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

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Review

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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, takes the franchise to new heights. I was invigorated by the storyline and the backstory, and the many new dangers the film introduces made my head spin. It is a masterpiece of nostalgia and creativity. The nostalgia arises from its importance in the Spidey universe, and the creativity from the superb comic book animated filmmaking. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is simply a monumental achievement by directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson.

In Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) is Spider-Man. As life starts to get more challenging for him as Spider-Man, Miles continues to hide his Spider-Man identity from those who are important to him. The film jumps through many hurdles of the Multiverse, which is one of the things that makes Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse spectacular.

As Miles strolls through the Multiverse, the comic book animation is superb. The audience will feel intertwined in the amazing comic book world surrounding Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. A world with Spidey characters overseas, where many backstories find the light of day, and where all the twists are connected. But the film reminds us that nothing is permanent, and “those connections can be broken.”

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will have its audience wondering how far into the comic book adventure the film can go. The precision with which the film presents its backstory is stunning; Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is completely faithful to its storyline. The film’s surrealism is captivating, and there are layers upon layers, seemingly endless layers, of surprises. The immersion into the Spidey world made me want more and more Multiverse moments. Throughout the film, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse continues its superhero vibe without losing its momentum.

In my view, this is one of the best animated cinema rides ever—a wild ride indeed that is as good as it gets with a superhero adventure. It’s the most comical, colorful, and visually stimulating film I’ve seen in a very long time. It’s in depth with its destruction, and it really tests the limits with its chaos and the number of enemies.

The Multiverse portrayed in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has interesting and awesome transitions. The transitions create more dangers than the audience expects, and every character, event, or puzzle is connected. The film also has a strong connection to all the previous Spider-Man movies.

There is just no stopping the galore of superhero animation. There are many moments of thinking all is lost, but then our hope is restored. Simply a spectacular film. Four stars for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Film reviews, Segments with YPA Reviews

‘Spider-Man Across The Spiderverse’ Why it’s worth the Hype! Film critics Mike Crowley and Tarek Fayoumi Discuss!

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Film reviews

The Boogeyman review

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Based on a Stephen King story, The Boogeyman is what I consider “good horror”. There is a strong storyline, at least at the beginning. But there are also dark corners of the film where the symbolizations are questionable. The Boogeyman is one of those supernatural horror films that will put its audiences’ gut to the test. I felt scared in increments, and The Boogeyman knows when to break in with jump scares. It is a film that will keep its audiences guessing what will come next.
 

The plot of The Boogeyman involves a widowed father, Will Harper (played by Chris Messina), who has two daughters to raise, Sadie and Sawyer (played by Sophie Thatcher and Vivien Lyra Blair). Will works long hours at his private practice as a counselor while also trying to help his daughters cope with their mother’s death. A man named Lester Billings (played by David Dastmalchian) comes into Will’s practice and explains disturbing events that have the potential to haunt Will and his daughters forever. With the girls already dealing with depression problems after the death of her mother, eerie scenarios begin for the Harper family. A weird spirit appears and all kinds of strange events begin to occur.

As the terror turns to danger, there is a growing fascination with The Boogeyman. Its dark backstory provides an element of surprise, because there are resolutions that are genius and superb as Will must do what he needs to do to protect Sadie and Sawyer from the spirit that has entered their life. There may be past events that are damaging, but they also provides hope. The Boogeyman challenges its characters and its audience to believe in what may be the right approach to fighting off the unexpected terror.

I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say that The Boogeyman is a quite disturbing character. One way to explain what it looks like is that it’s almost like a monster paired with a wendigo, which is a Native American mythological creature or evil spirit. From my perspective it seemed a lot like a wendigo, specially with the weakness of the monster not liking lights. The creature is somewhat generic, but the film itself is still intriguing for its backstory.

So is Lester related to the evil spirit and these events? Is any of this related to the death of the girls’ mother? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel to the madness in The Boogeyman? Is there more to the events than its audience thinks? Is there a meaning that surrounds all the events that spiral into strange patterns? See for yourself and find out in The Boogeyman. It is a ride that is creepy but invigorating. Three out of four stars for The Boogeyman.