#filsm

[sprenzino]

Straight up into one of my personal favorite films of all time. God damn.

Unfortunately, I don't know as much about movies as I do about music lol. But this thing is phenomenal. Maybe I'm a little biased because I love the historical era this story is based in and because I love medieval themes in general, but man, what Ridley Scott did in this film is spectacular, from the cinematography, to the soundtrack, to the incredibly well-directed battle scenes (most of them; there are a couple that feel too chaotic), to the performances by Edward Norton and Eva Green. While it's true that the film can get a bit unnecessarily long and that there are some rather surreal situations, it's all made up for by a good handful of iconic moments like (SPOILER) the first conversation between Balian and King Baldwin, Baldwin's arrival at Kerak, the battle in the forest where Godfrey is mortally wounded, the final defense of Jerusalem against the Saracens, etc. I don't know, man, this shit is epic in every way, and while I know it's not a masterpiece, it's now definitely on my list of personal favorites.

[kinodiario]

Senso - Luchino Visconti [1954] Italy

[movie--posters]

[mopixies-blog]

Au Revoir les Enfants (1987)

[sportingmovies-blog]

Morgan Freeman falls asleep during interview.  Funny.  Just keep your eyes on him.

By the way this movie looks really good.  I'm looking forward to seeing it.

[africanoexiste]

Nollywood: sexism and misogyny

In my estimation, most Nigerians either love or hate Nollywood, with not too many occupying the middle ground.

In primary school, we used to play clapping games while singing songs about Living in Bondage, considered the first Nollywood blockbuster, and the film that launched the Nigerian cinema industry. However, as the industry grew, and by the time I got to secondary school, it was not uncommon for parents to forbid their children to watch Nigerian movies due to the abundant depictions of rituals or “juju” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juju; witchcraft/black magic). Still Nollywood continued its ascent, but it wasn't until I left Nigeria for university, and I made friends with Kenyan and Botswanan who watched more Nigerian videos than me, that I finally realised how much of an influence Nollywood had (and still has). Perhaps Nollywood is so influential because of its shows of wealth, which many living in poverty aspire to, while simultaneously reflecting the realities and challenges of ordinary people as it imparts one moral message or another.  But while many criticise the industry for its obsession with witchcraft, there’s been a lot less criticism about the way in which women are portrayed and treated in these movies. And when people do discuss the female characters, the focus is largely on how scantily dressed they are, and what a bad influence they are on impressionable young women. For a country that prides itself on being morally righteous and religious, you can't help but wonder what kind of morals most Nollywood movies are trying to communicate. If Nollywood is a reflection of Nigerian society, then what it reveals doesn’t say much about how we view women. Nollywood movies typically feature heavy doses of sexism that even the least feminist Nigerian is likely to pick up on. In movies such as Blackberry Babes, White Hunters and Fazebook Babes, women are depicted as cold and two-timing, always in search of a rich man or sugar daddy from whom they can extract money by using their sexuality (not dissimilar to the Jezebel stereotype, in fact), thus creating a world in which men are seemingly oppressed by women who use them only for financial gain. 

Other movies do their bit in normalising rape culture in Nigeriaand generating sympathy for rapists and abusers. I have personally sat through movies that had “romantic” storylines in which women fell in love with their rapists! Assertive women in Nollywood - women who take matters into their own hands, or who are ambitious and focus on their careers - always get the short end of the stick.  Another Nollywood trope involves women and abortions. Abortion is illegal in Nigeria, and there are definitely Nigerian women who go through risky procedures to have them done and end up scarred for life, but that is certainly not the fate of most. However, in Nollywood movies, any woman who has an abortion either dies or ends up unable to have children. When Nollywood tries to highlight the problem of domestic violence in Nigeria and the challenges faced by abused women, the result usually falls short of the stated aim. For example, in A Private Storm, the filmmakers drew more sympathy for the abusive husband than for his battered wife. Granted, abusers are not all one-dimensional monsters, yet in a movie that was apparently written to raise awareness of the issue, one has to ask why on earth the filmmakers chose to tell the story from the male perspective? I recently received an email from Avaaz - the petition website - inviting me to sign a petition towards ending violence against women in Nollywood movies. Started in Lagos by Bayo Olupohunda, this petition is attracting signatures from all over the world, which suggests more people are becoming aware of the problem. Olupohunda notes that Nollywood “movies are dominated by scenes of misogyny and extreme violence against women”, and concludes that that Nollywood scripts perpetuate violence against women while cementing the longstanding patriarchal narrative.  While we wait for Nollywood to get it right when it comes to women, we can enjoy filmmaker and video artist Zina Saro-Wiwa's “alt-Nollywood” short film, Phyllis, a breath of fresh air.

In Phyllis, the tropes concerning women in Nollywood are subverted. In the short, Zina Saro-Wiwa challenges not only Nollywood's portrayal of women, but also, on a larger scale, the way in which Nigerian women are generally stereotyped. The character Phyllis is a woman who lives alone, making her independent in a country where women who are independent and single still get labelled as “witches” or “ashawo” (prostitute). She is a psychic vampire trying to become human through wigs, Jesus and Nollywood. The supernatural is present in Phyllis - a reference to Nollywood - yet different because the story is told from the perspective of the “witch”. Phyllis is complex in a way that most Nollywood movies do not have the time for, which I suppose isn’t surprising as Nollywood is primarily a money-making industry. I’m not alone in hoping Phyllis provides inspiration for home-based Nollywood filmmakers, though I don’t think Nollywood filmmakers are quite ready to take such a big step. In the meantime, one can hope that Nollywood 2.0 (see also "Nollywood 2.0: how tech is making Africa’s movie industry a global leader") will turn out to be good news for women in Nollywood - and women in Nigeria as a whole - and will do at least a bit more to challenge patriarchy in Nigerian.

by Cosmic Yoruba in http://www.thisisafrica.me/visual-arts/detail/19859/nollywood-sexism-and-misogyny

[armandosblog-blog]

The Mind of a Man in Charge

I have come to known that my favorite philosopher is Dr. Seuss he says the right things sometimes he is positive but just like he says, he thinks, so he knows. 

Sometimes I go day by day looking at a quote from him and try to learn from it. I am into philosophy but I am no expert. I try to give out my own views on life from based on what I know and have learned. 

Dr Seuss is a good one at it and I love his movies. I may be a horror fan and action critic but his movies have always been in my little organ I have on the left side of my peck.

I saw the Lorax the other day and it was a really nice animated film but my all time favorite movie from Dr Seuss is The Grinch. Actually, I love animated films. I say to everyone that I love Horror movies which is true, but just like the color white, I never say the real things to people. Only to those who matter to me.