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

Three Thousand Years Of Longing Review

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Three Thousand Years of Longing is a film where the premise seems promising. That is because its trailers and ads make it look extraordinary or revolutionary. Sadly though, the storyline and the concept are arbitrary. The dynamic of the characterizations in Three Thousand Years of Longing is spot-on. That is because there are intriguing character backgrounds. I will say though, that the backstory to the film’s continuity is strange and twisted.

When the film begins, the concept of the Disney classic Aladdin (from 2019) came to my mind. It is practically an Aladdin themed premise taken to today’s world. With Idris Elba as the Genie type of character, his performance is brilliant. The film does display brilliant performances. It is just that the film’s labeling and backstory seems to have more stereotyping than a fantasy premise. To an extent, I felt all the blame of errors was being labeled onto Elba’s character. That is beside the point though.

This is the plot of Three Thousand Years of Longing. Tilda Swinton is Alithea. She is a scholar that is going solo on a trip to Istanbul. Her background involves research on life and creatures for reason. Despite her loneliness at this conference, A man that seems like a wizard comes into her life, and he is The Djinn (Elba). As Alithea is taken by surprise, she begins to grow close with the Djinn in deep conversation. However, her closeness becomes questioned as The Djinn offers Alithea three wishes. The three wishes are granted because of how she gave him his freedom from an art-type of antique. There are problems though with the wishes for Alithea. The Djinn may not be real. Also, with Alithea’s background of mythology, she knows tons of stories of wishes going awry. Three Thousand Years of Longing is a tale of curiosity towards wonderment of the three wishes for Alithea.

The three wishes in Three Thousand Years of Longing does not present happiness. It does not even have much elaboration on positive uses of the three wishes. The film tries to be more poetic than finding a fantasy with wishes. From this, I felt that the film’s artistic filmmaking is more of like a love tale than a breathless cinematic experience. However, it is not breathless.

Three Thousand Years of Longing may be symbolic. The film may also be a fantasy. As I have said though, the continuity and backstory of events keep seeming to be stereotypical. There are multiple moments where when Alithea tries to understand her choices, that she questions the harshness of The Djinn’s past. I just felt it made it look like The Djinn kept on having the negative label. The film may have tried to be experimental and surreal, just its approaches were off-putting.

Film reviews

Breaking Review

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Life can be unfair, and being in financial crisis to the point of it causing a mental breakdown is devastating on many levels. In Breaking, a film based on actual events, director Abi Damaris Corbin explores the irreparable damages that can arise from such devastating circumstances.

Breaking is about a 2017 event where Brian Brown-Easley, played by John Boyega, held up a Wells Fargo bank because was not receiving his disability checks. The depiction of Brian’s anxiety and of the robbery in Breaking is stark and surreal. The surrealism is heightened through the performance of Boyega. His anxiety is not only incredibly high, but it is also high for those he puts at risk—and for the world that is watching the chaos he has created. The crazy part is, he wants all that attention.

Breaking begins with a heavy introduction to Brian’s anxiety, his financial struggles and other mental issues. He tries to communicate the best he can to find alternatives or solutions to his financial issues. But with many debts and other stressors, he makes a very unfortunate decision. He casually walks into a Wells Fargo Bank and makes it obvious to bank employees Estel and Rosa, played by Nicole Beharie and Selena Leyva, that he is robbing the bank. He tells Estel and Rosa what to do quietly, but the danger rises when he tells them to alert the police and the media. Hostage negotiator Eli Bernard, played by Michael Kenneth Williams arrives and believes he can help Brian find a guiding light, but is there a light to be found?

The negotiations between Boyega and Williams raised several questions for me. Why is Brian taking the incredible risks he is taking? How did he decide that holding up a bank would solve his problems? What is Eli’s plan as the negotiator? The answers are concrete, but the situation is complicated.

he unpredictable nature of the situation makes Breaking invigorating, but tense and unpleasant in an exciting way. And given the seriousness of Brian’s decision to rob a bank, the film’s audience will know that there will be consequences no matter the result of the negotiations. Overall, though the film is an exhilarating and dramatic, engaging yet heavy, cinematic experience. Three stars for Breaking.

Film reviews

Beast Review

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I have four words, and they are WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE! Beast is a ravenous, treacherous, and wild experience. It is the most fun I have had with a jungle flick in a long time. There are lots of jumps, plenty of nature, and limited resources for survival. But put actors Idris Elba and Sharlto Copley in a jungle film and you have an excellent partnership to team up for survival. I found myself curious as to who would be the one to tame the dangerous lion most effectively. I will say, however, the taming is not going to help that much. Better hope there are many Plan Bs if the dangerous lion chooses not to cooperate.

In Beast Elba plays Dr. Nate Samuels who is taking his daughters on a wild excursion around the Savannah. His daughters are Norah and Meredith (played by Leah Jeffries and Iyana Halley). Sharlto Copley plays Martin Battles, a lifelong friend of Nate. Together, they go on the safari with Nate’s daughters, and Martin shows them his lion taming skills. Soon, their fun and wild excursion goes awry when they notice multiple injuries and destroyed villages. While it is common for animals to do damage, this is not the damage that Martin or Sam had prepared for. Suddenly, a rogue lion comes out of nowhere and all four are in his territory with limited resources. They must do what they can to protect themselves from the unstoppable creature that can kill instantaneously. It becomes a true battle for Nate to protect his family as well as his friend Martin.  

With Elba playing the father who must protect his daughters. I knew that would set the tone for the kinds of risks to be considered in the film. There are moments where Nate and his daughters must hide from the lion continuously, and on top of that, they must watch their every movement. I love the suspenseful aspects of the film that really made the audience feel as if it were a real-life situation. As Martin says on the topic of lions, “The females do the hunting, and the males protect the prey,” It is now Nate who must protect his prey, i.e., his daughters. Beast is a ride of unexpected dangers that only puzzles and invigorates as things spiral out-of-hand.

The rogue lion hides in an array of corners which create a force of nature between the beast and the humans. Keep in mind that the scene is ultimately the rogue lion’s territory so it can plot its attacks and follow its instincts. Nate may not be able to hide, but he can fight back. Go see Elba and Copley fight a lion to save a family’s life in Beast. Three and a half stars.