SandOwl_

IMDb member since April 2019
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    1 year, 2 months

Reviews

Father Soldier Son
(2020)

Incredibly sad
Boy is told by his father that he always wanted a son to enlist. Boy is the youngest & only one left able to do so in the family, so he does as his father wants. Boy turns into man, has two sons of his own. He's away for 6 months at a time, with two weeks break in between to spend time with his boys. His boys are deeply affected by their fathers absence, the risk to his life & they're plagued with fear of possible loss.

Man says he doesn't want to be over of those father's who tells at his kids when he gets home.

Father is wounded, returns home & tries to save his leg. This process takes years. During this time his oldest son wears a great emotional burden of feeling like he has to be there for his father all the time, that he may still lose his father. So eldest son status close, helps his father and bears this weight. Father didn't intentionally place this weight on his son, yet he fails to see it is there, let alone get his son help. Father is angry & frustrated about his damaged leg. Takes this out on his boys and his girlfriend. Father takes no responsibility for his own wellbeing, gets no therapy, no external help to help him learn coping mechanisms so he doesn't take his stuff out on his children. The children bear the burden of this, particularly good oldest who is picked on, rather than guided.

Oldest boy wants to be a police officer, go to college. Be closer to his family, not deployed overseas. Father says boy doesn't have the grades. That school is sending home notes asking him the father, to help his son with homework. Father claims he doesn't know how to do what the kids are doing today. Father doesn't get a tutor for his son to help him realise how own dreams of going to college. Father tells 17 year old son that I've be turns 18 either he needs to be enrolled in college or the army. Father constantly telling his eldest son that there's no way he's going to college, he'll be enlisting in the army. Son tells the camera that he is going to go to college even though his father doesn't believe him.

Youngest son is all gung-ho about joining the military. Youngest son, 12 years old ,is killed in a tragic accident (RIP Joey & condolences to the family).

Eldest son is now going to enlist as he feels that's the right thing to do. It's what Joey wanted to do. He feels he should do this.

Father has pushed son to enlist all his life. Father wanted his sons to enlist, as his father wanted him to enlist.

Son says the army isn't what he thought it was like when he was younger. He's suffering from depression yet is unsure why, could be his mother leaving, his father being shot, his brother dying, he doesn't know. He feels he isn't good enough, that he hasn't done as well as his father so isn't acceptable, that he'll never be good enough, that his younger brother would've done better and made their father proud, whereas he has failed to do so.

The father has another son with his new wife. While the son is only days/weeks old, the father tells the camera he wants his baby son to enlist when he grows up.

What a terrible story.

Father's in denial of the damage their deployment does to their children. No willingness to see this damage at any stage, to provide professional help, nor encouraging them to be their own men, their own person to follow their own dreams. Instead it's like children bred for war by ignorant people who have an inability or unwillingness, to stop the generational damage & slaughter.

No personal accountability by the father. His own unhappiness not even being enough to stop his son from possibly experiencing the same, instead telling him he must enlist.

This is generational damage being played out on the screen. While it's interesting from the perspective that I've not encountered that particular situation myself, it's still the same abuse perpetrated all over the world by domineering, ignorant parents.

Father's should encourage their children to be their own people, to follow their own dreams. Support & love them in every way possible, including being there if dreams are needing to be changed. Not to force their vocational wants onto their children. Adults need to be responsible for their emotional wellbeing, to get therapy and do what's required to be okay so they don't abuse their children. They need to be switched on enough to realise their actions create harm and get professional help for their children, for as long as needed.

18 is still a child. Not an age to be shipped off to learn to kill.

I'm deeply concerned for this new baby, born in 2019? What happens if that young boy turns out to want to be a drag queen? An actor, hairstylist, makeup artist, politician, vet, doctor, mechanic, janitor, pilot, physicist, or any other vocation? Will the father grow enough in this time to see how dreams for his child come second to the child's dream for themselves? Will he get tutoring for his child if their grades aren't okay?

During all of this, will be get professional help for his eldest son, so he can work through all of his trauma? So he can heal & learn to love himself as he is, without constantly feeling he has to impress his father, that he'll never be good enough? All the while watching his new sibling grow up constantly surrounded by his father's presence and love, something he didn't get our have in his life.

Parenting doesn't stop because you've forced your child or of home, or they've left home of their own volition.

This father has a responsibilty to help his son, himself and thus his newest son.

If you're a military father who breeds kids for enlistment, you should watch this and see the lasting damage it does to children. It's selfish to do that to your children. They didn't choose to enlist, or have you as a father.

Joining the military? Don't have kids until you're done.

I wish the eldest son all the very best in this life. I hope he isn't killed, harness or maimed while in the military. I hope he gets the help he needs to be okay within himself and to unravel his father's enforced damage. So he can love and respect himself irrespective of his father's views. He matters. He's not the disappointment here. Not in any way.

Game of Arms
(2014)

now that's a cheater **spoilers for first episode ending**
Mike Selearis vs Kenny Hughes in the showdown of the first episode.

Well, it looked clear to me that Mike Selearis cheated in the match. Deliberately slipping his hand out right before it hit the cushion.

The referee had no business reversing his decision in order to placate New Yorks losing side. Kenny won that, fair and square.

Never thought arm wrestling would interest me. This isn't a bad show. Pity they didn't continue with the second season and onwards.

It really leaves a bad taste in your mouth when you see someone cheating at sport.

It seemed to me that this Mike character was deliberately slipping his hand every time in order to use the straps. Then at the last millisecond, he slipped his hand out again before he was on the cushion losing the match to Kenny. I have no time for cheaters.

Others who were there and witnessed the match clearly believed the same as my view.

The referee made a bad call rescinding Kenny's win.

Everytime I see that Mike guy now he makes my skin crawl.

Capone
(2020)

1 star given for the decent acting
This film was, unfortunately, slow, uninteresting, boring & a real waste of my life.

While the acting was not the issue, the lack of any real story was.

Spoiler alert*****"""*""*

Besides the man sitting around grumbling, looking like guano, losing his mind in no interesting way, shooting a few people in his medical delusional state, this is a really, really, really boring film. Even the so called 'twist' or 'aha' moment near the end was nothing to talk about.

There was no real engagement, no actual depth of characters even though many had scenes. The dialogue was lacklustre & I don't comprehend why this was ever made.

If there was going to be a film made about the man's last year, the content calibre needed to be higher. Better quality dialogue, story & character development minimum. It was like a limp piece of lettuce. It's still lettuce, but it's not the type you want to eat or serve to anyone. So what's the point of it, bar compost?

Really was looking forward to this with Mr. Hardy in the title role. Will wait for his next film.

The Dinner Party
(2020)

Original & good fun
There's many bad reviews of this film, however I don't understand why.

Really liked it. It's an original premise, no famous actors, yet the acting is decent & different. It's not Hollywood-finished etc, yet it doesn't need to be, it's good enough as it is & I'm grateful it is what it is. Particularly the actress who portrays Hailey. Hope to see much more of her. They were all okay.

Worth the watch.

Not going to give anything away.

Shirley
(2020)

Horrendous
While the acting was great, the character Shirley & the film itself turn out as repulsive.

Woman tearing down another woman with feigned trustworthiness when all the while lying and deceiving for personal gain - stereotypical 'bad, calculating women harming other women'.

Men philandering as stereotypical 'bad, philandering, lying men' which ultimately begets the broken &/or emancipated wife.

It's boring, insulting, tasteless and banal.

Besides the acting, the film is a fail.

See something else, feed your soul instead of being drained by foul behaviours destined to stay in the 1950's, where women were coddled, tolerated & belittled.

Butt Boy
(2019)

-10/10
It's not funny. Obscenity or absurdity doesn't always equate to humor. This is one of those times it hasn't.

Don't want to go into it too much as it's unpleasant & unnecessary.

If you watch the first 15 minutes or so you'll realise the calibre of the 'film'.

I have so many things to do in my life. Wasting my life on this beyond this very moment, is not one of them.

Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.

Van Helsing
(2016)

Good until season 4...
Have watched this series gratefully these last few years. Unfortunately there is so much loud, over the top screaming in the fourth series that is likely to be the last I watch, IF I can get through it to the end of the season. Between Jesses' Vampire character, in the listings as Oracle, screaming her head off all the time, & the school girls screaming their heads off all the time, it's driving me mad.

We all get it is not a good situation for them. It is however TV, and I wish they'd stop with all the scream queen garbage. I turn the volume down & often walk away when they do it. It's really irritating & have found it so bad that it detracts from the enjoyment of the show. It's been good until this season. Previous screaming was okay :: thumbs up :: It's not anymore.

Is/are the director/s requesting this from the actors? If so, please stop. It's not a horror film where people go in knowing there is going to be nearly constant screaming going on. It's a TV series where this level & degree of screams is bad for the watcher experience of the show. Please stop it, whatever the reasons.

If there's to be a fifth season, and it is like this, I won't be watching.

Usually would give a solid 7.5/10, now due to the over acting for TV and the ridiculous screaming scenes, it's a solid 4/10 from me. Cut it down the middle for a 5/10.

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker
(2019)

Dreadful
Well, without giving anything away - there isn't much in this we haven't seen in all the other Star Wars films.

I couldn't believe what I was watching. Kept thinking 'not this again/ we've seen this before/ aren't you able to be original in any way?!?', over and over and over again....

There is a warmth in the old Star Wars missing in all the rest following.

This film is another rehash of all the things we've already seen before. It was old after the first film has this issue. Now the final is worse.

I really, truly hope in the future, they give this another shot with writers & directors & producers, who actually know what they're doing. Who have a deep understanding for, & respect of, the Star Wars stories & those who are invested in them. This film has none of those qualities.

While that's good in many respects, it doesn't translate well to such behemoths as Star Wars. No one needs to see all of the previous Star Wars films rehashed over & over for playtime trilogy.

I would like to go into more detail regarding what has been rehashed, yet it would possibly ruin the film for those who haven't yet wasted their lives watching it. So I'm not going to elaborate further. Anyone who is a fan, or familiar with the Star Wars films, will see what I mean almost immediately.

FAIL. This is a mega fail of epic proportions. Only upside is there's no more from Star Wars creations, which is awesome. I'm so glad he won't be doing anymore.

I hope they keep his hands off the new TV series The Mandalorian, which is miles ahead of this film & trilogy. Nor should he have input to act future Star Wars endeavours of any kind.

Happy watching. Thanks for your time. I hope you get more enjoyment from it than I did.

There is no score low enough that I can imagine, to rate this

Joker
(2019)

Absolutely Brilliant! Masterpiece!
J. Phoenix is incredible. What an amazing actor. I went into this only being aware it was about Jokers' life. Completely blew my mind, the emotional depth & complexity of the character Joker, by J. Phoenix. The man is a master actor. Everyone who has ever felt ignored, poor, down trodden, disrespected, low class, menial, nothing, insignificant, outcast, worthless.... this is a must see film for you. It is not a bright, happy, happy joy joy film. It is an engrossing film with much emotional depth, pain & irreverence. I had no idea such films, about such characters, could even be made. Amazing, quite amazing. Thank you to the makers & to J. Phoenix. Mr. Phoenix, you Sir, have truly created the Joker. I hope there are more films with you, about him. They really need to be of the same calibre please.

Incredible. Thank you so much. It also speaks to today, what is happening in our world, the great financial divide....

100/10 A definite must see!!!!

The Informer
(2019)

No
I like Joel Kinnaman, his acting is always great stuff.

I am sick & tired of seeing women in these macho films depicted as weak & stupid. Women are not weak & stupid.

This film & all like them are made for misogynistic men who are women as less in every way, besides giving birth.

I'm talking about how the wife is portrayed/ what she does etc. The FBI woman is portrayed differently. It still annoys the heck out of me that when women are meant to do something important in films like this, they turn out to be weak & stupid. Stop portraying women this way.

If it was not for Joel I would've given this a 0

It Feels Evil
(2019)

Concerning
While I find this show interesting on levels, I also find it concerning.

Provoking evil to harm proves what exactly?

Why aren't they doing their best to move these entities on, without provoking violence from them? I can only surmise it's for TV, which is pretty rubbish & provides others with the idea this is a good thing to do.

There is also binding of 'evil entities' etc to items eg a chair/table/ book.. any inanimate object

There is no Medium present to confirm if the 'entity' is actually a demon, or a violent human soul that hasn't moved on. Binding souls to objects instead of moving them on, creates further harm.

Take these objects they have in the storage to a reputable medium to find out who/what is going on, and safely move the entity on, if possible.

How would they like it if they were trapped in a doll unable to move to the next plane?

It's not good enough. There's far too much antagonism, and nowhere near enough depth of expertise, speciality etc to handle these situations.

It's like kids stirring up a hornets nest. If this isn't what they intend, then there needs to be a reputable Medium present to properly instruct them what is going on and how to do resolve it.

That's my 2 cents. So many 'ghost Hunter' type shows where no one is actually trying to help these souls being exploited in their death, for rubbish TV. Leave them alone unless you're going to actually help them.

Yes, I like the show The Dead Files. I find their practice to be more respectful.

The Witcher
(2019)

Enjoyable but...
Like others, I've found it confusing the back & forth through time which isn't really defined at all. It's a good show, but this is a serious flaw. It's created needless confusion which detracts from the show. In episode 7 it's further confusing, as in the earlier episodes we are given the impression Ciri the Princess hasn't met the Witcher, then in episode 7 they show the Ciri meeting the Witcher when she's younger? It needs to be clearer what/when these things are set. The show is constantly going back and forth every episode. Please make this clearer. Otherwise decent show.

The War of the Worlds
(2019)

wasted
I wanted to like this. it was dreadful. it doesn't follow the important basics of the book at all. Plus it goes back and forwards in time, to when it's happening and then when it's over. #possible spoiler but not really# At first you see an adult and child intermittently walking through a red dusted desert or the like. Eventually in the first episode they show you it's the woman Mary and a child. It's really stupidly done. This could've been brilliant. Really disappointed.

Batwoman
(2019)

i concur with other viewers. Bad, bad, bad
Bad actor choice. Bad fight scenes. Bad acting from lead character. Lead actor isn't suited for the role, doesn't pull it off, and isn't engaging at all. I actually found the look alienating, and I didn't appreciate the characters sexuality being pushed into my view with long, irrelevant kissing scenes. These didn't add to the show or storyline. Again, it's exploiting sometimes sexuality for a role, for some kind of 'popular' spin. Doesn't work. It's offensive. It's not cool to take advantage of peoples sexuality &/or gender for a tv show role. It didn't work here.

I didn't mind the character Alice.

Midsommar
(2019)

Not okay
**spoilers here***

I was kind of immersed in this film once they all arrived at the village. I thought the person who wrote all of that stuff must've been on drugs when they gained the idea. That's okay, no big deal.

What is a big deal, is they killed a majestic, beautiful Bear for a stupid movie. It's disgusting. It should be outlawed. With cgi & fake fur there's no need to kill Bears.

Really messed up the film for me. I don't have time for people who do these types of things, make these types of films, or participate in these types of films where this stuff is done.

So no one in this film will ever earn any money from me for any future products.

Leave the non humans alone. STOP exploiting & killing beings for no other reason than human entitlement, arrogance & stupidity.

They kill a Bear, then show the Bear splayed with their intestines showing, before removing said intestines and all other innards, before sewing one of the characters into the skin to kill them.

It's obscene this type of activity is tolerated and accepted by movie goers. It's wrong no matter what country you live in.

Don't support this garbage.

There are far more original films out there which don't harm majestic beings like this beautiful, magical Bear that these human grubs who made this film, killed.

RIP beautiful soul. May your soul be free of humanity and it's barbarism forever.

Contact
(2019)

Thank you
Thank you for making this series. Thank you for investigating these situations all over the world & tracking down credible witnesses to events.

The last episode of season 1 gave me chills. Hearing that man recount his experience on the Nimitz in 1995.

I hope you will continue to investigate & bring the results to the rest of the world.

Age of the Living Dead
(2018)

?
This had some promising moments... until Massimos' character was directed to yell most of the time, which becomes very tedious, very quickly. Once someone starts at a10, there's no where to go. Too much yelling when subtlety would've been so much more intense and powerful.

In the last couple of episodes it gets pretty stupid in the storyline. In the last episode it pretty much rips off another show called 'Van Helsing'. If you've seen that show, think of what the main charcuterie can do & how they were 'made' to be that way. So that was pretty ordinary. Humans being monsters, well that's not news.

Not into shows that rip off other shows. Bad form I think. No, I don't recommend this show. Watch Van Helsing instead :-)

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
(2019)

Thank you
Thank you so much for making this.

It's absolutely wonderful.

I hope everyone has a chance to see this.

Jim Henson was a genius.

The characters look amazing as do the sceneries.

It's brilliant. Thank you. 10/10

The Real Blac Chyna
(2019)

hugs for Angela
It's incredibly admirable that this young woman wants to break the cycle of violence in her life.

The Mother, Toni, appears to have a lot of hurt going on inside her. It comes out as violence - verbally, physically, emotionally.

In the first episode Toni is talking about her tell-all book being released, how Angelas' friends are fake, and even if your mother sells you to an army, you've still got to respect your mother, as well as how can a daughter who's done well leave her mother behind?

You do what you know. It's incredibly difficult to change if there's no acknowledgement of barriers and self destructive behaviors.

I really hope Toni gets some support for the hurt inside. I hope she's able to heal and grow without doing damage to herself or those around her. It's hard to change when you're busy surviving all the time. Toni is obviously a strong minded woman, and I hope she can find peace in her heart and mind.

Angela, I hope you keep breaking the cycle and making sure you keep protecting your children from those who are violent, or would be violent, around your children. That's what Mother's are meant to do.

This is a completely unabashed venture into the life of Angela aka Blac Chyna.

After episode 2, this is dysfunction in motion. It's painful to watch because it's people in pain. It's really horrible to see such a violent and destructive dynamic between Angela and her mother.

The Hills: New Beginnings
(2019)

Oh Boohoo I have famous parents waawaawaa poor me
This show is as bad as it was when it ended 10 years ago.

I nearly threw up in my mouth hearing the Jenner kid go on about how hard his childhood was. You people have no idea what hard is. You really don't. No idea at all.

The glorification of spoilt brats like the Jenner kid, whose personal fame is literally garnered from nothing, is an example of how not to be in life.

The father was an Olympian. Good on him :: thumbs up ::

The mother made the family famous by exploiting the stupidity, voyeurism, and rubber necking tendencies humans have. Besides the father in sports, those people provided literally nothing of importance to the World. Zero, nadda, zilch. What they have done, is help to perpetuate a society which is more sick now than its ever been. Exploiting people for personal gain is something to be ashamed of, not proud of.

I think this show is about giving these cretinous children of famous families more voice than they deserve or need in the world. Seriously, go away already. We don't need anymore content with them in it.

There are a couple of new faces in the show.

Mischa Barton, good on you for telling that Perez creep to stick it. What a creep he has always been. I avoided that guys website & content like the plague. What a horrid human being. Gross.

Brandon Lee, good on you for doing what you need for yourself and not giving in to peer pressure. Nothing changes if nothing changes eh? Goodluck to you. :: thumbs up ::

I don't recommend this swill. Not at all. Go and do something of value with your life, step outside, look at the sky, talk to a person in real life, clean your bathroom, do some study, read a good, or not so good book, daydream... whatever it is that brings you joy and growth. Don't waste your life on this rubbish.

The Glades
(2010)

Thumbs down
I don't know how this lasted past the pilot.

The main character is so incredibly unlikeable, arrogant, selfish, unpalatable & disrespectful,t every other character has to work twice to three times as hard to keep the show watchable.

That's not a decent show.

I won't be watching past the pilot. There are enough two legged rectums in the world without having to watch them on screen.

0-1/10

Highway Patrol
(2009)

Abusive
Season 2 Episode 1

A young African man is taken off a bus as someone had claimed he had a knife and called the police.

It's obvious to anyone with half a brain cell that the young man is terrified of police. Coming from the country he has to be in Australia, Victorian Police should know better than to speak to him as they did. Then the young man is so stressed, when he's speaking he has some spittle. The over zealous, macho, power tripping cop exclaims 'don't spit at me' and pushes the young African man down so hard on the good of the police car that his legs come off the ground to a great extent. It looked violent and was completely over the top. Then the cop tells the young man he has spittle when speaking.

The young man didn't deliberately spit at the cop at all.

This is disgusting behaviour from the Victorian police officer.

He was violent and should be suffering the consequences of that.

African refugees and immigrants often come from war turn, violent and traumatised backgrounds. Police and army can't be trusted to be anything other than violent in their country.

What do police in Australia expect? Of course the young man would be frightened. Learn some compassion and how to treat people properly. Being impatient and aggressive is completely unacceptable.

The cop needs to be reprimanded and educated and taken off this show.

Disgraceful behaviour from Victoria police.

Too Old to Die Young
(2019)

No. Big miss of the mark for me.
Very stylised. Tries far too hard to be cool. Scenes are very drawn out. At first the silence and characters looking at each other for long periods seems to hold emotional depth we are missing in society today, with all of our rushing around, including conversations and interactions with loved ones.

By episode 3 it feels like it's simply drawn out far too much with these long, extra long, tediously long scenes and silences. It is almost like there isn't enough actual decent content so they prolong scenes to stretch the show out to an hour.

I wanted to like this.

With 99% of the characters being facially emotionless throughout the show it does nothing for me.

There are cold, aloof interesting, engaging characters, and then there's this.

I'm glad I could get up and walk away from it. It's taken me days to go back to it to watch the rest of the 3rd episode and usually I binge watch series. This show makes me feel like I'm giving my life away. It's so terribly slowly being drained from me, while watching this excessively slow feeling show.

I'm not able to recommend it. I do however think everyone should watch it for themselves and make up their own minds about it.

The Head Hunter
(2018)

Captivating
This film had me captivated from beginning to end. The ending was poor. The main character was proved more able than the end situation. So it was disappointing.

The landscape, acting, wardrobe, photography etc were fantastic.

I was not sure if it was supposed to be a comedy at one point. Anyone who watches it will understand my confusion. 'Body'. So I found myself wanting to laugh when perhaps it was supposed to be serious. I don't know.

I found the film original and enjoyable and the only let down was the ending. Even with that, it's still worth the watch. In this day and age with lots of films being the same, this is certainly a standout. I recommend people see this. Hu

NOS4A2
(2019)

Fail
This could've been so good. Unfortunately there are far, far too many 'C'mon now, that's so stupid!' scenarios, scenes and character reactions to things. I mean really stupid. I won't go into it as I don't want to give anything away for those who will watch this. I made it through to the end. Was unsure I would. due to the annoyance of the stupidity.

Some good ideas in this show and decent acting. It's the writers who've created stupid situations and reactions of the characters. It's incredibly tedious watching something that is stupid. It ruins the momentum of the show and immersive experience.

1/10

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