2014 NOLLYWOOD MOVIES YOU NEED TO SEE

1. 30 Days In Atlanta: The Movie Produced by A-list comedian, Ayo Makun, popularly called AY has been announced as Nollywood’s Highest Grossing Cinema Movie of all time, after it amazingly grossed N76million in 7 weeks of showing on cinema screens across Nigeria. A romantic comedy film directed by Robert Peters, the film was shot on location in Lagos and Atlanta. It is probably one of the best movies Nollywood has ever made. The movie was star studded with the appearance of AY, veterans Richard Mofe-Damijo and Rachel Oniga, Ramsey Noah, actor turned politician; Desmond Elliot, Omoni Oboli, Ghana’s duo of Majid Michel and Juliet Ibrahim, Mercy Johnson, Ada Ameh, Yemi Blaq, Fashion icon, Kesse Jabari and American actresses; Lynn Whitfield, Vivica Fox and Karlie Redd, with brief appearances by Cool FM’s On-Air-Personality and Hip-hop artiste, Solid Star.

2. A Place In The Stars: The movie is a crime thriller written by Ita Hozaife and J.K. Amalou, co-produced and directed by Steve Gukas. The film was inspired by the tenure of Late Professor Dora Akunyili as the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Akunyili was reputed for reducing to the barest minimum the activities of fake drugs merchants in Nigeria. It is one of the most talked about feature films, that is a given considering the fact that it took 6 years to be produced. A Place in the Stars features some of the best actors in Nigeria; the likes of award winning actor, Segun Arinze, also starring in the movie are Gideon Eche-Okeke, Dejumo Lewis, Yemi Blaq, Femi Branch, Matilda Obaseki, Julian Mcdowell, Armajit Deu and Amaka Mgbor.

3. October 1st: A reflection of the Nigerian movie scene would be incomplete without mentioning this masterpiece. Written by Tunde Babalola and produced/directed by ace actor and director, Kunle Afolayan, the film is set in Colonial Nigeria and narrates the story of Danladi Waziri (Sadiq Daba), a police officer from Northern Nigeria who is posted to a remote town in Western Nigeria to investigate the frequent female murder cases in the community. Waziri is tasked with solving the mystery before the Nigerian flag is raised on October 1, Nigeria’s Independence Day. One of the most talked about films of 2014, October 1st boasts a stellar cast including: Sadiq Daba, Bimbo Manuel, Kanayo O. Kanayo, Kunle Afolayan, Deola Sagoe and Femi Adebayo.

4. Invasion 1897: This epic movie tells the tale of the punitive expedition which ravaged the ancient Benin empire in 1897. The movie is based on the invasion of the Benin Kingdom by the British Empire in 1897 and looting the priceless ancient artifacts of the Benin kingdom, including the famous commemorative head and pendant of ivory mask representing Queen Idia (from court of Benin, 16th century) who was the mother of Esigie, the Oba of Benin who ruled from 1504 to 1550. Directed and produced by Nollywood veteran, Lancelot Imasuen, Invasion has garnered rave reviews not just in Nigeria, but across the continent and the rest of the world.

IMDB'S 25 HOTEST ACTRESSES OF 2015

1.

Daniella Alonso

Actress, Wrong Turn 2: Dead End

Daniella Alonso was born in New York City to a large Puerto Rican family, and raised by an all-women household. At age fifteen, she was discovered by the Ford Modeling Agency, and began booking jobs for teen magazines like Seventeen, YM, and Teen, which led to her booking commercials for Clairol, Cover Girl...

2.

Kaitlyn Leeb

Actress, Total Recall

Kaitlyn is an actor for film and television with a degree from York University in Psychology. Kaitlyn first started out in the industry as a print model in ad campaigns and billboards for companies such as Virgin Mobile, Dentyne Ice, FUZE fruit drinks, and RBC for the 2010 TIFF before starting her career as an actress.

3.

Larissa S. Emanuele

Actress, Jack Reacher

4.

Olivia Wilde

Actress, Rush

Olivia Wilde was born Olivia Jane Cockburn in New York City, to journalists Leslie Cockburn (née Leslie Corkill Redlich) andAndrew Cockburn. Her father is from an upper-class British family, and her mother, who is American-born, has English, German, Irish and Manx ancestry. Olivia was raised in Washington...

5.

Mila Kunis

Actress, Black Swan

The talented Milena "Mila" Markovna Kunis was born to a Jewish family in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, USSR (now independent Ukraine). Her mother, Elvira, is a physics teacher, her father, Mark Kunis, is a mechanical engineer, and she has an older brother named Michael. After attending one semester of college between gigs...

6.

Megan Fox

Actress, Transformers

Megan Denise Fox was born in Rockwood, Tennessee, to Gloria Darlene (Cisson) and Franklin Thomas Fox, a parole officer. Megan began her training in drama and dance at age 5 and, at age 10, moved to St. Petersburg, Florida where she continued her training and finished school. Megan began acting and modeling...

7.

Caroline de Souza Correa

Actress, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

8.

Rachel Oyama

Actress, Listen Up Philip

9.

Jasmine Waltz

Actress, Poker Run

Jasmine Lynne Waltz was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. An only child, she survived her father's suicide and her mother's subsequent absence, only to face a future of uncertainty. She lived in and out of group homes and shelters, until events landed her in an all girl's maximum security school at the young age of 16...

10.

Luisa D'Oliveira

Actress, 50/50

11.

Genesis Rodriguez

Actress, Big Hero 6

Genesis Rodriguez was born in Miami, Florida. She is the daughter of José Luis Rodríguez 'El Puma', the famous Venezuelan singer and actor, and Carolina Perez, a Cuban model. She has two half-sisters. She was educated at the Carrolton School of the Sacred Heart in Miami. From a child, Rodriguez knew she wanted to act and attended summer classes at the renowned Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute...

12.

Nina Dobrev

Actress, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Nina Constantinova Dobreva was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. She moved to Canada at the age of two and has lived in Toronto, Ontario ever since. From a very young age, she showed great enthusiasm and talent for the arts: Dance, Gymnastics, Theatre, Music, Visual arts, and Acting! Modeling jobs led to commercials...

13.

Carlie Casey

Actress, The Confession

14.

Raquel Alessi

Actress, Ghost Rider

15.

Minka Kelly

Actress, (500) Days of Summer

Minka Kelly was born in Los Angeles, California and she is the only child of former Aerosmith guitarist, Rick Dufay, and Maureen Kelly, an exotic dancer and single mother who often moved with her daughter to different communities before settling in Albuquerque, New Mexico, by the time Minka was in junior high school...

16.

Caitlin Stasey

Actress, Tomorrow, When the War Began

Caitlin Jean Stasey is an Australian actress who is well known for her roles as Francesca Thomas in The Sleepover Club, Rachel Kinski in Neighbours and Ellie Linton in the film adaptation of John Marsden's best seller 'Tomorrow When the War Began' Caitlin is from Victoria, Australia, She began taking an interest in acting/performing when she was about six years of age...

17.

Mia Serafino

Actress, Saving Mr. Banks

18.

Kelly Brook

Actress, Piranha 3D

19.

Rosalie McIntire

Actress, Wonderland

20.

Jessica Biel

Actress, The Illusionist

Jessica Biel, with her good looks and talent, has become one of Hollywood's most sought-out actresses. She was born in Ely, Minnesota, to Kimberly (Conroe) and Jonathan Edward Biel, who is a business consultant and GM worker. Her ancestry includes Hungarian Jewish (from her paternal great-grandfather, the origin of her surname), Danish, English, German, and Swiss-German...

21.

Serah D'Laine

Actress, American Pie 2

Born in Santa Barbara on October 23, 1982, Sarah Laine and her family were on the move, living in Western Europe. When they returned to the States, they bought a house in Michigan, where they stayed put. When she entered middle school, she took classes in drama and modeling, which prepared her for her future career...

22.

Helena Mattsson

Actress, Seven Psychopaths

Helena Mattsson was born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden, with her two sisters. In her early teens she was discovered by one of the biggest modeling agencies in Sweden. After graduating from her Performing Arts High School in Stockholm, Helena traveled to London and New York to continue to study acting...

23.

Anabelle Acosta

Actress, Freelancers

Anabelle Acosta is an American film and television actress. She was born in Havana, Cuba to Cuban-American parents and has a younger brother named Jason Acosta. Anabelle is a Meisner and Method trained and Juilliard School alumni. Her extensive training also includes dance and stage. She started her...

24.

Freida Pinto

Actress, Slumdog Millionaire

Freida Selena Pinto was born in Bombai (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India, to Sylvia, a school principal, and Frederick Pinto, a senior bank branch manager. She is from a Mangalorean family. Pinto traversed the modeling circuit in Mumbai [represented by Elite Model Management India] for two years before...

25.

Sarah Butler

Actress, I Spit on Your Grave

A native of Puyallup, Washington, Butler was interested in the arts while growing up. She sang in choirs, entered singing competitions, and performed in high school and community theatre. She relocated to Los Angeles to study theatre at the University of Southern California, and then played Belle, the princess in Beauty and the Beast...

ONE OF THOSE DAYS

It was another hunger themed Saturday at school; I had missed the previous evening dinner and the morning dinning too. You see, the thing about boarding school is that there’s no parent to check up on you and your state of health. And this was another one of those broke periods when my provisions had reached their elastic limits.

As I sat on my bed, clenching my growling belly, I couldn’t help but check the time every one second. I tried to sleep but I found out that a food deprived tummy can get angry too. Well, the only consolation I had was that I wasn’t alone in this predicament. Just opposite my bunk bed was my friend Cynthia, also suffering the same predicament. It was only 11:00am, and afternoon dinning wasn’t until 2:00pm. We tried our ‘cassava cereal without floating nuts (no floating nuts)’ but it only made for appetizers, the hunger only increased, while our bellies waited for the main course.

The school was almost empty because we were meant to be on mid-term break, some of us in final year decided to stay back, so there were no activities to keep my mind busy at that moment.

At 12.00pm with no dinning bells and no positive signal coming from the dining area… my friend, Cynthia and I hatched a plan… we decided to leave school to a bukka to buy food… we had mofty (contrabands of course!), plus it was weekend, people usually came in and out of school because our school was a shorter pathway, in through the front gate and out, through the back gate.    

On our way out, we looked at the mirror in horror! We still looked like bloody secondary school girls! What with our corn rows and all. So we went back to loosen them and pack our hair back… we decided to use the front gate because security at the time was tighter at the back gate… students tended to us the back gate to skip classes.

With our hearts almost beating out of our chests, we passed through the front gate. We could feel the gateman’s hard penetrating stare on our backs… at a safe distance from the front gate we begun jumping like little puppies and laughing our butts out.

Well, we were out of the school gate but our mission and destination was closer to the back gate, so we had a hell of a trek on our hands, however not long after our little victory dance, Cynthia’s sandals got cut. We had to find a shoe maker and we had to find one fast, the directions we got were all contradicting.

‘Oh, just a little more further down, then take the first turning by your right and second turning by your left’, said a woman carrying a little baby girl who was wailing with no drop of tear on her cheek.

And then another direction ‘oh no no, not first turning by your right, its first turning by your left and second turning by your right!’, by another young boy who looked like he had seen far too much for his own good.

After much ‘merry go round’, we finally found the shoe maker (not the bukka). And got her sandals fixed, now we had to find our way out of the maze to the bukka. Another, thirty minutes, and we were out of the maze, staring at the CLOSED bukka!

Sadly, we went back to school through the back gate which was closer, it was already twenty five minutes past two! Because of hunger, we had loosened our hair, won our contraband mofty, risked suspension to go on a futile journey and missed dinning in the process, we carried our sad little selves back to the our hostels but as we walked back we back we heard Amina, call out our names, asking us if we weren’t going for dinning. At that moment, we turned and looked at the dinning, it was still opened! We quickly ran to our rooms, changed into our day wears and ran back to the dinning and just as one of the cooks was closing the door, we entered the dinning and the doors were shut behind us! Lucky us! We made dinning this time! 

FUNNY CHRISTMAS TALES

Here are a few short funny Christmas stories to keep you relaxed this Christmas.

The Tale of the Traditional Christmas Pudding

Martha decided to move with the times and try the delights of microwave cooking.  Whereupon, her devoted husband Archie went out and bought her a brand new top-of-the range Sharp Microwave oven.

Christmas approached and Martha got out her Christmas pudding recipe and assembled the ingredients.  She proceeded along traditional lines and even got the each member of the family to stir the mixture 'for luck'. When Martha consulted the microwave's manual for the cooking time, she could not believe that ten minutes would be enough for a traditional Christmas pudding.  Consequently she decided to substitute her normal cooking time of 50 minutes.

As Martha was in the lounge watching her favourite T.V. programme she did not see the pudding spitting in the microwave oven, nor did she hear the mini-explosions.  When she finally extracted the pudding from the microwave after nearly an hour of cooking on 'High', it smelt of burnt sugar and looked like a ball of tar.  Naturally, the Christmas pudding was a disaster, so much so, that Martha could not even prod it with a fork.  In fact the black ball stuck to the bottom of the bowl and Archie had to get a screwdriver to prize it from its base.

In a fit of pique, Martha threw the shrivelled Christmas pudding to Togo her St Bernard puppy.  After a few days she could see the funny side, and Togo loved his new indestructible toy, which amused him until the next Christmas.

Amusing Christmas Turkey Story

Sarah new young bride calls her mother in tears. She sobs, 'Richard doesn't appreciate what I do for him.'

'Now, now,' her mother comforted, 'I am sure it was all just a misunderstanding.'

'No, mother, you don't understand. I bought a frozen turkey roll and he yelled and screamed at me about the price.'

'Well, the nerve of that lousy cheapskate,' says her mum.  'Those turkey rolls are only a few dollars.'

'No, mother it wasn't the price of the turkey.  It was the aeroplane ticket.'  "Aeroplane ticket...." What did you need an airplane ticket for?'

'Well mother, when I went to fix it, I looked at the directions on the package and it said: "Prepare from a frozen state," so I flew to Alaska.'

Christmas Queue Folly

Just before Christmas I was shopping at a toy fayre in Worcester

I glanced to my left and caught sight of a queue at the doll counter; they were waiting for the shelves to be restocked with Mattel dolls.  As I looked I realised that in the queue was a good friend of mine.  Knowing Lennie well I was sure that he had no daughters nor did he have any nieces so I wondered why he should want to buy a doll at Christmas time'

'Hey, Lennie,' I cried, 'I hadn't realised you collected dolls.'
'I don't,' he replied laughing'

'Really,' I queried, 'then you must be buying a Christmas present then?'
'No, not at all, my friend,' responded Lennie, his eyes twinkling merrily'

'If you don't mind my asking then Lennie,' I said, 'Why exactly are you standing in this particular queue?'

'Oh that,' he giggled. 'It's like this, my mate,' he mused, 'I've never been able to resist a Barbie queue.'

Short Funny Xmas Story

Just before Xmas, an honest politician, a generous lawyer and Santa Claus all got into the lift (elevator) at the Ritz Hotel in London.  As the lift travelled from the 5th floor down to the ground level, one-by-one they noticed a £50 note lying on the lift's floor.

Which one picked up the £50 note, and handed it in at reception?

Santa of course, the other two don't actually exist!

Footnote: This yarn was sent in by John Bains:
Please send us your short funny Christmas stories

The Christmas Hold-up Tale

It was Christmas Eve; the department store manager was in his office just paying off Father Christmas.   All of a sudden a teenager and ordered the manager to hand-over the not inconsiderable takings. 

The manager was wondering what to do, so the teenager attempted to fire his gun in order to make the manager's mind, and open the till and hand over the money.  Although the robber pulled the trigger, nothing happened, so unbelievably, he peered down the barrel and then fired again.

This time it worked.

A Nice Drink - Funny Story at Christmas

Two days before Christmas Jimmy set-off in his minibus to collect a batch of open prison inmates.  His mission, as usual, was to take them for their radiation treatment at a nearby hospital.  Since it was Christmas, one of the 12 offered to buy Jimmy a drink.  So they stopped off at the Rose and Crown pub, and all had a nice drink.  On the way out Jimmy detoured to the gents, when he came out of the loo, all the prisoners had disappeared.  He looked in all the pub's bars, drove around for half an hour, no sign of the inmates.  They had all made their escape.

What could Jimmy do?  Thinking quickly, he braked at a particularly long bus queue, and told the waiting people that he was a relief bus.  Where-upon he picked up the first 12 and drove them to the open prison.  He then radioed ahead to the warders giving a 'Code Yellow' message.  This was a pre-arranged signal that some of the prisoners were playing up.  Jimmy unloaded his passengers, he then beat a hasty retreat.  Amazingly, his trickery wasn't discovered until the New Year. 

for more, click the link below http://www.guy-sports.com/humor/christmas/christmas_stories_funny.htm#Short_Funny_Xmas_Story 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Wishing you, my lovely readers and your lovely family a very Merry Christmas and may all your dreams come true!!! I'm also grateful for all your support and encouragements even when i'm MIA. thank you all so much!!! 

VERSE TO THE GIRL CHILD BY BANKY W

What frightens the extremists and really gives them the spooks?

There’s nothing scarier to them than a girl with a book

Not a soldier, or a bomb, or a gun, or a landmine

There’s nothing more dangerous than her enlightened mind

So they kidnap, and enslave, and try to stand in her way

And they rape, and oppress and try to make her afraid

Because they know, that for sure, she’ll grow up one day

And when that day comes, she’ll be strong enough to bring change

So respect to the girl child, you’ve got grown men scared of you

Salute to our future Chimamanda’s, and our Tiwa Savage’s too

To our future Oprah Winfrey’s and our Maya Angelou’s

Because we know you will grow, and your success is inevitable

They can try to fight it, and they can try to deny

They can kidnap at night, and they can try to terrorise

But may nothing and noon ever succeed in snuffing out your light

And that little light of yours, will one day shine bright

They say the truth will set you free, well this is the gospel truth

There’s nothing more powerful than a girl with a book

       By Banky W 

Inspired by a quote from UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon

US BOX OFFICE THIS WEEKEND

According to box office mojo, below is the US Box Office line up for this Easter weekend. Happy Easter people!

TW LW          Title         Studio  Weekendgross  change Theatrecount   Average   Totalgross Budget Week

1	1	Captain America: The Winter Soldier	BV	$26,612,000	-35.5%	3,825	-113	$6,957	$201,526,000	$170	3
2	2	Rio 2	Fox	$22,500,000	-42.8%	3,975	+27	$5,660	$75,363,000	$103	2
3	N	Heaven is for Real	TriS	$21,500,000	-	2,417	-	$8,895	$28,500,000	$12	1
4	N	Transcendence	WB	$11,150,000	-	3,455	-	$3,227	$11,150,000	$100	1
5	N	A Haunted House 2	ORF	$9,100,000	-	2,310	-	$3,939	$9,100,000	$4	1
6	4	Draft Day	LG/S	$5,900,000	-39.7%	2,781	-	$2,122	$19,548,000	-	2
7	6	Divergent	LG/S	$5,750,000	-22.1%	2,486	-624	$2,313	$133,915,000	$85	5
8	3	Oculus	Rela.	$5,202,000	-56.7%	2,648	-	$1,965	$21,191,000	$5	2
9	5	Noah	Par.	$5,000,000	-33.8%	2,537	-745	$1,971	$93,274,000	$125	4
10	7	God's Not Dead	Free	$4,801,000	-13.3%	1,796	-64	$2,673	$48,327,000	$2	5
11	N	Bears	BV	$4,774,000	-	1,720	-	$2,776	$4,774,000	-	1
12	8	The Grand Budapest Hotel	FoxS	$3,425,000	-15.8%	1,280	-187	$2,676	$44,967,000	-	7
13	9	Muppets Most Wanted	BV	$1,068,000	-53.1%	929	-1,332	$1,150	$48,318,000	$50	5
14	10	Mr. Peabody & Sherman	Fox	$800,000	-57.3%	780	-1,221	$1,026	$107,183,000	$145	7

OLD WATERS

Okechukwu had just received the message of his uncle’s call from little Nma, his eight year old niece who had hurriedly rushed to the farm in her excitement. His uncle had just received a letter from his eldest son, Ogaranya, who had travelled to Canada for his master’s degree in  July; Nma had exclaimed in short breadths. Ogaranya’s Master’s degree scholarship to Canada had been a dream come true for the family; as none of the member’s of Nwenze’s family had gone through the tertiary institution talk less of a master’s degree.

It was already November, how fast time flew! Okechukwu hurriedly reached for his bicycle which he had fastened to a tree. He had to dust off the withering leather seat of his bike as the harmattan dust had accumulated in the short while he had stayed in the farm. He was alone in the farm except for the very distant Nkem at the far corner of his farm. He had noticed weed growing on some of the budding plants on the farm and decided to uproot them before they caused havoc. A stitch in time they say saves nine.   

He carried little Nma in the little space he created on the seat meant for one as he journied back home. Though the sun was blaringly hot, the dryness of the harmattan could be felt even more, as he rode back to the family’s compound. A lot of thoughts were going through Okechukwu’s mind, for one, his Uncle had summoned him to read the letter Ogaranya had sent from Canada as his uncle could neither read nor write, but more thoughtful was Okechukwu on the contents of the letter.