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The Unforgivable (2021)
The Unforgivable
This movie is about a woman released from prison and her conflict with the unforgiving society. That is a fresh and clever theme. Despite the many prison dramas, I don't remember a single movie about after-sentence. Sadly, shortly after the movie starts, it reveals the actual theme. This movie is about a woman trying to find her sister. The after-sentence concept only has minor effects and is used as a way to separate the sisters so that the movie can happen. The first theme would be much more interesting to watch. And they also knew about it. The trailer, the title, and the first 20 minutes of the movie try to make it look like an after-prison drama. I wish I could say that they succeeded. Quite disappointing.
The plot is slow-paced. As I said, there aren't enough scenes to make me feel like this is an after-sentence film. The character (Ruth) doesn't face/overcome the difficulties of spending 20 years in prison. If we put the movie's promise aside and look at what we have, we have the story of two sisters, which is also flawed. Ruth doesn't achieve anything by herself. She encounters helpful people and asks for help throughout the whole movie. The film also lefts many things without answering. Did the family of Emily allow the sisters, or did they try to prevent it? Did Katherine learn she is the one who killed the cop? What happened to Steve and Keith? Did they decide to forgive Ruth? Did Katherine learn about the letters, or are they still hiding them? If she did, how was her reaction? Of course, a movie doesn't have to answer all these. It can let the viewers fill in the blanks. But I expect leaving parts in shadow to contribute to the film, like increasing memorability. This one feels like lazy writing. I must also talk about the mystery part. I remember getting mad at the movie for not showing the entire backstory. Because I thought they showed it all. So especially for me, the twist was unexpected and impressive.
The cinematography is enough. There isn't something innovative, and some scenes could have been better with clever camera angles. But the film manages to capture the dark and overwhelming atmosphere.
The tempo is slow, but that isn't something unwanted. I lost interest at one or two points. That is pretty natural for a slow-paced drama. The vital factor here is whether the movie manages to catch your interest back or makes you get bored progressively every second. Luckily the film can engage attention by adding some fast-paced drama to it.
The characters and dialogues are trying to be more realistic than interesting. They also lack depth. Only Steve and Ruth have interesting motives and traits. They only serve the story by helping or not helping Ruth. That makes them empty and unrealistic, the exact opposite of their purposes. They did a better job with the dialogues, but it is still far from perfect. They often feel odd and unnecessary.
The acting is okay. The cast manages to feel emotions, but not in the most elegant way. Instead of gestures and facial expressions, the characters shout, hug or apologize to each other. Don't get me wrong: it is a way to show emotions, and some might also enjoy it. But I find it too theatrical and prefer a realistic style of acting.
Lastly, the location choices are well. They fit within the context and manage to make the theme more unsettling and disturbing.
So, if you like a slow-paced, finding long-lost sister drama with theatrical acting, non-complicated characters, and standard cinematography, you might enjoy "The Unforgivable."
Kaubôi bibappu: Cowboy Bebop: Brain Scratch (1999)
Brain Scratch
Humor in the episode isn't its most essential factor. Ed and the ads on the TV provide some, but it's better to keep it low to protect the uncanny tone.
The villain, Dr. Londes, manages to feel like an extreme, threatening cult leader. Learning his entire identity being artificial makes a perfect example of the episode's main point.
The execution is also well-done. The dialogue feels above standards. The art style and the music feels carefully made. The characters also manage to feel like themselves.
Stories usually take problems of their time and make them the main point. That is a vital factor for becoming timeless. If I can't relate to the problem the story tells, I can't understand and enjoy it. At first, this episode may look outdated because there aren't many left watching TV. But if we look at it from a more comprehensive perspective, people manipulated by the media increased a lot and continue to. The point of this episode isn't outdated, and sadly I feel like it won't be for a long time.
Kaubôi bibappu: Cowboy Bebop: Cowboy Funk (1999)
Cowboy Funk
This episode is about Spike and a cowboy named Andy. Andy has a lot of similarities with Spike and is the main reason for the conflict. The script: A bomber is trying to blow up skyscrapers, but Spike is more concerned about a cowboy on horseback that hinders his attempts to catch the bounty.
The episode starts like it is going to be a crime story. We have a well-written villain with a strong motive. He encounters Spike, gets caught, and threatens him with the other bombs to escape. The script is, in a way, predictable, but then Andy comes out. From that point, the episode turns into a comedy. Andy doesn't belong in this episode. And the writers make whatever they can to highlight it. His outfit, horse, and phrases make him look like he is from another story. That absurdity drives the comedy, and the level of it increases naturally. All events affect each other, like a typical script. This episode proves when writing an absurd comedy, the plot doesn't need to be random and unrealistic. It is possible to do it in a way that helps characters show their absurdities.
I enjoyed the art style as usual. Especially the sunset duel was astonishing. The voice acting still isn't a standard I can criticize, but it doesn't sound off.
Kaubôi bibappu: Cowboy Bebop: Boogie Woogie Feng Shui (1999)
Boogie Woogie Feng Shui
This episode of Cowboy Bebop is about Jet and a contact from the past. Just like Ganymede Elegy and Black Dog Serenade, but unlike the other two, this one feels a little out of track. Before I write about why let me talk about the script: Jet gets a mysterious mail from Pao and finds himself teaming up with his daughter, who uses Feng Shui to decipher it. The two are also chased by syndicate mobsters searching for him.
Ganymede Elegy, Black Dog Serenade, and Boogie Woogie Feng Shui. Asking what they present to us, the answers will be the same. So to prevent repetition, they all answer from their perspectives to the question of how. Ganymede Elegy offers a blue-toned, emotional story. Black Dog Serenade is too, but more seriously and black-toned. I failed to feel the same tones in this episode. I usually prefer not to compare episodes and review them without the influence of the others, but I needed to give those examples to clarify what I meant. Anyways, we can say that this is a mystery episode but one that executes the mystery poorly. Poorly for two reasons:
First, the mystery fails to feel vital. Jet tries to uncover the mystery, not because he is in danger, not for personal benefits, not for morals, but because only he wonders about it.
And the other reason, the mystery isn't vital at all. A question can't be better than its answer. This episode asks a lot of questions. And later answers those questions with one of these three possibilities.
1) It doesn't answer. Like when Meifa asks, "Why didn't he send the mail to me?". He later says, "Jet, I wanted you to bring her here.". But that isn't an answer because the question "why" still stands. You might assume he wanted Jet to protect Meifa, but it is just an assumption, and when I'm watching a mystery episode, I want to know if I was right or wrong.
2) It answers, but it doesn't change anything. I like the stories that change when a mystery is solved. In the middle part of the episode, Jet and Meifa discovers that the mobsters following them are from the cartel. But this information never makes a change in their plans. Jet already knew about Pao and the cartel, so we also can't assume he used it when telling Meifa who her father is. An incredibly pointless mystery.
3) It answers, but it creates plot holes. We know that the mobsters were after Jet and Meifa because Pao sent Jet an email. So they want to use Jet to find Pao. Till this part, there are no problems. But if they wanted to use his help, they needed him alive. And still, at the beginning of the episode, they used guns that pierce through gravestones.
With all the needless scenes and contradictions, it may sound like I had a horrific time watching this episode, but actually, it was entertaining. Just like every other episode, the art style is astonishing. I especially liked the music in this one. Yes, the script feels pointless, and the side characters aren't the deepest ones I have encountered. But still, one can easily see that this episode is far above tv show standards. And with its dialogues, main characters, action scenes, voice acting, and art style, even this one feels like a Cowboy Bebop episode.
Kaubôi bibappu: Cowboy Bebop: Pierrot le Fou (1999)
Pierrot le Fou
This episode feels like a combination of dark themes and action. So I think we might be calling it a thriller episode. The script goes like this: Spike witnesses a homicide by a deranged serial killer who then goes after him.
This episode is a simple one if you only think about the plot. It will be wise to look at the characters, and that's where this episode starts to feel like a masterpiece. I will go through them and describe how they contribute to the story.
The first character is the main character of this episode: not Spike but the villain itself. It's his story we are experiencing. The black, gray, and red colors and the noir atmosphere in the first half exist only to present him effectively, and the second half takes place in an amusement part. I want to remind you that the second half is just after we learn that he has an intelligence level of a child. That is just incredible writing. His phobia of cats, choice of words, backstory, and reaction when he got hit by the blade is more than enough to make him unique and remarkable. In summary: Every aspect of this episode is for making him look like a scary insane man with the mind of a child, and I can easily say they accomplished it.
I also want to talk about Spike and Jet. This episode manages to tell us about their differences when handling situations. Spike rushes into it without thinking about strategies and improvises. Jet, on the other hand, uses contacts in ISSP to get some information. Then, with the help of Ed, he uses that information to discover the truth. It may not look like a lot, but I think it is a great way to show their differences without making an episode about it.
Since this episode heavily contains a dark theme, it can easily be overwhelming. That is where Ed and Faye take part. They provide humor with jokes and dialogues to the episode.
All that combined with great music, little details, and well-organized encounters is how you make a perfect episode.
Kaubôi bibappu: Cowboy Bebop: Wild Horses (1999)
Wild Horses
This episode of Cowboy Bebop is mainly about Spike's ship Swordfish, and you can feel the concept of spaceships. It is the one that includes far more spaceship scenes/battles than any other so far. A quick summary: Spike runs out of gas not far from the garage. Meanwhile, Jet and Faye take on a group of pirates who use computer viruses to terrorize shipping.
I think this episode focuses on the action rather than the characters. That is not a bad thing. Not every episode needs character development or character-based drama, but making an action-focused episode won't give you an excuse for empty characters. Luckily, Cowboy Bebop never misses with writing characters. Even side characters are amazingly entertaining and yet realistic. I especially enjoyed the old pilot: Doohan. The art style is stunning and unique. The voice acting isn't a factor that I know enough to criticize, but I can say that it doesn't sound out of place.
Kaubôi bibappu: Cowboy Bebop: Speak Like a Child (1998)
Speak Like a Child
In this episode of Cowboy Bebop, we discover about Faye's past and how everything she had -even the recollections- are gone now. A quick summary: A package comes for Faye with a Beta cassette. Faye runs, thinking it to be from a debt collector. Jet and Spike undertake a search for a player to view it. They find it is a cassette sent by Faye herself from 10 years ago.
I think the end of this episode is impactful, but I found the part where Jet and Spike searched for a player purposeless since the player was also sent to them later that episode. Don't get me wrong: I do not think that part was uninteresting. It would be too short if they removed that part, and we would miss all the well-written dialogues and settings. I'm just saying that the goal and the result of that scenes could have been better. The visual style and music are as astonishing and timeless as every other episode. Voice acting sounds pleasing, and every second of it was incredibly immersive. I don't remember losing attention even for a second.