to see how far they would go with it. They went all the way.

I do not have the words to quantify how much of a relief it is that we finally shed off the Lagos ghetto movie scene. The stories on Lagos criminal life have become lethargic over the years due to being overflogged and this movie finally traversing other angles to Nigerian life felt like a cold bottle of water hitting parched throat. Hearing Ijaw language being spoken, and Niger Delta pidgin was a very pleasant deviation from what Nollywood has inundated us with in recent times.

The production was so good. From the cinematography to the casting. With the cinematography, the story's dark theme was employed, but the colour grading didn't have that yellow tint to it. The director of photography needs to take a bouquet of flowers. The angles from which the story was told in certain scenes were so powerful, I really don't want to drop any spoilers, so, I'll be as vague as I can. There was a scene where the lead actor was groveling at the feet of the antagonist, the camera angle showed how imposing the antagonist was in that moment, and then in another scene, where the protagonist had the power over the antagonist, and the camera focused on his glare, those scenes were incredible.

With the setting, they kept it true to the Niger Delta theme; we were treated to sights of the oil polluted water, rural areas, sandy beaches, and the waterside. About 60% of the movie was shot on a ship, and we got the full exploration of the ship. I really want to give the production team props for getting that ship, that was money well spent as far as setting goes.

Now, let's get into the movie as a whole. To be honest, the beginning was a bit slow, but that's pretty much how beginnings for a lot of movies go. The attempt to catch our interest with a fiery opening is perhaps, not very successful, but as we go along, the story pulls you in. You find yourself invested in how they end up on the ship and what led to their change in fortunes.

This movie is brimming with actual emotion, you feel it in every scene. The fear, the hope, the despair. The actors are so brilliant, and I mean this whole heartedly, because each of them were able to project every emotion at the right time.

Jidekene as a revolutionary is convincing, his character, Boma, embodies the fighting spirit and defiance of every modern revolutionary you can think of. His carriage is commanding and his aura is compelling. David Ezekiel, who plays Abbey, one half of two young lovers, embodies the passion of any young man in love, he's spirited, hopeful, and forms a solid rock for his love, Adaobi Dibor, who plays Oyinbrakeme, executes the apprehensive lovergirl with an interesting marine origin, Obinna Okenwa and Sylvester Ekanem (Olotu and Tekena) are brothers in search of greener pastures, with Obinna playing the protective older brother, and Sylvester Ekanem executes the somewhat selfish younger brother, Levi Chikere (Degbe) is the mouthy freedom fighter with a rather weak grasp of sacrifice and true brotherhood. Each of these actors are exceptional in their roles, and to crown it all, Alex Cyr Budin is every bit the annoying villain as Igor. The actors not only naturally align with their characters, the characters themselves are so well written, that there is no deviation from their established values.

Without a doubt, this production skyrockets to the best thing that has ever come out of PlayNetwork. It is true to its roots, the acting is great and the script is brilliant. It is possibly the first movie of its kind in Nigeria, as regards the language of dialogue. Keeping to Play Network fashion, it also teases hints of another production in the works about the Igbo landing. This is a very underrated, but very much appreciated part of the PlayNetwork production company; they always intertwine their productions into what promises to be a cinematic universe much like we see with Marvel.

The movie's dialogue is mainly in Ijaw, Niger Delta pidgin, Russian, Urhobo and Igbo. Prior to watching this movie, I had been certain no other movie would top Afamefuna for me this year, but Blood Vessel ranks right up there. It's a great watch and it highlights familiar themes of exploitation, love, spiritualism, and family.

I am loving the exploration of other languages from Nollywood and I hope that the success of Blood Vessel inspires other Nollywood filmmakers to explore beyond the comfort zone of Wazobia, and also, knowing there are actors willing to play roles, and learn any language in order to execute said role, should be quite the encouraging thought.

Standout scenes (spoilers):

I had about 5 different standout scenes, with Jidekene featuring heavily in them, however, to avoid ruining the movie for some, I'll only pick out two.

1. Boma's shock when Degbe is shot is palpable. He freezes and just stares on in disbelief, and you can fully resonate with his shock in that moment.
2. The scene where Abbey opens their hideout spot and he watches hallucinations of each of his comrades greet him. This scene was incredibly emotional and basically brings us full circle. The choice of music is also emotional, and if you're not guiding your side, you may even shed a tear


Rating: 8/10

Watch or Trowey: Definitely watch.

Have you seen the movie? What are your thoughts and ratings?

PS: Sadly, the guy who played Tekena, Sylvester Ekanem, died a couple of months ago, in unknown circumstances. He was 23-years old and so close to a big break. May his soul Rest In Peace and may his family watch this movie knowing their son left behind a legacy so great despite living a life so short.

I will rate it a 5 (that's being generous)
It reeks something that is unreal...
Klinge a soldier and one of the men caught(the father of the girl) told the soldiers, a boy is the leader of the gang and took the soldiers to his house... who does that?
During the voyage, una pass many countries come reach Cape Verde, dem shoot person throw aboard, bit he swim, survive and found his way to 9ja with an amputated leg...
The white trafficker put you for table to skin you, you ran... he started asking himself for like 3 mins in an enclosed space, "where is he?" Until gas abi na smoke cover he face...
Abeg, make we nor over hype this movie.

Racoon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFVdF1Hk5ZE?si=WMBu2EWhXaSPDmL-


https://www.channelstv.com/2023/12/12/customs-faults-officer-demanding-n5000-bribe-from-passenger-begins-probe/


https:///CustomsNG/status/1734489740752138431?t=JQK8iv9wOn13VdIPAnLQ_Q&s=08

The big question is what next? I bet there will be some officers at the arrival and departure terminals of the international airports collecting bribe as I type.