FightingSeraph's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Read Only Memory: Vol 1]

Funnier than both of the Nin10doh! collabs.

While this did have its flaws, I found this funnier than Kirbopher's Nin10doh collabs, and you made it more unique by making it coherent. Sure video games are an overdone subject on NG, but it's the execution that counts. With that out of the way...

In terms of art and animation, this is one of the better flash on here. I have to say that the drawn graphics and the backgrounds were well done, but the sprites looked distorted. You may want to consider teaming up with an experienced sprite animator for any future installments. In terms of sound, the voices were great, and the music used fit the individual parts. Then there's the content, which has some notable flaws. While the direction is excellent and most of it was funny; the Zelda segment was overcliche and boring. I mean, jokes involving the Zelda cartoon (underrated) and the CD-i Zelda aren't funny, and Michaelangelo's appearance didn't elicit any laugher, and therefore was unnecessary . However, as I said before, the other segments were pretty damn funny.

What I did like:
-Great art and animation
-Great sound production and voice acting
-Mostly funny
-Cool transitions

What I didn't like:
-The fact that this is another VG flash
-The sprites look all distorted
-The Zelda segment wasn't funny.

Overall: In spite of the flaws, I'm awarding this an eight for making me laugh.

Shamoozal responds:

Not sure how the sprites are distorted. I took them right from sprite sheets. I mean, I had to enlarge some of them to fill the HD resolution, maybe that's what you mean by distorted? Running them in their native resolution just wouldn't work right. Unless I'm missing something?

Anyway, thanks for the comments!

[Triumph des Erdbeere]

Creative and funny!

If Strawberry Clock had your knowledge and skills in Flash and Photoshop nine to ten years ago, he would have been a true king of the Portal. To be honest, I don't mind you Clock/Lock guys as long as you produce quality cartoons and aren't annoying other users. Sure, the use of imported graphics will piss off a lot of people, just like sprite movies, but there hasn't been any notable imported photo animations since 2002 with the exception of the Kubby Chronicles. With that out of the way...

In terms of graphics, they may consist of imported pictures, but the pics used were of good quality and well animated. Plus, I like how you mixed monochrome and full colors together, creating a mixed media effect. However, in the car chase scene, the wheels on the Aston Martin had no animation. In the sound department, I like the songs that you selected for the BGM. The voices may not be the best, but I also like how you mixed those ripped from various movies and the text-to-speech kind. The only problem with this is that it goes out of sync with the animation on older computers. Then there's the content: for a polarizing bunch of users on this site, I thought it was pretty funny. Plus, the directing for something like this puts many well-known series to shame.

What I do like:
-Nice use of manipulated photos
-Nice mix between monochrome and full color.
-Funny and well directed.
-Nice mix between real voices and text to speech.
-Creative

What I don't like:
-The fact that this is a Clock movie, which haters will bash regardless of how good or bad it is.
-Not everyone will like how random this is.
-Could have been optimized better.
-Imported photos and soundbytes will put off snobbish dickheads or anyone else opposed to such.

Overall: If all Clock movies were like this, the Clock Crew wouldn't be so polarizing on NG. Here's a nine out of ten for proving that not all Clock movies suck.

[Pleasure Island 3]

Pretty fuckin' badass!

I have to say, you have improved on your animation signifigantly since the last two episodes. Plus, I like how you had the balls to have Fernando make out with Randy in one scene. Sure, the part about him hunting squid may be absurd, but luckily doesn't take itself seriously.

In terms of art and animation, the improvements you've implemented made this look like something that would give Fallen Angel major competition. Plus, the angle choices were a nice touch. Shows how much you have progressed since the early days of Greasy Moose. Soundwise, I really dug the musical score you did for this, but Fernando's voice wasn't very good and you could have did a few more takes to get it right. On the other hand, the other character voices were great. As for the content; A nice mix between the kind of comedy from Crotchless Chaps and the action from the Stick Slayer. The pacing was excellent and I was laughing all the way through.

What I do like:
-Funny
-Mostly well-written
-Nice music
-Great direction
-Great voice acting except for Fernando

What I don't like:
-Fernando's voice could have been done better.
-Huge Filesize
-The squidhunter subplot could have been better developed.

Overall: Now why can't Clock Suckers and Wacky Game Jokez 4 Kidz be up to par with this? Here's a ten out of ten for something well-made and hilarious, Sexual Lobster.

Sexual-Lobster responds:

thanks v much!

[Rapture's Best&Brightest]

Not bad for a first flash, but not great.

Look, I don't have a problem with videogame flash as long as the results are good, but this doesn't have the entertainment value of either Visitor from Proxima or Two Nerds and A Robot. However, that was comparing apples to oranges. Hnilmik, you have a long ways to go if you want to be with Scar Theatre, Randy Solem, McFretN (Check out Combat Instinct if you want to know who he is), Bobert-Rob, Dean Packis, and many others. On the other hand, it's much better than most first time submissions on Newgrounds. With that out of the way...

In terms of graphics, the drawings are nice along with the angle choice, but the only real animation were the bubbles that were coming from below. Plus,the fins on the fish have no animation at all, which could have helped. As for the filters, don't be like Jazza and Alvin Earthworm by splurging on the blur effects since more filter use equals more processing power to render them without it lagging. In terms of sound, the music was alright, but didn't fit with the mood you were trying to set. The voice acting wasn't bad in terms of the actual acting, but why couldn't you do the woman's voice? I found Sapphire's voice to be a bit annoying and out of place, but not as annoying as the voices in Tarboy or $00pah Nin10Doh. As for the content, you chose a nice behind the back shot for this, but writing was nothing special and could have used a somewhat tighter pace. Another piece of advice from someone who has seen thousands of flash movies: Learn how to optimize your swf files because 2.5 megabytes for something this short is ludicrous, especially considering that I've seen flash that was better animated and directed, but had smaller filesizes.

What I did like:
-Nice drawings
-Passable voice for the executive
-Passable music
-Somewhat fresh subject
-Not bad for a school project

What I didn't like:
-The fact that this is another VG flash.
-Very little animation
-The female voice was somewhat annoying.
-Needlessly big filesize for something short. (This could have been 800k to one megabyte)
-Could have used a better pace.

Overall: While something like this would usually get a six out of me, but seeing that it's not bad nor great at the same time; I'm giving you a seven. As I said before, I don't mind these kinds of derived projects, but they can't be the only kind of flash productions if you want to be respected.

Hnilmik responds:

I appreciate the effort you're willing to spend when it comes to giving a review! And even more that you're willing to step a bit beyond what you'd usually score!

The reason why I didn't voice for Samantha and cast Sapphire for the role is because Samantha is BLACK and I can't sound like a convincing African American no matter how hard I try. I'm too Asian to get the right vocal resonance down. Also, ironically, Samantha is supposed to be annoying to some extent, but that'll be touched upon in later installments.

I agree that the filesize was like whoa (not huge, but dang--those vectors), because, as you're aware, I'm new at this. However, it would've helped more if you knew how to animate yourself to give me some tips on fixing it. Just look at that additional help section; I readily accept help when something can be improved on, yo.

Make a flash, dude! I see claims that you know a lot about them, but it'd be much more awesome, not to mention more helpful, if you could put your thoughts to good use beyond namedroppy reviews~ Don't let strict preferences get in the way of possibly enjoying things you wouldn't think you would, eh? Peace~

[Saigo No Shigoto]

Pretty fuckin' Badass!

Radcliffe, it's safe to say that you did that Newgrounds classic justice, unlike most fan flash which usually turn out to suck dick. I remember seeing the original several times through the years, and unlike some older flash (I'm looking at you Arrogancy); it managed to still remain good throughout the years. With that out of the way, on with the review...

In terms of graphics, the characters are beautifully drawn and were animated with skills that few on here have; and I heard that you drawn this with a mouse, which makes this even more of an achievement for you. Not to mention that you put gradients to good use along with regular shading. Plus, I like how you used both Flash MX and Flash 8 for this; I think that many people on here should consider using older versions of Flash while using the newer versions for special effects. Mainly because using older versions makes people less likely to splurge on the Flash 8+ filters. Other than that, I liked what you had in that department. The sound was pretty much well-done, with fitting music and sound effects, which can make or break a flash. Then there's the content, the fighting and the mood were excellent and put many story-driven flash series to shame.

What I do like:
-Excellent art and animation
-Good usage of gradients and the Flash 8 filters were used with discretion. (I think Jazza and Alvin Earthworm could learn something from you.)
-Excellent fighting and mood
-Great music selection
-Does the original justice

What I don't like:
-The fact that snobbish pricks will trash this for being a tribute.

Overall: How would you like a ten for this?

XtremelyVenomous responds:

Venom:- "how would i like a 10 for this? .... HOW WOULD I LIKE A TEN FOR THIS? ..... a ten is always acceptable. but a 10 + these words from you, buddy. makes me wanna hand my symbiote to you......................... temporarily ofcourse."

[Two Nerds and a Robot]

Funny, but it could have been funnier.

Sure, it may be a school project, but the results of these school project flashes usually turn out to be good. In terms of art and animation, it may not be the best frame-by-frame animation (especially when compared to Adam Phillips or Noiserover), but for what you had, it's better than some of the test animations that I have done. Then there's the sound, the Audio Portal may suffer from so much competition, so little innovation, but the song you chose fit the nerd theme of your cartoon. Then there's the content, it may be original and I did chuckle, but considering stuff like Birthday Surprise, Rats on Cocaine, Mega Man and Pompous Robots, and a few other cartoons I can't think of at the moment; you may want to work on your comedic timing and delivery (though I do like many of your earlier cartoons). On the other hand, at least you didn't use 4Chan/Y.T.M.N.D./Youtube memes in this, which is a good thing since I hate that kind of humor. (Even though I'm usually open to any form of comedy.)

What I do like:
-Original, which takes a backseat to the execution.
-Good animation
-Chuckleworthy
-Nice use of an Audio Portal song

What I don't like:
-Could have been funnier.

Overall: Here's an eight out of ten for you.

Battosai810 responds:

Great review!

Happy to hear you enjoyed the cartoon. I completely agree it could have been funnier, but I wasn't focusing on the writing or comedy for this one; it was an animation exercise as you noted. I make a point to avoid Internet memes, as I find them pretty irritating. Many of them are funny once or twice, but enough is enough! See the horror that is Brawl Taunts, Street Fighter Club, and well, anything Rina-Chan has ever "written".

As for music, I was looking for 80's nerd music, and it happened to be the first result under "80s" in the Audio Portal! I got lucky there. Thanks again for your big ol' review - I definitely prefer it over the usual one sentence reviews - positive or negative - that I often get.

[Vince The Voodoo doll]

Reminds me of Doug TenNapel.

In case you're not familiar with him, he created Earthworm Jim, The Neverhood, Project Geeker, and Sockbaby. Aside from that, you just proven that you can do something that isn't a hateful insult. With that out of the way...

In terms of art and animation, I really like when people mix frame-by-frame and tweening together. Plus, I liked how you timed that skyscraper segment in the beginning. Then there's the use of the game's soundtrack, which I would consider highly respectable. As for the content, I never played Voodoo Vince myself, but for a tribute flash, it's well done and that's what counts in my book. The directing, timing, and use of texture are excellent for something that's three megabytes. However, considering that Noiserover had excellent animation and sound quality for extremely small exported files; that is why you're getting the score I'm giving you.

What I do like:
-Underused subject
-Great animation
-Nice music choice
-Great direction

What I don't like:
-The Fact that this is another videogame flash. Note: I don't have a beef with video game flash as long as the end result is good.
-Could have been better optimized considering the length.

Overall: 9/10

Emanhattan responds:

I know this sounds idiotic n by behalf but I really dont see this as a videogame flash.

To me this is more of a music video to a song I like and a tribute to 2 of my favourite creative minds,than a tribute to the game itself.

still I appreciate the input and thanks for the review!

[Busker Branford]

Genial!

As much as I like your series Edible Castle and Whitmore, I found this to be funnier and better paced. The same can be said for Caulderbank, but that isn't what I'm reviewing. With that out of the way, on with my review.

In terms of art and animation; Busker is simple, but to the point like Beavis and Butt-head, Daria, The Critic, Dr. Katz, and South park. Nothing too over-the-top, but gets the point across with a good mix between tweening and frame by frame. Then there's the sound, which has my approval in my book with great music and good voice acting. It may not be Egoraptor, Sam Haft, Josh Tomar, Larry McKee, or Druox the Shredder; but it fits for what it is. As for the comedy, I found this to be pretty funny ranging from the Whitmore-brand keyboard to the off-kilter caricatures. While it may not be as funny as Rats on Cocaine, Norse in the Ninth Ward, or The Three Stooges; but it doesn't need to be like those. However, it isn't one of those shove as many joke ideas without much thought put into either the jokes or the plot shows, nor is it chock full of social criticism to the point of being pretentious and self-absorbed.

What I do like:
-Funny
-Good art and animation
-Original
-Great music
-Good voice acting

What I don't like:
-Could have been funnier, but that doesn't matter because it's good enough as is.

Overall: Here's a nine out of ten, Will.