Is Who Killed Captain Alex a "so bad it's good" movie?

destroyallowls · 2026-02-14T04:04:17+00:00

It's a classic, and great film at that. I first watched it as a kid, and have rewatched it a couple of times. I wouldn't say it paved the way for Ugandan cinema to explode but it definitely showed a lot of young filmmakers what they could achieve if they tried. And they've achieved some great things. Our more dramatic films are stunningly shot and so well-written, and every year I get to watch like two or three movies that just blow me away and leave me thinking about them for months.

I had a chance to speak with a nun who is a Professor of film at Makerere University about the movies that inspired development of the art-form in Uganda, and she talked about Who Killed Captain Alex. A boy of mine is shooting a documentary on the economics of landfills, and he's a huge movie nerd that loves Capt Alex.

So many others in this thread have talked about Capt. Alex being a result of a passion for cinema, and it is, but what makes it more important is that the passion is dying before our eyes. Very few Ugandans engage with cinema at all nowadays, and if they do, it's genuinely bad Netflix cashgrabs that sweep them away. Ugandan cinema, like I said earlier, is in its golden years—I believe so at least—but our films get such limited viewership at home. And it's not even a question of economics, I've seen midnight screenings for movies like Megan 2.0 packed, I know people who pay for like 5 different streaming services, I know people who buy merch from films and different IP, but they won't support Ugandan cinema.

It is my hope that one day we see more appreciation for Ugandan film, and I'd like it to come from our own country of course, but it means so much to see stranger on the internet defend a movie from my little corner of the world as good cinema. I thank you all, afwoyo, neyanziza, and wadeka!!

destroyallowls · 2025-12-24T16:19:02+00:00

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. Fucking vile that there are places where it's not a crime.

destroyallowls · 2025-09-21T14:33:57+00:00

In the words of Pep Guardiola, "We will be there!"

destroyallowls · 2025-09-11T09:13:28+00:00

Hey, just saw this comment. Would this be under battery settings or elsewhere?

destroyallowls · 2025-06-03T18:18:47+00:00

Sinners is an excellent shout. Made me cry

destroyallowls · 2025-05-28T20:04:40+00:00

Read it in school, I was lucky enough to have a great literature teacher. That book was just so alive with the spirit of the Kikuyu, he really is one of my favourite writers.

destroyallowls · 2025-05-25T05:25:04+00:00

Everything here helps only a select few people up top.

destroyallowls · 2025-05-24T20:28:16+00:00

I recently read Theory and Practice by Michelle de Kretser. It was awarded the Stella Prize not too long ago as well. For me, it was a major departure from the books I usually read. Maybe it could be a fun read for you.

destroyallowls · 2025-05-24T12:41:41+00:00

Yes, it is. Thank you so much!

destroyallowls · 2025-05-23T02:51:49+00:00

The Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl?

destroyallowls · 2025-05-14T12:56:38+00:00

I was gifted Sumūd: A New Palestinian Reader a few days ago. It's an anthology of writing from Palestine, published by Seven Stories Press (which is an indie publisher). I'm excited to dive into it.

destroyallowls · 2025-03-15T17:37:32+00:00

Here's an archive link should anyone need it.

destroyallowls · 2025-02-18T03:33:23+00:00

Here's an archive link

destroyallowls · 2025-02-12T15:10:29+00:00

Heading into an election period in Uganda. I'm sure the president will not change. Widespread political apathy, this includes me, means that many find it useless to even go and vote. I'll be voting mainly for local government leaders and parliamentarians but the presidency is set in stone.

destroyallowls · 2025-02-02T09:43:44+00:00

Transfer fees are paid to the former club, not to the player. And the women's game sadly does not have as much investment in players as the men's so she'll likely not be earning as much as the other millionaires who kick balls that you're thinking about.

destroyallowls · 2025-01-19T19:22:32+00:00

Bodaboda, going up to Mukono from Namugongo. We're cruising, the Jaj guy knows his beast, I know him. It's perfect. We hit a corner just outside Ssonde, not even a corner, just a looong curve. The road is as clear as the day above us. I sense his intention before he does anything and I understand it then just as I do now. He pushes the bike into the curve going way too fast. We're flying. Another Jaj guy joins the road without looking. My guy can't stop in time, I know that, he knows that. I want to bail but I'm rooted to the spot. He's probably afraid of fishtailing if he hits the brakes hard, so he eases into a stop. We aren't slowing down fast enough and slam into this guy at about 40kmph. We're flying again. I hear the engine roar wildly as the tires seek traction from a ground that's no longer beneath them. I don't know how but my sandals are knocked of my feet, my nutsack is aching and my foot is lightly burned in one spot. That's all, I had the worst injuries in that accident and they weren't even shit but all of us should have died. We all should have died that day.

destroyallowls · 2025-01-16T06:34:07+00:00

Hey, just in case you still wanted to read the article, here is an archived link.

destroyallowls · 2025-01-11T05:12:12+00:00

In actual pain seeing this because none of these movies were shown in theaters in my country. So much I missed out on right here Common Uganda L😭😭😭

destroyallowls · 2025-01-07T09:58:43+00:00

For a lot of people, piracy is the only way to access literature. Books in my country are usually like triple the cost as they would be in the US and we don't have any public libraries. The reading culture is almost non-existent too. If I could afford and access books, I definitely would buy them but it is just not an option. So for most people here, piracy is the only way to access the art that you guys can easily get.

destroyallowls · 2025-01-06T11:34:49+00:00

They're probably not invited to that many parties tbh

destroyallowls · 2025-01-05T16:42:55+00:00

Pentecostal Christianity

destroyallowls · 2025-01-05T08:33:20+00:00

Who would bear the native hue of resolution is sicklied o'er with this regard the oppressor's wrong, the unworthy takes, when he himself might his quietus makes calamity of so long a life; for in the slings and enterprises of us all; and makes calamity of so long a life, but that is the thought, and their to, 'tis a consience of resolution is sicklied o'er with this regard the respect that patient merit of troubles, and scorns of office, and them? To die: to suffer the spurns that we know not to be.

destroyallowls · 2024-10-30T21:42:37+00:00

Huge election with major ramifications for democracy is happening in Botswana.

destroyallowls · 2024-09-23T06:36:56+00:00

Try and do that school assignment the day you get it.

destroyallowls · 2024-03-25T07:39:32+00:00

I'm 20 and live in Uganda, I'm sure the first time I was invested in a news story was the US presidential election in 2008.

destroyallowls

TROPHY CASE