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

The Toxic Avenger Review

Leave a comment

The title has “Unrated” in it because the film was released in that mode. It went for an uncensored release, because if it had gone through the hurdles to receive a proper rating, its audience would be limited. The Toxic Avenger Unrated has unlimited violence and mayhem, but at the same time there are many clever quirks that are all just perfect. Silliness often has strokes of brilliance that I appreciate.

The film is directed by Macon Blair. As I watched The Toxic Avenger, the 1984 version came to mind because much of the hideousness still lingers throughout. The presentation is cheesy, but it manages to rise above this horizon which is comprised of a vast landscape of dry land, a dead town, and one man with his own problems who is bound to make a difference. A hero is still found in The Toxic Avenger, and he rises rapidly, but the green skin is also his tactic. The film goes full throttle with gruesomeness and payback filled with enthralling grandeur.

The film focuses on a dwarf named Winston (Peter Dinklage). He is just a man with his own problems trying his best to raise his stepson Wade (Jacob Tremblay). Winston’s life is full of bad news due to various illnesses. He despises his CEO, Bob Barbinger (Kevin Bacon). Bob is also a criminal leader with his accomplice brother Ritz (played by Elijah Wood). The Barbinger family leans on wealth and lies to fuel their own life of luxury. This all changes when Winston finds himself stuck in a pit with chemicals. Soon, his skin flairs up and he finds himself big, green, ugly, yet powerful. Hence the title, Winston is “The Toxic Avenger” and makes it his mission to save others. He goes after Bob and Fritz to save his own life as well as the townspeople they have betrayed. With the help of another furious colleague named J.J. (Taylour Paige), Winston goes on a rapid quest for violence and criminal-hunting to rescue the town from the lies of the Barbinger brothers.

The film is silly like a comic book with characters and continuity combining in comical ways. Dinklage is like a new version of Spiderman, but with a green gauntlet and ugly skin as his powers he still kills. There are a lot of quirks and quotes to go along with the film. The writing is vast which keeps the comic sense boiling in the minds of the audience. The dynamic of a town falling apart due to a family that has always cheated on the system is interesting. Bacon plays the role of a greedy entrepreneur well, and Wood does phenomenal playing a shy criminal.

It is a film of misfits that all make the audience laugh but also cheer for victory. Along the way, there are scenes with flying body parts, offensive quotes, and a whole lot of disgust. Thefilm’s repulsiveness may get to some viewers, but I love the quirkiness which both scares and humors. Three out of four stars for The Toxic Avenger Unrated.

Film reviews

Trust Review

Leave a comment

Celebrity life has challenges since privacy rarely exists. It also requires expert assistance in dealing with the media. The positives and negatives of star power swing back and forth in Trust. Directed by Carlson Young, the hostage-type dynamic was mediocre in this film, especially because of how it threw in despicable tangents. There were clever hostage scenarios and a clever plot, but the execution in Trust was full of major flaws. The point of view was not appealing, and yet it did build some momentum. Much of Trust was a blur due to writing that appeared as if it could have been quickly scribbled on pages of paper.

The film focuses on a young, high-profile actress, Lauren Lane, played by Sophie Turner. She has enjoyed many years of famebut finds herself in a scandalous bind with her co-star Peter, played by Billy Campbell. An unexpected turn of events leads Lauren to want to step away from the spotlight. Her assistant encourages her to go on a retreat in a remote cabin to escape the harsh reality and negative media around her. However, when she steps foot into her humble abode of a place for an escape, evil arises.

Then, unfortunately, the film begins to get cheesy. With the lead actress in a place to get away from the influencers in her life, some bad people break into her home. Darren (played by Rhys Coiro), Merg (played by Forrest Goodluck), and Marcus (played by Gianni Paolo) are all dangerous people. When the bad guys gain access to her Air B and B, Lauren locks herself in a room. While she is locked up and trying to find a way out, the entire film becomes about bad people (including her co-star) trying to find out what her worth is. At the same time, she is fighting for her own survival in the claustrophobic and treacherous environment she has thrown in herself into. All these scenes seem like a poorly done version of Panic Room. In this case, the film’s writing evolves poorly as the suspense attempts fulfillment. Instead of being fulfilled, I asked myself repeatedly about a wall or door breaking for survival which was not suspenseful either.  

This is one of the most aggravating thrillers and badly written suspense films I have seen in ages. Much of this was caused by the boredom of seeing a celebrity hiding in an attic setting the entire time. I did at times appreciate the tone of suspense, but the development fell completely flat. Silliness thrives and the film dies. This was a boring adventure with little excitement.Although I understand the idea of a celebrity hiding from reality because of the world we live in today, there was simply no justice in Trust. One-and-a-half out of four stars.

 

Film reviews

Caught Stealing

Leave a comment

This film is directed by Darren Aronofsky, whose directing always has an eye for capturing moments that are mentally challenging. At the same time, he is able to master the craft of conjuring awareness and fear. As the many events unravel in Caught Stealing, his approach to humanistic dynamics becomes immersive in a compelling light. Caught Stealing is a work-of-art incorporating twists and turns that left me breathless. When one incident goes wrong, a past unravels, bringing in a bigger portrait with mesmerizing and unforgettable terrors with exhilarating components. Aronofsky is not afraid to bring out what his mind can envision as a director.

 The film focuses on a former ex-baseball player named Hank Thompson (Austin Butler). He works as a bartender in Brooklyn in the 1990s and has lot of weird and bipolar tendencies in his life. Along with that he has a tragic past that he cannot put behind him, as he once had everything he dreamed for and it was all stripped away from him. Everything changes when a normal day becomes one where he finds himself in a criminal underworld. Thanks to his neighbor Russ (Matt Smith), Hank must utilize his mind to navigate the bad crowd he has fallen in with. This  all starts with Hank agreeing to watch Russ’s pet cat.A strange cop named Roman (Regina King) questions Hank and two Jewish gangsters named Lipa (Liev Schreiber) and Shmully(Vincent D’Onofrio) who are also involved in the mix. A big crime boss named Colorado (Bad Bunny) also enters into this batch of bad people not much different from Hank.

Throughout the film, there is a tone of arrogance and misbelief through the eyes of Hank. This is because much of the writing presents itself make his character feel like he is in a karma mode. The volume of awry keeps turning the dial up to the extreme repeatedly in Caught Stealing making this film very enticing. What is even more compelling is how fatalities come and go in strange ways. Aronofsky creates deeper and deeper troubles that are spellbinding in Caught Stealing. He crafts a world that seems mafia-like and at the same time flies just below the radar.

Caught Stealing made me think a lot about the characterizations of Hank. Primarily, because he  leaves the impression that he is in territory that is not so new to him. With a past of some danger (it is written and seen in the film), there is a clear eye to why everything happens for a reason in Caught Stealing. As much as it should not be Hank’s responsibility, it is a landscape of rough roads that he lands himself in and must navigate. Due to Russ, Hank’s world is turned upside down with all kinds of peril. The world of treacherous environments thrives on a high level from the mind of Aronofsky in Caught Stealing. This is a one-of-a-kind sensation that blew me out of the water. Can Hank find out what is right and figure out who to trust? The 90’s world of threats and uncertainty takes the directing of Aronofsky to a new level. Three-and-a-half out of four stars.