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Bound by Honor (1993)
The Disney disowns this movie - but they shouldn't.
Ain't nothing better than a 1990s crime epic, and this one, you probably haven't even heard of.
"Bound by Honor" aka "Blood In, Blood Out", follows the story of three youths who one day, drift apart.
Twists and turns every step of the way (along with a big twist you find out about in the final scene) make it a rewarding movie to watch. In 20 minutes you will know if you're in it for the long haul and if you do, you likely won't let go. I kept going until it was all said and done.
What was supposedly going to be a five hour movie ended up very methodically cut to three hours. But no scene seems excessive.
The Cinematography is ahead of its time, with some fluid shots a decade ahead of the year the movie was filmed in. It's set in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, but some scenes you can't even tell are from a given era, because of how fluidly the actors perform and lack of visual cues.
I gotta say, I was recommended this by somebody who recounted an experience one of my relatives was going through with one of the film's characters. He remembered it that well, and you probably will too if you like the film enough.
It's not available on any streaming services (Disney+, Hulu, Netflix or Prime) despite being owned by Hollywood Pictures. I think a probable reason why is the incredible amount of profanity and graphic situations the characters are in. You wouldn't want your little kids stumbling upon this movie - it is gritty. And grit is in the name.
Birdgirl (2021)
Going woke in the 2020s
Birdgirl isn't the first time Cartoon Network has spun-off a series to the chagrin of its fans. The mostly serious superhero TV show Teen Titans had a spinoff called Teen Titans Go, which cut the runtime of episodes in half to better accommodate zoomer attention span and shot most of the continuity of its characters out of a cannon. Unlike Teen Titans, however, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law was already a sitcom.
The legal premise of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law is gone in Birdgirl, and so are virtually all of the characters. Phil Ken Sebben is "dead" and Judy Ken Sebben is installed by the end of the first episode as the new CEO. Though the quick-thinking animations from the original are here, they don't exactly play to the same note. The interactions between characters are not so memorable as the Peter Potamus "did you get that thing I sent you" one-liner. Still, they touch upon the awkward situations colleagues encounter in a corporate workplace. Instead of the suave pick-up artist Peanut, you get an awkward chatting-up-for-coffee guy whose name I already forgot.
Allegedly the show is cancellation-proof because its executive producer, Michael Ouweleen, is also the president of Adult Swim. I'm still watching three episodes in and hopeful that the series can improve. At best, it sometimes conjures up the intentionally stiff humor of its predecessor. At worst, it's Rick and Morty-lite, with none of the cleverness or willingness to push the envelope.
I think the series can still succeed, but once the season has run its course, the people behind the show should go to the drawing board and do some more prodding as to its premise. Was Sebben and Sebben's legal division its most successful product, or was the refocus into a company-wide show needed to keep things fresh? We'll have to see.