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

Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul.

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Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul is a supposed comedy about a scandal at a megachurch. I found very little humor in the film. In fact, I would call it mega-ridiculous.

In the film, Regina Hall plays Trinitie Childs, the First Lady of a Southern Baptist megachurch, and Sterling K. Brown plays Lee-Curtis Childs, Trinitie’s husband and the pastor of the megachurch. At one point their megachurch had tens of thousands of attendees, but after a huge scandal they must find a way to rebuild their following. They pursue every measure to help regain their following but, sadly, they do a rather terrible job at this task.

Even though the film is quirky and not very funny, its character development between Hall and Brown is excellent. The subject matter is the problem. There is not enough detail regarding the scandal to know how serious to take the film. And overall it is just an obscure and harsh film, and rather blunt and out of focus. I also found this film to be off-putting. Some fans may find it funny, but I am sure many will find it offensive or a waste of time. My expectations going into the film were neutral, and I left disappointed.

I am not extremely religious, but my relationship with my religion is important. I didn’t find the title of this film, Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul particularly appealing, and I will say it is a film of consistent mediocrities. It is one of those films where I was questioning my laughter based on its rather off premise. The film tries to find its hysterical elements, and it doesn’t do a good job at that. I had my times where I felt intrigued and laughed here and there, but it was more from the humor of Brown’s ego. With that, I will say just two stars for Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul.

Film reviews

Jaws the IMAX Experience Review

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The 1975 classic Jaws is back…in IMAX. With restored imagery and revamped sound, the IMAX experience makes the Steven Spielberg classic even more immersive and grand with exciting suspense. In my fourth big screen experience with Jaws, the IMAX experience had me in awe with all the classic moments that fans will never forget. The frightening and terrorizing scoring of music, the underwater sequences, and the shark attacks are back in new dimensions. I cannot get enough of Jaws. I know that its die-hard fans will not want to miss this experience. They will not just love it for its classic nostalgia, but they will also love it with how much invigorating the experience is in IMAX.

The suspense before, during, and after the chaos and danger of the shark creature is taken to new heights in IMAX. With the digital restorations, the shark up close is more realistic and frightening. However, the scenery and the ocean aspects are just marvelous throughout the IMAX experience. I felt I was in a world of pure Spielberg sensations as I was watching Jaws in IMAX. Spielberg knows how to work a camera to capture sequences of importance. He even knows how to do this when it comes to capturing sequences of danger.

To recap the plot of Jaws. These are the important characters. There is Brody (played by Roy Schneider), Quint (played by Robert Shaw), and Hooper (played by Richard Dreyfuss). Brody is the local sheriff of a beach community, Quint is a seafarer, and Hooper is a marine biologist. As a dangerous shark is going all around the waters of the beach (which Brody oversees), these three men must team up to defeat the shark. The challenging thing though, is the shark may be bigger than they can handle. But with a boat, lots of gunpowder, and tons of water knowledge, they may have a chance.

The IMAX experience brings the action and interest up to a whole different level. I felt more in tune with the character development towards the initiatives of the shark plans. That is because With Spielberg’s filmmaking, his style is in-depth, and in IMAX it makes Jaws feel like a reestablished revisit to its classical scenarios. With the classic quote, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat,” The boat is bigger, but the shark is bigger as well. That is because it is IMAX. I felt I was in the bigger boat with the world’s largest screen along with the world’s largest beast in Jaws.

This is an experience to not be missed. Jaws is only an IMAX for a limited time. It is an amazing classic to be revisited, but also even more exciting for those who have never watched it before. The first timers watching this in IMAX will experience a cinematic ride that is one for the ages. A classic redefined in the many technological brilliance in IMAX. Four stars for Jaws the IMAX experience.

Film reviews

Orphan: First Kill Review

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People often question why a prequel would be made many years after the original movie was made. They also ask themselves whether it lived up to the expectations of the original movie. I have seen many prequels, and I’ve been impressed with some and disappointed with others. Orphan: First Kill just left me feeling neutral.

The first Orphan, from 2009, focused on terror and shocking discoveries. Orphan: First Kill adds in-depth detail and backstories about the discoveries in Orphan. It also lays out the foundation surrounding the evil Leena/Esther; Leena being her real name, and Esther being her imposter name. Isabelle Fuhrman is back as the evil and demented Leena, and this revival is one of the few exciting parts of the film.

In Orphan: First Kill Leena is in a mental institution in Estonia and she finds a way to escape. As a ravenous and evil person, she creates an escape plan from Estonia and makes her way to the states by pretending she is someone without parents, a girl named Esther. A family, the Albrights, takes her in. The Albrights include parents Tricia and Allen, and their son Gunnar, played by Julia Stiles, Rossif Sutherland, and Matthew Finlan. Esther begins exhibiting strange behavior and there are increasing signs of troubles, but she’s initially more mentally scary than violently scary. Mrs. Albright begins to realize that Esther may be an impostor and Orphan: First Kill becomes a cat and mouse game of questions and answers. The Albright family does not want to believe what may be true about their Esther, and the film begins to feel more like a big family crisis rather than a pure horror flick. So the disturbing factors are toned down many notches in Orphan: First Kill, compared to Orphan.

Director William Brent Bell has an eye for a chilling, child terror premise. One of the more bizarre features of the film is that due to a rare hormone disorder Esther looks like a child, but she is actually a grown woman. A woman who looks like a young girl is repulsive and scary for many, including myself.

The foundation of Orphan: First Kill is in tune with Orphan, but It was just a little too obvious—a girl who is a killer escapes and finds a way to be an impostor, and then tricks a family into taking her in. Fuhrman’s return performance as an evil princess type is again daring and beyond deranged in an enticing and haunting way. So although Orphan: First Kill is obvious, it’s still a fun adventure of suspense. Overall, though, I give the film just two and a half stars.