haondoor Reviews

Jackass (2000–2007)

DON'T Watch on Paramount+

[8/10 · 16 February 2024]

Great show with the same humor, memories, and debauchery as the movies. Almost like it started here?!? 😂

However, Paramount+ cut it to pieces, spliced it however they wanted, and reused footage like the audience is as stupid as the CEOs who take advantage of them.

I hope the decide to rectify their mistake, and I'll be sure to edit my review if they do.

I mean they can always actually post the shorter episodes and put some editing time in, like they actually are being paid.

Overall my favorite part is the Warning for "this program is airing in its original form with outdated social norms."

Terrifier 2 (2022)

Gore P*'N with Substance

[6/10 · 31 October 2022]

Although I had better expectations It was not a letdown!

What I learned today in Art class was:

• Horror movies can have well developed coming of age stories and characters
• the line "You don't see people dressing up as Jeffrey Dahmer" did not age well.

• pacing was a bit slow at times but always rewarded my patience
• Needs a dash of that Stitches (2012) comedy to make it a 6+
• Damien knows the formula so see ya at Terrifier 3!

Overall if you have a strong stomach and no anxiety I recommend this for your Halloween slasher film. Not a bad movie to rewatch either, the pacing and 2hr 18m timestamp makes it a bit long imo! Tata! 👋

Floor Is Lava (2020– )

Keep trying Netflix

[3/10 · 20 June 2020]

Like many others, I wanted to like this show. I LOVE ninja warrior and other obstacle course shows, but this is not one of them. This is more like the gameshow version of "Storage Wars."

"Floor is lava" feels scripted, pushed, overdramatized, and I couldn't even make it past the first episode.

I think Netflix is onto something with making a gameshow obstacle course for their platform, but obviously they need more work and less scripting, something more like what they did with "The Ultimate Beastmaster."

Some Like It Hot (1959)

I Like it Hot

[8/10 · 3 April 2019]

"Some Like it Hot" is a very charming comedy rated right up along, or even surpassing other movies like Robin William's "Mrs.Doubtfire," Eddie Murphy's "The Nutty Professor, and the now so popular, Tyler Perry series of movies, featuring actors in drag. Their comedic view of women in collaboration with reality and serious of present day issues, makes for a very witty piece as well.

The directing, acting, writing, and camera work all worked together to propel the viewer into this hilarious male actor combo which served to posing as two lady band members.

The situations and reactions, as well as the framing, especially in the box car party scene, portray the desperation of every event having a life or death consequence.

Finally the writing was exquisite. Posing interesting conflicts with the impending killer mobsters, mades for a well rounded story in the end, and a unlikely comedy duo pushing for women's rights. Sounds like the type of movie theatre's would show present day. That's why I am happy to give "Some Like it Hot" a 9/10.

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Not the Merriest of Men

[5/10 · 6 February 2019]

Although the Adventures of Robin Hood did not amaze me in any capacity. The talent of the crew, directors, writers, and set people, far outshined the abilities of the actors. The sets were well constructed and hardly noticeable as set pieces which helped guide the viewer on a journey through Renaissance England. Costume pieces showed off the vibrant shades and tones in full Technicolor, giving this movie something not many others had in the early 1900s. Lighting further helped the colors shine and attract the eyes of the viewers, to which men supported the rebellion with Robin or the new rule of Prince John, boo hiss boo hiss. Overall though, the acting fell short and seemed like something of a stage play taken and put on screen. However, with the time period in mind, this film is passable as an early 20th-century work of cinema. Overall, I would give it a 5/10 and a definite must watch for people looking to view film history as well as fuller understand how funny the later film, Men in Tights, is while also paying respects to this 1938 film.

The General (1926)

The Loudest of Silent Films

[8/10 · 24 January 2019]

Silent films have never peaked my interest, and although I have never actually laid my eyes on something that would be considered a silent film, the preconceived notion of heavily made up men, running around in a black and white world, displaying their emotions melodramatically, was more than enough to deter me from ever wanting too. However, after finally forcing my eyes open for a measly hour and a quarter, I can now say that I have sat through a classic silent film, and it has changed my life. For some reason, in my ignorance, I had chopped up all early silent films to be the cavemen equivalent of a now-booming 41.7-billion-dollar industry (2018) and boy was I wrong! The spectacle alone was extraordinary to witness, even if it was not in HD 4K High-Definition Color vision. The amount of money necessary to create Buster Keaton's world of locomotion and action was equivalent to a blockbuster film present day. Keaton's creation of what now most people would consider PG comedy, much like Mr. Bean or Pink Panther, is limited only by Keaton's imagination. The use of mortars, montages of chases, full scale steam locomotive crashes, as well as, an assortment of physical straight-faced comedy that appeals to all ages, blew my mind in a way that I could not believe possible in the early years of filmmaking. Modern camera angles are prevalent and widely used, characters are relatable and although larger than life, seems to possess the same amount of emotional honesty that contributes to the film extradentary, and the overall grand scale of the films can only be explained by its reenactment of a civil war battle. Although the plot is not the best and by no standards does it compete with modern day action/adventure films like Fast and Furious. Buster Keaton's ability to bring to life a character that tickles the audiences' funny bones, while at the same time conceive of thousands of camera angles and shots that match most professional filmmakers present day, as well as, stunts and action sequences that appeal on a grazioso scale, make this film a definite must-watch now and for its own time period, makes it, understandable, one of the greatest films of all time.

Departures (2008)

To Be or Not To Be...

[7/10 · 5 December 2016]

"Departures" follows the life of Daido Kobayashi, a washed up cellist that attempts to find a new job and life back in his hometown. Little does Daido know, that when he discovers an ad for an opening at a departure agency that will change help him discover his real passion. Written by Kundo Koyama and directed by Yojiro Takita, "Departures" connects with the audience on a level that is very much opposite of its actions in the feature. The departure job that Daido ends up accepting is not for a travel agency like he and others thought, but instead, it is a funeral business that prepares the dead for their loved one's families and attempts to help the deceased, peacefully pass over into the next life. At the same time, we watch the arguments and solutions that occur between Daido and his wife Mika, as everyone encourages him to quit his job and peruse the passion of playing the cello in an orchestra. Overall, the movie "Departures" is a great example of what some Buddhist believe and how they treat the afterlife, as well as keeping a sense of entertainment through the journey of the protagonist searching for his true self instead of the self that is given to him by others or even the one that he thinks is the correct path. At its base, this movie shows the audience what it looks like to discover and pursue a person's authentic self that builds a level of identity that is real, true, genuine, inside of each one of us, and although it can change it is truly who you are at the core, and more importantly it is the one thing that separates everyone from each other because you are uniquely yours.

Samsara (2001)

Fighting Temptation with Sin

[6/10 · 4 December 2016]

Samsara, written and directed by Pan Nalin, and released 2001, starts off with a young boy watching a herd of sheep when an eagle comes by and drops a rock on one of the cattle, killing it. With such a weird beginning, it is assumed that the main story line will follow the same suit, where in reality the whole movie is easy to follow and is actually quite pleasurable to watch as a whole. Of course, the little boy at the beginning, we discover to be the main character of the film whose name is Tashi. Tashi, starting at the age of five spends his entire early years in the presence of other Buddhist monks and learning their way of life. Eventually living the life of monks, although filled with exciting adventures like helping a man who has been meditating for a little over three years, takes a toll that is too big on Tashi and he is sent out into the world to experience the life that he dreams about having. Although the dreams that fill Tashi head are overexerted and idealistic he is convinced that they are real and to the viewer's amazement Tashi finds himself a perfect girl, perfect career, and all the money he could ever ask for. However, what goes around comes around, eventually, and Tashi's life begins to fall apart starting with the burning of half of his crop the next year. Soon after he falls for another woman, this time choosing a poor Indian girl, Tashi eventually discovers that the correct place to be the entire time is away from love, lust, and riches and decides to head back to the ministry he originated from to find the true life he has been missing the entire time. Overall, the best part of Samsara is the idea that to discover true enlightenment and direction a person must delve into the culture that is all around him and through that he/she will be made new, and open their eyes to the true meaning and way of life. Though even if one's personal opinion differs from that ideology, Samsara is a great movie to watch simply to increase one's knowledge of Buddhist culture and delve into new ideas of how to be a better and smarter human being.

Blood Brother (2013)

Being With My Blood Brother

[8/10 · 2 April 2015]

Blood brother is a documentary about Rocky, a young man who has been working in a AIDs center in India, and Steve, Rocky's best friend from childhood who currently lives in the United States, trip to an AIDs orphanage in India. The movie opens up with Steve picking Rocky up from the airport after his visa denied and having to return to the United States. Though it is evident that Rocky is not happy back home, but instead his heart and home is back in India. Soon Rocky's visa is approved, and he grabs the next flight out of the country, but this time Steve is close on his tail to discover what his best friends new life is like. In the course of Steve's filming he notices big changes in this overpopulated, third world country. Regular street laws are blurred and cleanliness and safety is not a worry of these people, but all of this does not stun Rocky instead he dives head first into this dangerous world. Along the journey Steve starts to gain Rocky's compassion for the AIDs infected children, and to focuses less on the horrible state of their country and more on each child's personality and how beautiful they are. Throughout the documentary Rocky constantly puts his health in the way to help the nurses, children, and village people, which in return love him for his ability to treat them with unconditional love. Much of the film has the audience swaying from happy while they participate in each birthday party, to devastated when the nurses and children became deathly sick in the snap of a finger. These shifts in emotions are potentially the most compelling parts of this movie because of the uncensored and real nature of world switchuations. These real moments take the viewer by surprise as they realize that what they are watching is not a dramatization but instead the real lives of children slowly die located on the other side of the same world. This notice of fine detail and emotions are in fact my favorite part for too many times do people want to take the scary reality out of public perspective because of it's impacts to the emotions of the viewers, but maybe those emotions are the needed ingredient to world change. Leaving the United States and heading to another part of the world has many barriers that a person has to overcome, and possible the biggest hurdle is the difference in the worldviews. In one of the scenes Rocky goes against the community belief, to keep a village girl home and just ask the spirits to heal her, to take her to a hospital. Though when things turn bad and the young girl dies the whole community blames Rocky because of his decision. This worldview found in the United States of the hospital being a place of rest and healing is contrasted by the people of India with their view of personal healing and enlightenment. Other situations increase the difference between the people Rocky knows as cultural family, and the people he knows as blood brothers. In the showing of "Blood Brothers" many quotes rise above the rest because of their ability to impact the first world population and connect us to the third world people he serves. One of these quotes said by Rocky, "I can't take any of them out of that situation, but I can put myself into it." forces us to contemplate our use of time, and if our impact is enough, but to Rocky he sees that "To live at home seems to be incredibly wasteful" and a heart change is necessary to impact the world in the same way Rocky does. The last two quotes that rise above the rest touch on the suffering of the people. "Other people can't turn off their suffering; they can't medicate their suffering with money." instead one must "realize that suffering is going to be normal part of my life" though Rocky has only spent a small time in India his impact is real and large, which challenges others to impact the world in their own places, way, and ability. In conclusion, I would consider watching this film for yourself not only because of the implications it leaves in your life after, but also because Rocky's life and experiences give a real and visual perception of what the world is like outside of one's personal comfort bubble. Appreciation forms for all those who serve and the understand that someone can play a small part in someone elses life. Though before watching ask these two questions: "Why would someone be compelled to leave the comforts of a life in the U.S. and go serve Indian children with HIV and AIDs?" and second "How would you feel if you were sent to an orphanage to work and take care of those children?" Both of these questions must be answered personally and honestly for it undercovers the true heart nature of your inner being. Personally, having gone to many countries on these same types of mission trips, and living in the best homes and the worst homes, I can say full heartedly that when a person sees the world and population through the eyes of God they cannot help but go. Something inside causes them to lose sleep at night and not be able to sit still because you understand that there are other people out there just like you in need of a simply relationship with God and a relationship with anyone else. It is difficult to think that all it takes is a little money and time to changed the lives of women, children, and the world, but when you see that Jesus gave his whole life for us, the least we can do is give our lives to Him!