₦airaland Forum

pu7pl3:
Good, hopefully Prime will take their cue and leave too.
They should stop investing in a failed state that doesn't even want to get back up.
People that can sub should still sub, or pirate or whatever.

I think Prime Video has technically left too, as they have scaled back investments drastically over the last few months... so tuff to do business here tbh.

As per multiple reports emanating today, Netflix have exited the Nigerian market sighting soaring inflation, losing subscriber base due to a tumble in the exchange rate and the general hellish business conditions here.

And who could blame them? They have made so much investment in Nollywood since entering the market some years ago, and they are yet to even receive a fraction of it back, with dwindling subscriber base. I can't blame my people either, bone crushing poverty is no joke. As much as we would like to portray this faux affluence online, the average Nigerian is really really poor, and entertainment escapism like Netflix, is not even on their agenda, they are just living life from day to day, amid an economic shîtstorm that seems to have no end...

I am curious to know, what all these mean for all the investments and ongoing plans they had for Nollywood, surely they will all go cold now. The government keep deceiving themselves that the economic is getting better with cooked up numbers, but nothing in reality suggest that....This hellhole is were dreams go to die, poverty HQ of the world for a reason and i am not even prophet but i have a feeling that things will get ridiculously worse for a long time, before we even begin to see some remote good changes 😔

Achilles100:
Just finish seeing this movie, actually came here to recommend it. That ending, I don't know what to make of it? Why did she visit ? Surely the DA doesn't make arrests or even come with cops to make arrests, or do they?

They played with a weighty moral grey area that might be to hard to digest, so they just to have that ambiguous ending to suggest they were gonna correct it. Since she was DA now, and she probably was at the door, to remind him, she has more facts now, and the case might be reopened....

pu7pl3:
Please start taking Hoult seriously, he is about to play Lex Luther in the new James Gunn universe.

He did audition for the Superman role itself and didn't get it right? 🤔...Well i seriously can't see him as Lex Luthor, I know his range sadly, but fingers crossed.

Juror #2 (2024).


12 angry men (1957) with more locations....


As a total sucker for "courthouse drama" coupled with the fact that it was an OG Clint Eastwood flick, this immediately piqued my interest...

A panel of Jury is set up to give verdict on a murder case. As deliberations unfold, Juror #2 suddenly realizes he has a personal connection with said case, and any decision might upend the defendants life or quite possibly his own....

Now whilst the story was engaging, It was riddled with morally questionable plot devices that didn't quite sit well with me, but i allowed because of the narrative. A fine exposè on the complicated nature of justice and the ever present legal conundrum that "Good people can do bad things and Bad people can be innocent" in the eyes of the law.

No prizes for guessing who played "Juror #2", Nicholas Hoult gave a true and honest performance, That said, I wouldn’t expect awards buzz for this one. His extensive work in comic roles made it challenging for me to fully embrace him in such a serious part.

I digress, If i didn't major in science during uni and post grad, i probably would have studied law.. The concept of law and order fascinates me, though I still struggle with the idea of jury systems. The notion of random individuals with no legal expertise, and all the emotional biases that come with being human, deciding life-altering cases seems fraught with flaws. Humans can’t be truly objective. Even in a room of three people deciding on a neutral subject, subjectivity creeps in. Now imagine 6 to 12 jurors being swayed by the courtroom theatrics of lawyers. It’s hard to reconcile.

Back to the film: 12 Angry Men (1957) remains the gold standard for courtroom dramas, is quite frankly still the best despite it's spatial limitations, and as someone who considers themselves, a graduate of the "John Grisham school of literary law 🤭, these kind of movies are starting to feel quite predictable to me, but take nothing away from my bias, this was a very fine film and a decent watch.

7/10

pu7pl3:
it's on Netflix, I started it but I've not been able to pass the 2nd episode.
I'll try getting into it again.

I had false starts with it many times too my guy cuz all the time travel was doing my head in 😩, but i picked it up one day, and i never looked back... easily one of the best shows ever made..so well done.

Kaycee7:
I go sha watch this Dark one day. The year or day, I don't know yet

loool...see it, but take your time sha, requires the utmost undivided attention because of all the time warping going on...but it is an excellent watch 👌🏿

Calibrator:
The Matrix Revolutions


Three years of postponed watching because of mixed reviews

Revolutions or Resurrection? Cuz the latter was dope, and a fitting end to the original trilogy.

"The question is not where, but when."......

Seven years ago today, one of the greatest shows ever premiered ✨. I had the chance to do a rewatch this year because it is one of the very few I can sit through a rewatch for, and I was still fascinated by how intricate and compelling it was. A template show on fate, free will, and the brutal, cyclical nature of time.

To put it simply: Hall of Fame TV... blindly good. 💫

I’ve always talked about how a good motion picture score or soundtrack can elevate the overall experience to an entirely new level. I genuinely appreciate when this aspect of filmmaking is done right.

I finally had time to rinse the Arcane S2 OST, and I have to say, "這樣很好 (Isha’s Song)" by Eason Chan is absolutely the one. Thinking back on that scene, I’d argue that the main reason it resonated so deeply with viewers was largely because of this song.

If you don’t vibe with film or show music, you're missing out as this is an all timer, with some real heavy hitters on there. Honestly, I haven’t come across one this good since Ludwig Göransson cooked with "Oppie" last year.

This is definitely going into my rotation for the foreseeable future. Just incredible stuff. 👌🏿

Achilles100:
Silo

The actor that played Solo, did a marvelous job with his eyes. He expressed so much with his eyes in these episodes before the big reveal.

As for The Judge Meadows, I don't know how to explain it, but she speaks in cursive. I initially thought maybe it was cause of her role in Rings of Power, but even in this series.

Come, all these producers should behave this season oh, they shouldn't drag Juliette's return to the last episode of this season (but that's what I anticipate they will do).

The pacing of this show is hell fire 😩, I could just skip all the episodes in the season bar the final 2, and i would be good.

I feel like this could have just been a full length movie, split into a trilogy.

abduleez1:
I don't know if it's the same scene you're talking about but yes, there was a particular jumpscare scene that actually took me out. I was expecting it but the shït overly delivered and made my heart get a little skip. That scene where she went to see the drug dealer. The moment the werey was running out of the room when he went to bring the stash, after he got possessed. That scene was gold.

That was scary as well, but the one i am on about, is the one at the tail end of the flick, when she was fighting her demon self 😩😩, the camera panned away, and returned unexpectedly booom! 😩😅

Do you know that the actor was Jack Nicholson's son??

Yesss, the resemblance is so striking....The scene with him and Naomi Scott arguing in the car was pure gold, the camera angles were so great...proper cinema...

He even gave a shot reminiscent of one his dad's from "The Shining" 👌🏿

joseph1832:
Have you seen Laura Hasn't Slept?

The short film that served as the origin story? Yesss....twas good as well.

blingxx:
The plot twist at the end give good source material for a third movie ..the smile demon is hard to kill

Yeah, this could go on for quite a number of films, and i am here for them all 🤭

abduleez1:
Top tier film. You just reminded me to drop my review. Watched it few days ago. Easily one of the best of the year. Naomi Scott gave an Oscar worthy performance. I don't think I've seen her in anything before this film, but she's brilliant.
I will easily carry the nomination shouts people are giving Demi Moore and give it to her. She was that impressive.

Brooooo....Naomi Scott totally owned the role 😩😩, like wtf?.... deserves every accolades she is getting and more.... terrific performance!

The film is itself is just top shelf material like you alluded, i have never seen a sequel that is so much better than the preceding part in a like this one, in a long while. it's one of the very best out this year...There is a particular jump scare that nearly took me out maann, literally came out of nowhere 😩😩😅....this was a proper popcorn horror flick..so so good.

Smile 2 (2024)

Now, I want a "Smile Cinematic Universe".

The first installment was a surprisingly brilliant horror spectacle, and this second part took all the good elements of the original and amplified them x100. Holy sh*t!

There’s a small "bridge" at the beginning to connect it to the first movie, but from that point onward, it becomes its own film. A pop star, with all the expected nuances...substance abuse, mental health in shambles takes over from the therapist in the original and enters a daring game of cat and mouse with the Smile entity.

The best part about the film is that it doesn’t try to explain where the Smile entity came from or how to defeat it, like most typical horror movies. Instead, it dives headfirst into chaos, delivering scintillating jump scares and thoroughly messing with your sense of reality, constantly blurring the lines between what’s real and what’s not.

And Naomi Scott! What the actual hell? Where did she pull that all-timer performance from? I seriously didn’t think she had it in her. It’s just top-class acting.

There’s a reason why the horror genre has been the standout in cinema this year, and Smile 2 epitomizes that fact. I wouldn’t mind if they made this every few years with a fresh cast and setting.

I’ll definitely be watching this again, though preferably not in a dark room like I did last night 😭.

An easy, easy recommendation for anyone who loves horror movies that make your heart leap.

8/10

Emilia Pérez (2024)


Zoe Saldaña's back must hurt from carrying this from start to finish....



I went into this completely oblivious to the fact that it was a musical, so imagine my shock when they started singing at intervals! But surprisingly, it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. The musical numbers were actually good.

That said, the movie itself is a mess, narratively and thematically dead by the end. A ruthless cartel boss feels he’s in the wrong body and employs the help of a lawyer to help him transition. After getting her new skin, she decides to be a good person, leaving her dark past behind. We’re supposed to forgive her atrocities because she transitioned. She even sets up an NGO to find missing people, people she likely had a hand in making disappear in the first place, because being “good” suits her new persona better.

On one hand, it’s an ambitious project, even a fresh idea in some ways, and an important story to tell. But it needed to be told much better than this. The movie ultimately lost me in the third act, trying to regain traction at the end with a clichéd Mexican cartel standoff that comes out of nowhere. In the end, the movie offers nothing of note to either the alphabet community or fans of Mexican cartel dramas.


Zoe Saldaña is blameless in all this. Her performance was flawless, but she was let down by a clunky script. If I were the studio, I’d push for her as the lead from the flick for award committees. I can see why the film might appeal to some, especially movie awards jurors, because it has this faux ethos that makes it seem like much more than it actually is. But it didn’t fool me. For a film rooted in identity, it lacked any real sense of it. Zero substance.

My biggest takeaway was the musical numbers and I detest musicals. So that says a lot.


4/10

ProverbBaelish:
exactly, almost every successful Hollywood actors think too highly of themselves - they're to stupid to realise they dont have the same influence they once had now in 2024 - no one actually gives a fck abt their opinion anymore. For example this 2024 US election where all the celebrities where bending their ass for Kamala Harris even all the Avengers casts - they later realised people were less likely to vote for her because of them. they all should just shut tf up and do their jobs

Palehair:
Omo, his reasoning is crazy especially in this era where the allure of the moviestar is gone which I think is a great thing, who cares about Josh Brolin in this generation? Lol, these people always act as if they are all and all, as if the earth won't move when he quits acting. Infact I hope Jacques wins for Emilia Perez, an award he should have won for "Rust and bone" which he wasn't even nominated for, let me see him follow through with his word which they rarely do afterall how many celebs said they were leaving the states if Trump wins? weeks after he's won, they are still there with them substituting the States for Twitter

Likeee...Since Trump won these movie stars and celebrities have been throwing self entitled rhetorics like petulant children, and they fail to realise the general populace doesn't give a single fk, A Trump Presidency favors the Upper Class if for anything, which they belong.

I have seen a handful of these brats, saying they are leaving the states for 4 years 😂, like what does that even solve??. Some others are saying they are leaving twitter, the one that irked me more, was Gabriella Union making a note saying she was leaving twitter, like wtf? I don't be going on twitter,to see fking Gabriella Union of all people tweets, like i hardly even follow movie stars and celebrities in general on socials because I live in a different reality from them. My own is that, if you are leaving twitter or X, just leave, don't give any notice, nobody cares jeezz...

Even Kamala that is directly involved isn't taking it this hard...These guys seriously needs to stfu and hold their L for the next 4 years.

abduleez1:
Honestly this needs to happen. So far this year I've seen no film or director at least more deserving of the Best Director award other than Dennis.

lol These actors and celebrities in general over estimate their influence sometimes 🤣🤣....like if he doesn't win, and he retires, what does that change?....he will be the only one out of a job....


We have already settled on this forum, how Oscar awards are handed out, especially any of the Big 5....they have a certain pattern, and they don't really care for over ambitious scifi flicks, i saw only 5 minutes of Emilia Pérez and i knew even the director of that will get best director, ahead of Denis Villeneuve, and i didn't even need to complete the movie....the flick had that Oscar bait spice..

Interstellar was the touted as one of biggest scifi project, post 2010, and a sure Oscar magnet, only for Christopher Nolan to lose to Alfonso Cuarón for best director, with a movie where he had just 2 cast, and 50% sound on 😩.


See even Oppie coming out trumps at the Oscars this year, was cuz it was unbelievably too good to ignore, and not many movie with said Oscar spice on offering last year.....

So Dune II will do well in the artistic and VFX awards, but any of the big 5, will be a tough ask...

izombie:
i was so hesitant to watch tbbt because i like friends so much but then i kept hearing of it so i decided to watch it. I have seen the whole seasons like 4 times already and i am in season 9 at the moment. Same goes with brooklyn 99.
My best comedy series so far are friends, tbbt, two and a half men and of course brookly nine nine.

Brooklyn 99 una... 😩.....I saw the first 5 episodes of S1, and I just concluded it was not for me... can't place my hand on it, but something about it wasn't clicking.

😩😅😅

abduleez1:
This guy's ability to join top films and franchises, indie cult classics, and then top directors needs to be studied.

His agent is doing a stellar job.
An ultimate comeback of all time quality. From Sparkly Vampire to Vengeance Batman and to the biggest director in the game presently. Man.....get you an agent this good in your life!! 👌🏽😎

If he actually cared about the headlights, he could have been on blockbusters upon blockbusters because he is an exceptionally talented actor.


But his career trajectory is the funniest, basically started at the "Top" starring as Edward Cullen and a major support role in one of the most profitable franchises ever. So his net worth is near 100M greens based off the aforementioned, so money isn't really an issue for him, so he felt the need to "step down" for artistic growth, hence more stint with indie projects, except an exceptional blockbuster script comes his way, and i don't think there are many actors currently who would say no to OG Christopher Nolan 👌🏿

Achilles100:
Oh BTW, Bianca's yansh is too big to be a field officer. It's freaking distracting.

Generational Bunda ngl 👀👀😩

GloriousGbola:
To be fair it happens to white people too - it happened to mel gibson. man was on ice for like 10 years plus

there are a mix of variables and it is not clear. chris brown beat rihanna and was cancelled for like 5 years. but dr dre beat up dee barnes and got away with it. mark wahlberg literally blinded a guy in his youth and escaped. kramer of seinfield went on a racist tirade and got cancelled. will smith slapped chris rock on live tv and seems to have gotten away with it.

Take a pen and take a stat of these instances and i am near certain, people of color would be more at the end of this stick of cancel culture, and it doesn't even need to be a major infraction before they come for the person...

They announced Kevin Hart as the host of the Oscars, and cancel mob unearthed an harmless tweet, he made years ago, twisted it out of context, till he had to quit the gigg, which could have been the biggest of his career, lost over a simple tweet. Donald Trump has multiple court cases, tweeted that red necks should match on the capitol to retrieve their stolen mandate, and yet, he is a 2 time president 😩😩

abduleez1:
The way Jonathan Majors career went with a puff is still a shocker to me. And yes, just like you've speculated, it's linked to his skin colour.
Ain't no way things remain the same if he was white.

Look at Gina Carano. Person wey no even get talent sef dem still get people wey dey support am. Mel Gibson of today still has support and people defending him. Even Celebs.

And that's why I like Kanye's no frills nonchalant attitude. See the way Adidas take sharply blacklist am.... funny enough he's the person with the biggest contribution to the brand. And them no reason am reach few days sef before dem take action. That action messed up their financials that year.

As for the Black Race ever getting sense..... I seriously doubt that. Not in my lifetime sef cos mugus overpopulate our community and can't see the bigger picture. Division will surely continue. Black people have this myopic mindset to things and always live for the now. Put a Black man in a place of power and the next thing he's thinking of is how to oppress others or revenge against those who have wronged him in the past.
Look no further than Barack Obama.

Bruh, sometimes I wish I was Indian. If God wan put me for third world country at least make he put me for serious people that knows their history and working to rewrite it.
India in the next two decades will be untouchable just like Israel and only have China to contend with.
Look at many CEOs of top Fortune 500 companies, you see Indians placing themselves in spheres of power. They're discreetly following the Jewish template. When they start creating and managing Hedge Funds, Assets Management that's when the full world control kicks off.

Bruhhh.... Blacks dey even discriminate against other blacks....like Black Americans say na dem be the original blacks, Blacks in S.A no wan take eye see Nigerians, say we dey take their work and flex their women 😩😩.

See we are never making it out of the hood 😮‍💨

JayVicky:
Is it just a "black" thing though? JK Rowland was able to come back not just because of her skin color but because she holds far more influence than Jonathan Majors. Influence that was built through years of hard work and pure talent.
While I do agree with your point about blacks being held to different standards than whites sometimes, I just think it's a little bit unfair and simplistic to say that it's just because of their races.
Also, you have to consider the nature of the controversy. JK Rowling got into trouble due to her ideological stance while Jonathan Majors faced criminal allegations. One is easier to bounce back from than the other.

I know it seems superficial to whittle it down to just "race", but here is a clear context...

Jonathan Majors was casted as a main villain in our of the most successful franchises in cinema history, like they were going to make movies and series based off his character, and if you don't think, and you don't think talent got him there?

I am not saying, he's on the scale of J.K. Rowling, but his career trajectory was the brightest that it could have been, and to lose it over a misdemeanour charge in the 3rd degree??, there is no way the outcome isn't different if he was white...no way.

oyaskii:
Lmaoo....HBO aren't trying to lose a generational bag like this, just because J.K Rowling is strongly opointed 😩🫣😂.

Pretty sure Harry Potter is up there among the most bankable IPs this side of the century and as such she can do and say whatever the F she wants with little or no blow back...

The mob can try, but you can't cancel a generational talent like this, most especially when said talent is caucasian....😮‍💨

RE:

Thinking about this again and I can't help but think her being white had a major hand

I remember how Jonathan Majors' career was headed for the very top after Lovecraft Country, like he was supposed to herald an era of young black leads, to replace Denzel, Cheadle and the likes, and how it all crash landed after those allegations, that was basically reduce to a misdemeanour in the 3rd degree, and yet his career is basically like precum, a total full stop...and no important black figure has spoken out in support, for fear of been blacklisted..... sickening.

I think it would have been a far different outcome, if he was from Caucasus Mountains. I didn't use to believe it before, but as a black man, you will need to work x4 than people of other races, and pray you don't trip, cuz there is no coming back after that....talent is not just enough as a black person.

And Black people sef, we are so disunited, no other races is taking us seriously, the way we are. Just look at how the Jews people after the Holocaust, decided to be united across the world and occupy the upper echelons of world power, and since then, nobody messes with them.... Israel is damn near commiting a genocide and a systemic ethnic cleansing, and the whole western world is turning a blind eye.... just a food for thought....

Sorry for the political digress....but we as black have to do better, we have to start pulling our weight in this world....😞

GloriousGbola:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx3wDTzqDTs


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=535IRwkPpPA


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygZ10y_R1qQ


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KbRA2RjhgQ&t=53s

go for the real certified nerd show

They don't make them like this anymore, do they?

I grabbed the entire seasonal pack of this, awhile back, so i will eventually get to it, once my plate is empty 😬😅.

and sitcoms and comedy shows, are easy peasy binges, 21minutes tops per episode, no over complicated plot lines... way way easy to sit through.

[quote author=JayVicky post=132968134][/quote]Howard Joel Wolowitz 😅....His character is more grounded and not pretentious...from what i have seen thus far...

Lmaoo....HBO aren't trying to lose a generational bag like this, just because J.K Rowling is strongly opointed 😩🫣😂.

Pretty sure Harry Potter is up there among the most bankable IPs this side of the century and as such she can do and say whatever the F she wants with little or no blow back...

The mob can try, but you can't cancel a generational talent like this, most especially when said talent is caucasian....😮‍💨

The Big Bang Theory - S2 (08 - 09)

It's starting to hit that sweet spot...


While still mulling over whether to watch The Office (US) final season (because I just can't bear to see it end 😭), I decided to hop back onto this.

My main issue with Season 1 was that the jokes and good episodes weren't consistent, making it feel like a bit of a chore to get through. However, it seems they've solved that problem in Season 2. The characters feel fully developed now, and all the humor and charm that make up a good sitcom are firmly in place.

Perhaps I was too hasty in judging Season 1. Sitcoms rarely have a strong start, Season 1 is usually a free hit, where the writers establish the base for their characters. It's often in Season 2 that things really kick off. I mean, imagine if I had abandoned Parks and Recreation after that disastrous Season 1? The show became unrecognizable from Season 2 onward, with a sharp increase in quality, eventually becoming one of my favorite sitcoms ever.

So, I'm sticking with this atm as it has all the potential to be an all-timer for me. On to Season 3! 🌱

7/10

VerifiedStalin:
As a body horror enthusiast, I can certainly say that 'The Substance' is a top ten contender for 2024. Objectively, it isn't for everyone. It will not get an Oscar recognition due to its graphic nature and niche classification, but it is the type of film that a cinefile will always respect for the script's sheer chutzpah. The writers clearly enjoyed putting everything together.

I'm not going to make pretentious statements like it's incredibly profound or very meaningful... I don't care about any of it; what I do appreciate is the disgustingly brilliant graphic sequences and the mesmerising lunacy of the third act.

We need more films like this.

First off, where the hell have you been maaan? 😩


Secondly, was it a good film? objectively to me, yes, but it is one of those arthouse films i just see and keep shut about it and absolutely would not recommend it to just about anybody, reason being that, it requires a very rare taste to enjoy....

The message in the film is a very important one, and should have taken more prominence than the grotesque fest that clouded the third act of the film.

So in essence, this holds appreciable replay value for those that are fan of body horror, and there aren't many of those, are they?.