All posts by Tarek Fayoumi…The Paterson of his Craft!

I am someone who strives to become a professional critic. I watch and review many movies. I view the eyes of movies as something as an art form. I have followed many critics over the years, but once I was thirteen I knew writing film reviews was going to be my passion. I learned from watching multiple episodes of Ebert And Roeper in my teen years, and then in middle school I began writing film reviews for a newspaper club. I am also an avid fan of the arts of Chicago including Theatre, Comedy, and music. Films, however, are my primary focus.
Film reviews

American Star Review

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This film could be classified as mellow suspense because there is a deadly task waiting to be completed. To buy time in the film, the focus is on a man of solitude who is assigned to do the mission. American Star was a unique experience, but I didn’t truly love or hate it as a thriller. Director Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego directs this project from the sole perspective of the hitman played by Ian McShane. McShane is known for his role of superiority as Al Swearengen in HBO’s Deadwood and is also known for playing the big boss in the John Wick franchise. McShane is a British actor who can play a range of roles and always displays a distinct bad attitude that sets him apart. His seriousness shines through as the discrete hitman in American Star.

McShane’s character, Wilson, is spending his time on an island called Fuerteventura. He is awaiting the time to assassinate someone. With the vast and scenic landscapes on the island, he tends to get distracted. Wilson keeps to himself, wears nothing but a black suit, smokes constantly, and observes his surroundings. His nephew Ryan (played by Adam Matthew Nagaitis) works with Wilson’s assignments as well. While Wilson is eager to go home and put an end to his deadly career, it’s not as easy as it looks. Wilson is told, “The less you know…the better!” This causes Wilson to let his guard down.

The film’s transitions to Wilson trying to connect more in social settings. He meets Gloria (played by Nora Arnezeder) and starts to build a friendship with her. The film’s writing about Wilson’s disconnect takes on a larger focus than the assassination-mission. American Star gives audiences the sense that Wilson’s leniency will have a bigger impact on him…once he completeshis mission. Hiding and aborting mission is not an option. While the story moves along slowly at times, the discreet ways that the tension unfolded had me sold.

Wilson’s frustrations are caused by having to hide the truth and wishing he could enjoy life. The barrier is huge between the possibility of living in a positive atmosphere and completing an assassination mission in American Star. The portrait of Wilson shows how good one’s life could be…if he did not have such a deadly job. In one scene, Gloria asks Wilson if he is an ex-cop, and Wilson asks her if he looks like one. Writing like this remains steady and flows with the pacing of Wilson while he covers his tracks.

Continuous hiding of the truth creates anxiety-provoking tension in American Star. The film is slow in fragments, but still intriguing. McShane’s performance is effective in portraying how complicated truths hide inner consequences. American Star is much more of a mental thriller than an action thriller. In fact, there is hardly any action, but the intensity is strong. Audiences will feel the tension rising during scenes where time is of the essence. Three out of four stars for American Star.

Film reviews

Perfect Days Review

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The mind of director Wim Wenders is one where art is a development. He often focuses solely on people, places, or fascinations. One of the themes in his new film Perfect Days is that of loneliness and routine combined with mental structure. There is a feeling of appreciation that flows smoothly through the film’s faithful cinematography. Wenders is gifted in his ability to explore a character or a place to the smallest detail. In Perfect Days its sole focus is on one man who lives a very orderly life, and when he is out of that routine, his mind expands in directions of realizations and fascinations that are astoundingly well written.

Perfect Days takes place in Japan and introduces its audience to Hirayama (played by Koji Yakusho). Hirayama is a man of routine—he is quiet, structured, organized, and thrives creativity in his solo life. He works full-time as a janitor. Hirayama’s routine is multi-step, a vivid exploration by Wenders and his direction to create a portrait of a unique character. Most of the beginning is Hirayama working his shift as a janitor. Hirayama displays a look of annoyance, yet he continues to be persistent with his seemingly mundane job. The company he works for is called The Tokyo Toilet and it is a distasteful vocation to those around him. Despite the low-grade job, Hirayama is a pleasant man. He helps his colleague Takashi (played by Tokio Emoto) when he can, and he has a good heart. The film delivers the sense of reality in which Hirayama chooses to live a solo existence.

The beautiful and artistic value of this film lies is the moments of fascinating nature—Hirayama absorbs the outdoors and takes photographs. He enjoys breathing in what is on the outside. Perfect Days is a vast journey of one man trying to find the positives around him, despite his low social status. Hirayama is fascinated by plants and does projects with them. The scenery of Japan is Hirayama’s playground.

The film is a contemporary experience of an introvert living a life of highly structured activity. It encourages its audience to think positively. Hirayama has one main mode that lifts his spirits the most…cassette tapes of classics! In his work van he loves to listen to music by Lou Reed, Van Morrison, the Rolling Stones, and many more. The song “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed is played in the film and that song truly correlates to the life of Hirayama.

Even though the film keeps a strong focus on Hirayama it does explore another character, Hirayama’s niece, Niko. Hirayama has not seen Niko in years, and there are some family conflicts that are not explained. At first, viewers would expect Hirayama to be annoyed by Niko’s sudden arrival, but he is welcoming. This is a chance for Hirayama to share what he is passionate about in his search for happiness in the world. Whether it is books, music, or movies Hirayama always has something rewarding for someone. He does not see how nice he really is to those around him, but he is also not confrontational.

The theme of happiness within solitude is presented strongly in Perfect Days. There is that technological aspect of Wim Wenders that I recognized from his 1987 classic Wings of Desire—photography moments in black and white with fluorescent forms of movement. The true sensations of Wenders direction are seen through Hirayama’s eyes as he explores happiness and art in Perfect Days. This is an unforgettable experience, howeverthere may be a few moments of quietness and slight boredom. Regardless, its presentation is a masterpiece in the context of structure and pacing and moving aspects brilliant in their form. Three-and-a-half out of four stars for Perfect Days.

Film reviews

The Underdoggs Review

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With Snoop Dogg as the lead, audiences can expect a whole lot of gangster attitude and graphic dialogue in The Underdoggs. The film’s context is not inspiring but somehow its directing is clever. Movies in which a sports celebrity is serving probation usually grab my attention. I enjoy comedic scenes and bizarre connections like those in Role Models (2008) and Champions (2023) which both featured characters during a probationary period. However, in The Underdoggs there is also a lot of Straight Outta Compton (2015) poured all over it. The foul language even expressed by very young characters made watching The Underdoggs uncomfortable at moments.

The film focuses on a man named Jaycen played by Snoop Dogg. Jaycen uses to be a professional football player and now lives in a high-end mansion in California. His reputation has been down the drain for years. His agent Ryan (played by Kal Penn) believes that due to Jaycen’s bad reputation finding speaking or networking opportunities is not worth this time. Jaycen’s problemslead to a harsh plateau which puts him in a position to do community service where he ends up coaching a young football team of misfit kids. The film is about how aformerly famous athlete thrives in community service to prove himself worthy.

At the beginning of the film, the writing is atrocious due to the repeated graphic language by Dogg and the athletes on the team he is coaching. The dialogue was a big turn-off for me in The Underdoggs. It was hard to sense a feel-good vibe with the slew of bad language, particularly from the teenagers. It brings too much negativity to a story that should be about good sportsmanship and self-improvement. The film does have some happy moments where Jaycen provides inspiration to his team, but most of the time the movie is dominated by Dogg’s attitude.

The vulgarity does not stop and is combined with poor behavior by the players as well. Viewers would reasonably expect some encouragement based on the film’s setup, but there is very little joy to be found amidst the foul-mouthed characters. The Underdoggs is one of the most disappointing movies so far this year but could have been improved upon if the language had been toned down.

While the film suffered from poor writing for a sports flick, the negativity was likely added for entertainment purposes. One high note comes in the way of a twist. The character Kareem, played by Mike Epps, is arguably a worse influence than Dogg’s character, Jaycen. Both are not great role models to inspire young kids, but they come around over time. Dogg and Epps as partners-in-crime will appeal most to young viewers.

Overall, the context remains the biggest problem with the film. It never successfully finds the right mix of being funny, serious, and heartfelt. The script is filled with so much toxicity that it is hard to find a joyful mix. Will Jaycen achieve success as a coach? Find out in The Underdoggs. Two out of four stars.