#50-60%

[horsefilmsrated]

Penny's Shadow (2011)

Language: Dutch

Date watched: 18 April 2023

Main horse actors: Neapolitano XXIX-18 as Shadow, Malle as Rakker.

Shadow stand ins: Siglavy Capriola XVII-21, Sjoerd, Maaike

Trope count: 14/25

Something to note about this film is that the name is a reference to the Dutch horse magazine "Penny" - there is no actual character called Penny in the film. Knowing this before watching would have saved me a lot of confusion.

Penny's Shadow is a confused, cliche story that is much more complicated than it needs to be, but overall not a horrible watch.

Lisa, an angsty teen who has lost her own beloved horse, joins her mother, and sister, Tess, on a riding holiday where she meets the traumatised stallion, Shadow, who she is instantly drawn to. Erik, Shadow's attractive, brooding, teenage handler, forbids Lisa from going near him, as since witnessing the death of his owner, he has become too dangerous to work with for anyone other than Erik and his father, who own the ranch. If you have ever seen a horse film, you do not need me to tell you how this story goes. It is every bit as cliche and predictable as you would expect, and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, this film just had too many pointless and confusing threads for what should have just been a sweet and simple story.

The most bizzare aspect of this film is the suggestion that Erik's mother can predict future events through drawings, sometimes months before they happen, including the events leading up to her own death. This is very subtly aluded to at the start of the film, and then once later, when Erik sees a drawing of Lisa and realises then that she is in trouble. This fantastical element was so thoroughly confusing to me in an otherwise completely "realistic" film world because it is not discussed or explained at all, it just happens and is accepted and then moved on from. Was the mother a real prophet? Was Erik just imaginging the pictures? Were the drawings done by Erik after the fact while he thought of his mother? Was this whole thing a metaphor? We may never know.

Apart from this, there were several plot points that were never really properly examined, and convuluted side plots that didn't add anything to the film. Lisa and Tess mention their father once or twice, but we never learn much about their relationship despite it feeling like there is something meaningful there. Lisa's horse died, but we don't know when or how. The premise of this riding holiday is unclear, as Lisa, Tess and their mother are invited in like old friends by the host, yet they seem not to know him, and other holiday goers just wander around in the background and it's unclear where they're staying. A band turns up with a gaggle of groupies, but I never really understand what that has to do with the ranch. It gives Tess the opportunity for her own story, whereby through some convoluted and predictable means she is asked to perform as a drummer for a performance, but it feels disjointed and contrived.

For me, the star of the show was Rakker, the fat little pony owned by Tess, whose funny little trot and cheeky antics, for me, elevated this film from somewhat medicore to really quite joyful.

Overall this film scored an okay 51%. If you like cheesy, predictable horse films with a bit of fun and romance, this one might be worth your time.

[nerdygaymormon]

[ckerouac]

So, I really love the selection of Tim Walz for VP and it’s taken me a moment to articulate why. I mean, obviously, Dem bonafides, he’s sharp, he’s funny, etc etc. But everyone in the Veepstakes fits that bill, Harris was spoiled for good choices.

But Walz offers something that the other men in contention don’t that I think will be incredibly useful in combating Trumpism.

He offers an example and an off ramp to the section of men who felt like they were Republicans by default, and so support Trump by default. There are a lot of Trump voters who are full on obsessive, but that’s not who we’re talking to. We’re talking to folks who grew up in Republican areas, or felt their hobbies didn’t line up with who a Democrat was, or didn’t feel represented by their image of a Democrat. You want to see it so you can be it, you know? Which is why Harris is so inspirational to a lot of segments of folks, but Walz is too.

He served in the military. He went to a state college. He’s your favorite teacher from your public high school. He’s your football coach who actually cared if you were passing your math class. He’s the guy you looked up to at school when your family sucked but this guy cared, and he helped you get out and make something of yourself.

He’s the neighbor who helps you jump your car. He’s your uncle who takes you hunting. He’s your Dad who loves teasing you at the Stare Fair. He’s you when he makes a mistake like his DUI and takes responsibility for it, and when he has the chance makes sure other can come back from similar mistakes. He’s you when you and your wife want so badly to be parents and IVF gives you the family you wanted. He’s you when he says ‘it had to be me’ and used his standing and power to protect vulnerable kids sponsoring the GSA at his school.

He gives the real life example to these men that they can be that football, fishing, hunting family man who wants to provide for his family, be that powerful, respected member of the community and use that power to feed kids in school. That it’s normal to enthusiastically work for a boss like Harris. That yeah those other guys are fucking weirdos, and you’re not a weirdo, are you?

That there’s a place in the Democratic Party for them. That they don’t have to default to being fucking weird.

I hope those guys see this example of masculinity and go… yeah, that’s me. That’s who I’m gonna be.

[paintedcrows]

When asked why they still haven't kicked the bucket after decades: Ford insists he beat Death at chess. Stanley insists he kicked Death's ass in a Denny's parking lot

[chloesimaginationthings]

Michael Afton is so fucking old in FNAF..

[keets-writing-corner]

Thinking a LOT about Lucifer in the latest Hazbin episode. Idk what I was expecting but not this??

As I was watching my immediate thought was just "huh... Lucifer is kinda of weird..." but as the episode went on I realized the issue

the dude is off the chain depressed, like he says it as a joke but holy cow it is SO BAD

He's manically just creating rubber ducks cuz his daughter really like it that one time but it's empty, it's never good enough but he keeps doing it, maybe cuz he doesn't know how to pass the time otherwise.

like I get the feeling he HAS better things he SHOULD be doing than making rubber duck after rubber duck. At first I was like, "Bruh why isn't the king of hell doing anything?" aaaaand then it became clear...

The dude is disassociating so bad he can barely hold a conversation let alone remember information. He clearly WANTS to, he wants to be involved with his daughter so bad, he wants to care about the things she's doing so bad, but his depression keeps interfering. It's like he can only hear every other word and he grasps onto the ones he does hear semi-out of context. Like you can see every time he catches something that he hadn't before and he just "well shit I didn't catch that part"

and that's why he reacts so weird when people talk to him. He is struggling so bad to engage with the conversation he's only getting 50% of it

does that look like the face of a man who knows what the hell the conversation is even about??? he is STRUGGLING

like Charlie spent so long telling him about the hotel, and he STILL didn't understand what she wanted. Yeah it comes off as ditzy but literally I've been in that position where your brain just "nope, not doing this right now" and nerfs your conversation comprehension. So as someone who's BEEN in that position, to me it feels exactly like what he's dealing with. He's sorta engaged with the conversation, but only as much as his brain will allow

For example, when I'm dealing with this, this is what someone talking to me feels like this where the crossed out parts are what I missed and bold is what I catch, "Hey! You know I was thinking for dinner we could either make some chicken with rice? But if you don't feel like cooking, pasta is super easy and you love that right? What do you want to do?" you can kinda get that someone is trying to talk to you about dinner, and towards the end you get the impression that they asked something that needs your input so you can decently put 2 and 2 together and try and pass off, but crucial bits were left out, I would have no idea that either chicken or pasta is in the conversation only having heard "rice". When someone is just talking at me, I can decently pass off as being engaged but the second I'm required to participate in the conversation I'm screwed. Seem familiar? At which point I have 2 options, try to give a bullshit answer, or admit that I missed what they were saying and ask them to repeat

Lucifer, unfortunately, is trying so damn hard to hide that he's dealing with like 24/7 dissociation, so he can't admit that he's missing entire chunks of the conversation, hence his really weird replies. He does eventually get the full picture and then he and Charlie start having the real conversation

Also, the Alastor/Lucifer rivalry was hilarious but also really indicative of more of what Lucifer is dealing with

Alastor is, unfortunately, really good at picking up people's insecurities, and thanks to Charlie's description earlier and watching Lucifer clearly trying to overcompensate, he immediately picks up on the fact that Lucifer KNOWS he struggles to be a good dad (we know cuz it's cuz of the depression, hard to be engaged when your brain keeps turning off) and decides to rub salt in the wound by pretending he's been acting as a surrogate father to Charlie. Now why Alastor decided to pick a fight with the king of hell is beyond me, I do not understand Alastor (and I LIKE IT) (maybe it's cuz Alastor thinks he's hot shit and was expecting Lucifer to at least have heard of him but Lucifer just treats him like a nobody? who knows)(why would Lucifer listen to radio anyways when he can't even pay attention to a conversation it'd just be white noise)

But yeah I just was expecting someone who oozed either charisma or presence and instead I got a depressed dad who's dissociating so bad he can barely function and be present in his life. The only thing it seems he CAN do is make rubber ducks cuz his daughter really liked it that one time

Idk Lucifer is tragic to me. Whatever the full details of what heavan did to him absolutely broke him and he can't deal with it. He's aware of it, and he doesn't know how to fix it, so he tries to over compensate and sorta makes an ass out of himself but no one says or does anything cuz this guy is supposed to be THE king of hell

Suddenly it's making a lot more sense why he just rolls over and lets heaven do what it wants and even told Charlie to go in his place the start of the show. He's not in any headspace to hold a basic conversation let alone negotiate! He didn't even know who Alastor was, he's been so out of touch

idk I like him, he seems sweet, I hope Charlie brings some light back into his life. He really needs to get out of that rubber duck room

[inlanasroom]

Im back after a break but I missed you guys </3

[1alchemistart]

the three lads! :]

[stephaniesblogxx]

Happy heavenly birthday Marilyn <3

she would have been 98 this year

[atomic-raunch]

House on Bare Mountain, 1962

[dollyticia]

✩ ⋆｡° 𖦹 ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧⋆ ˚｡⋆𖦹⋆｡°✩⋆

the trees, like lungs, filling with air

my sister, the mean one, pulling my hair

[amatesura]

Moomin dolls 1950-1969

[ultraviolencebitch76]

[kyjen-r]

[tuttle-did-it]

You know, it's genuinely sad to me that aging favourite character actors no longer have any fun murder-mystery tv shows to guest-star as murders on.

[raggedy-spaceman]

An Adventure In Space And Time 2013 -> 2023