Rayo Kasali

The Best of Enemies as aptly named is a classic case of "Please look for yourself before concluding." Critics would have you believe it is a poor film by forcing you to look through the "The book, written by a white man, was adapted for the screen and directed by a white man, and therein lies the perspective problem — the very uneven story is weighted heavily toward the journey of the redeemed Klansman in the equation" - their often narrow scope of how a racial story must be told in a politically correct manner. But if you do manage to see this riveting biopic for yourself, you'll quickly realise how inconsequential the sticks critics wield are to the actual core value of the story of the film. This is a deep story of hate seeing some of the plight of his actions and seeing the light of love through true conviction and then having the courage to wield and pay the price for it. Sam Rockwell, Taraji P. Henson and Babou Ceesay were especially wonderful in portraying the stories of C.P. Ellis, Anne and Bill Riddick in their unlikely triumph of light and common sense over the darkness of racism.

Filmmaking has a lot of technicalities and hullabaloos that go with but at the end of the day, great filmmaking is all about telling stories - and telling them in the most compelling way possible. Sista is a simple but profound story which captivates attention and evokes deep emotions, not only because it is a relatable story that hits home, but also because it was very well delivered. Dialogues were great. The pacing was on point. Kehinde Bankole became the character. Everyone delivered so very well, you wouldn't even notice sound issues here and there. That's what a great story does. Superb storytelling by Biodun Stephen again.

A mazy story based on hypnotism would always wield immense intrigue and suspense and Hypnotic carried that possibility. However, you can't help but feel that overall execution is lacking. It was like having a free pass at a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird and then flying it like a Biplane over a cotton field. The replay value is low, except you didn't get the plot on the first watch. The acting and pacing are off. Ben Affleck is Leonardo DiCaprio but he's way better than what we saw in Hypnotic. For a story in the class of Inception, Edge of Tomorrow and maybe Interstellar, the execution is not stellar. What I wouldn't give to have Christopher Nolan tell this story convincingly. It would epic!

Asides from the false portrayal of racial equality, Bridgerton is rich. The plot, acting, casting, suspense, cinematography, sound (loved those string versions of modern pop songs) and above all, the dialogues - often tingling your craving for a pure and infectious conversation.

Not many films get me in sober reflection, questioning our humanity like a film based true story, where the ugliness and darkness of mankind are on full display, almost rendering hope and good helpless. Minamata takes me to "reflectionland" where masterpieces like "Schindler's List," "The Pianist," "12 Years a Slave," "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," and "Erin Brockovich" reigns. As a photographer myself, Minamata gives meaning to the weight of the responsibility to the truth of everyone that wields the camera. I'm shocked and disappointed that a film as powerful and true as Minamata doesn't get the PR it should in a world that feigns attention for environmental causes. Johnny Depp perhaps gave his best performance yet on this film and it is a shame that other unrelated events had to determine the visibility of such a masterful offering. The entire cast and crew deserve a win for telling this story with pure truth. If Depp ever deserved an Oscar, no work deserves it more than Minamata.