There’s a scene in Water & Garri where an older woman serves a little girl garri. She uses a tablespoon to scoop this staple from a container into a ceramic plate all the while telling the child an anecdote about how although raw garri may be too harsh and dry, a little water and sugar does all the magic to make it edible and bearable to eat. As she speaks, she demonstrates this by adding water to the scooped cereal to form a mixture, before going on about how life can be difficult, and harsh but also beautiful, and sweet. It is at this point she introduces a little sugar into the mixture. Up to this point, I’d been straddling along, watching with keen interest for when this film would finally start to pay back the attention I’d invested in it so far. At this point, I also realized that I was at the 55-minute mark of an 80-minute film, well into two-thirds of the movie, yet could barely make heads or tail what the narrative was really about.

The child, a young Aisha, may have needed a little sugar to get through that plate of garri from her grandmother, but I knew I’d need a whole lot more than I first thought to get through the rest of this movie.

Water & Garri is many things, at least it tries to be. At its core, it’s the story of Aisha, a fashion designer, played by Tiwa Savage, who returns to Eastside, a fictional location, after 10 years away in the United States. At home, violence has escalated and tensions are high. As she reconnects with loved ones, she must learn to live with her scars and confront the guilt she left behind. Like many movies, Water & Garri stays ambitious and aims to achieve a lot. It caresses important topics —the futility of gangster life; loss and grief; to a home being where the heart is, and the effects of the japa fever on the minds of those who leave and the effect of those left behind, are some of the biggest ones it tries to address. It shows signs of shooting for the sky, but all that charm wears off somewhere before the 10-minute mark when the first wave of confusion hits the audience. I do admire its ambition to reach lofty heights with the power of a visual medium, but it is that same ambition that almost drowns it on the altar of poor execution.

There's more here: https://rinzyreviews.substack.com/

Water & Garri falters in a lot of the great things it tries to do, primarily because of a lack of coherent storytelling, clear directorial vision, lack of chemistry between its two romantic leads, poor character development, and unconvincing performances from a lot of the cast members. The latter is so bad that even actors like Mike Afolarin and Jemima Osunde who are typically known for good performances in anything they’re in look to be fighting for their lives here.

Meji Alabi, known for his string of successful music videos, sits in the director’s chair of Water & Garri for his directorial feature film debut. Alabi experiences some level of struggle here. Many of the stylistic choices that make up the film’s visual elements lend credence to his vast experience shooting short form [music] videos and commercials; you see it in almost every frame, stunning; but a lot of the other things about the vision of a storyboard brought to life to make a feature film, including but not limited to how below par the performances of a lot of the actors are, tell us of his lack of experience, or more accurately, his struggles with bringing this particular project to life.

Water & Garri isn't without its bright spots. I love the songs that made up the soundtrack. They were good and mostly fitting for the scenes they were used. A little digging into how this project came to be helps to explain why the soundtrack was so good, apart from the obvious fact that this movie has one of the biggest Afrobeat music stars on the planet at the helm of affairs. The initial plan was to create visuals for a two-part EP for Tiwa Savage also titled Water & Garri. That simple idea soon morphed into the behemoth that is this 80-minute film when Savage and Meji Alabi, a long-time collaborator of the superstar, started to think bigger. The songs are clearly intentional pieces of work and are easily the biggest highlight of this film project. The second would be Tiwa Savage’s on-screen relationship with Jemima Osunde, who plays her cousin Stephany. I thought their relationship was cute and found myself looking forward to more appearances from the duo, which wasn’t a lot.

There's more here: https://rinzyreviews.substack.com/

Occasionally, signs of a story with potential rears its head amidst the pile of rubbles that is Water & Garri. I see crumbs of the vision they were most likely going for littered throughout its run-time. Like a phoenix, it makes multiple attempts to rise now and then; alas, the rubbles surrounding it prove too difficult to surmount. Pivotal changes begging to be made. This makes me think that maybe in the hands of a better-equipped director and a stronger cast, the weak screenplay and its bland characters may have had a shot at a better life on screen. Throw in a much-needed rewrite that intelligently places setups and payoffs to clear out a lot of the confusion viewers were left with, and you might just be staring at a masterpiece.

Water & Garri needed a lot more sugar than it got. Sadly, like a garri mixture already left to settle in one’s belly, nothing can reach it now. It’s gone.

PS: Water & Garri is better on a second watch. But then, if someone needs to see your movie twice to get the full experience, that’s a sign that something is wrong.

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Rinzy’s Rating: 2/5

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Who caught that Jack-centric episode?

sleemoon:



The series dun dey bore me small small

I agree. It's taking them too long to let us know what the Hell Fire club is planning.

Who's seen the latest episode?

Gmajor:
I wonder why the magneto chick did not opt for giving birth in a cave or a bush somewhere instead of putting everyone at risk.
Also, Andy's mum is kinda dumb. She is putting herself and family in danger over a son that left on his own accord. What make her think that when he finds him that he'll want to come back with her?

Mother's love is clouding her thinking; it's normal.

johnyace:
Season two is finally out,
an awesome season premiere I must say

Yes, it was. I enjoyed it plenty plenty. The show's still a delight to watch.

Those who were waiting for the digital version, hope you've seen the movie now? What's your thought on it?

Watching the season finale requires holding a box of tissue. Tears will flow freely.

koice:


Yeah. DC has "The Justice League," whilst, Marvel has "The Avengers."

Thank you for responding to him.

AnodaIT:

I bin wait 2 months for that Marvels Justice movie. I couldn't waste the camera effects on Dubbed movie

You mean DC's Justice League?

AnodaIT:

I bin wait 2 months for that Marvels Justice movie. I couldn't waste the camera effects on Dubbed movie

Let's see how this goes.

AnodaIT:
I no get money for Cinema and I no wan watch Camrip, so I wait till I get HD BBRip

You go wait about three months be that?

The world has been suffering from 'Black Panther' craze since the movie was released less than two weeks ago. Nigeria definitely wasn't left out of this as we also carry am for head like gala

Have watched the movie? What did you like the most about it? Me, was the aesthetics/ design/ CGI, it was very beautiful.

Who's your favourite character?

#WakandaForever

dhsfbi:
One of ya should tell me what the movie is about.

It's a family story. A heartwarming and emotional story about the most unique set of triplets and their struggles, and the wonderful parents who raised them.

abimbawealth:

YeaYea... Grandpa Randall...

That was a surprise scene. They intend to setup a new mystery for the future: who dies and who doesn't.

abimbawealth:
14 and 15 seen... All I can say is WOW, got me so emotional

Me too. I miss Jack already, even though I know we'll keep seeing him.
Did you catch that trip into the future?

abimbawealth:
It's a lovely show... Downloaded the last episode already, to watch later tonight

Yes, it is. You know two episodes were released this week?

The episode of last Monday finally showed us how Jack Pearson died. It was filled with so much intensity and brimming with sadness. �.
Have you seen it?

Since there's no thread for the hit NBC show 'This Is Us', I decided to start one. If you follow this tearjacker TV show come in let's discuss.

Nicole Mary Kidman, AC (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian actress, producer, and occasional singer.[4] She is the recipient of multiple awards in acting, including an Academy Award, one Primetime Emmy Award, four Golden Globe Awards, and the Silver Bear for Best Actress.

She can be recently seen in HBO's Big LITTLE Lies and 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer'.

Phi001:
Someone said Cecile will not make it on Analise Keating's team...

She can't make it.

konvat:
they tried but i think Cecile's defense was poor. She cud hv defended Barry better.

Very poor. I anticipated DeVoe wife's counter to that lame accusation of cheating, but a trained lawyer didn't have a rebuttal already prepared. Please... Very unbelievable. Where should be disbarred.

The season finale was good. Though I felt some of the dangling plots going into season two were forced, I still enjoyed the episode.

Team Underground or Team Hellfire Club, which are you for?
I love Luna, so I'm...

Two hours season inhale next Monday, who's ready?

After 'The Force Awakens' released last two years, 'Disney' comes with another installment in the 'Star Wars' franchise 'The Last Jedi'... it started showing in cinemas today.

Who's watched it yet? What did you think about the movie?

Let's avoid detailed spoilers, please.

Rotten Tomato gave it 94%

'The Wedding Party 2' is out. Go out and support Nigerian movies at the cinema.

ammyluv2002:
Pls continue. ...it's out already! I'm waiting for your reviews

Once I watch it, I'll review. Thanks for following.

'The Wedding Party 2' arrives cinemas today. You should read this.


I've been trailing reports from the Ebony Life camp concerning 'The Wedding Party 2: Destination Dubai' ever since the sequel was announced. Ever since I watched the trailer, my anticipation has reduced drastically (almost by half).

Why?

Because, like I said in my first article, the trailer makes the movie feel like a recap of the first one.

How would I know this?

It wouldn't take a prophet to see. It's more than obvious... characters with story arcs that 'shouldn't' be continued, like Rosie's obsession with Dozie and Saka's ori-oke of Ekiti were conspicuously placed in the trailer.

I understand that the 'powers that be' want to retain the winning formula, but there's a big difference between retaining the magic and repeating the action.

At the world premiere last Sunday (10/12/17), most of the casts were interviewed. That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Banky W who plays Dozie said, and I rephrase, "everybody is the same, same old same old."

Beverly Naya who plays Rosie said, and I rephrase, "Rosie is still after Dozie even though he's married and expecting twins. Basically, she's still the same."

Frank Donga who plays Harrison said, and I quote, "You asked for it, we've brought it, the same but better. It's for you all to enjoy."

Three cast members basically telling em to dole out my cash to go watch the same movie probably because they increased the amount of familiar faces (like my sweet Patience Ozokwor).

The way this movie fares at the box office will teach me the finally lesson on the way the Nigerian movie market works, if the consumers like a repeat of the winning mojo of another side of the action.

- Rinzy Reviews.

The 10th episode of this show has to be the best yet; too much intrigue.

Feel free to mention that female character you love as your #WCW

Ever since I started wat thing 'How To Get Away With Murder', Annalise Keating skyrocketed to one of my best characters of all time and Viola Davis as one of my most revered. The woman's too perfect for the role.

She's also appeared in 'Fences' and a host of other movies too.

I think most of us will recognize CHARLIZE THERON from the many tasking, villainous roles she plays... 'Mad Max: Fury Road', 'Fate of the Furious', etc.

I open the floor with the well known NINA DOBREV - most famous for her roles as Elena Gilbert, Katherine Pierce, Amara and Tatia, in 'The Vampire Diaries'.