Neophyte-Ronin's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Legend of Link Part 4]

Funny and Charming

Few people know how to tread the line between spoof and heart-warming. You succeeded twicefold.

Graphics got a seven for many reasons. While sprites were applied, they were well animated, and correctly modified for a multitude of animations. However, the screen is tiny... quite tiny in fact... so the reason this wasn't like an eight or nine was squarely due to having to squint or alter the computer screen resolution.

Style got eight for being very, very stylish and fun. You definitely made these with love and care; it transcends most of the sprite movies through reliable writing and voice overs to boot.

Sound gets a ten. Though effects like echoing in certain spots, ambient outside sounds, and other such quirks could have been applied through a free program like Audacity, I never missed them when I heard the voice overs. The lot of you should consider regular voice work, and the acting was top-notch.

Violence gets a four because the only fight sequence and the bad daydream are relatively tame. It exists, but is not a central role in the story.

Interactivity gets a one. There's a "Push Start" button, and the design of the button itself goes to style. The fact that a button exists is fine by me. It would have been nice if scene selections or playback features were involved, but personally I rarely use those features anyway.

Humor gets a ten, plain and simple. The emphasis on relationships and why Link never gets to pick the game's title... these bolster the whole of the hilarity. Including the Rabbit Joint's cover of the overworld theme--almost obligatory given the context--was wise as well, even if a great multitude have used it before.

Overall gets a nine, and this goes for the entire series (didn't feel like critiquing each one step-by-step).

In terms of writing and structure, you certainly got a gift for this stuff. There was the appearance of Dark Link at the beginning that kept me thinking about where the direction would go. After you established how Link and Zelda think of each other, you devised a situation where they might just reconcile some differences. But I still had the feeling that another string of these would premiere, and if not, I'd still like to see where you could take your skills on this site or elsewhere.

Keep up the good work!

Emptygoddess responds:

I think that review is longer than my entire movie. Very thorough.

[Media Instructional]

Good Demonstration

While I'm not going to question facts (the information was very dead-on), I got to say this was a cool little broadcast. There are a few issues here and there, though.

Graphics are an 8. From the outset, the cartoony look helps simplify and digest the information quickly.

Style is a 6. It could have been a little more humorous at times; it is terribly cut and dry in terms of presentation, and while that may be intentional, it makes note-taking and learning a little difficult.

Sound is a 5. While the sound effects and music are okay, they often overpower the narrator. The narrator doesn't inflect or throw a voice well enough to make it distinct, so it's easy to foul up and miss a few words here and there, especially since the volume levels are imbalanced. The fact that these are incorporated at all is good, however.

Violence is 0 (inappropriate anyway, given the context).

Interactivity is 0, which may or may not hurt the presentation given the medium. If this is just a playback, then it's to be understandable. If this can be upgraded to an interactive style, the classroom can retain a lot more from the material.

Humor is 4. The beginning of the movie and the presentation style are both quirky, but again, that narrator is terribly dry.

Overall is a 5. In terms of what you had, a few things need to be improved before you can really make this thing hum. You're on the right track, though.

[Naruto Randomness 5]

Funky

I know nothing of Naruto, but that doesn't dismiss the number of corny in-jokes from everywhere else. You spliced it with goofy stuff from pop songs to gangster movies. I smiled.

Graphics are a seven because I know you can probably draw better than this. If you sketch the characters, take a digital photo of the page (or use a scanner), then you can import the image to flash and simply trace it. Trying to learn how to draw with the mouse after mastering the pen and brush is a hassle, but if you have a road-map, you won't have as hard a problem and you can increase the detail.

Style is seven. It's a little simple, and a few don't make as much sense or generate as much of an effect as others (for example, the Scarface rip sounds cooler than the Simple and Clean segment, if you ask me); it's hit-and-miss stuff, though you hit more than you miss.

Violence is zero. I'm not even sure if this stuff even happened.

Interactivity is one. I think there's a play button. Good.

Humor is eight. Let's face it: I chuckled plenty of times, even if I don't know anything about the anime. The cheeky way you put it together--choice bits of music videos, etc.--stood out.

Overall is seven. This could have been better, but honestly, you did quite well.

[Redmen Battle]

First shots are always awkward

I voted 1 because I would prefer you to try again.

Graphics are five because the details on weapons and equipment--paired with a brief if primitive close-up of the supposed hero's face--are decent if not spectacular.

Style is three. Frankly I've seen plenty of Madness Combat sequence imitators to know the show here.

Sound is five. I was skewed on this because no sound effects were employed, but the choice of soundtrack was okay. If you manipulated and programmed sound more attentively, the file size would not be as large.

Violence is 8 (self explanatory).

Interactivity is 0 because you didn't even have a play or replay button.

Humor is 2. It wasn't unfunny at least.

Overall, you get a 3.

Remember: Flash is mostly Rote Learning without a support network. The fact that you submitted something automatically qualifies you into some kind of group that will help you out.

[Inside The Black Box]

Pretty Good

If this is for a Lithuanian film competition, who really cares? It actually works here, especially the end message that gave me a nice laugh. It's short, sweet, and smooth-running. The technical artistry could be bumped up, but some reflected the style resembled Salad Fingers, so it's marginally better than the graphics score. The sounds are excellent, and the seemingly random plot ties up a little better with the closing remark.

In all, I suggest you keep submitting here.

Daniel4000 responds:

^_^

[The Supermilitia]

Awesome style, minor production faults, nice flash

This is pretty nice. It not only captures the beauty of old school television cartoons, it emulates the style. The characters are somewhat stiff, though, not well animated. It IS part of the joke but so isn't how the superheroes resolve their struggles.

The main thing that struck me was the coloring style of the backgrounds. They sharply contrast with the styles of the characters themselves. This I've picked up from cartoons over the years until recent times. It instantly draws you into a very different world than what you're used to.

If I had a complaint, it is the sound quality. Lots of things sound muffled. You probably used a basic sound recorder, though I'd recommend Audacity if you don't have it.

I look forward to part II and maybe someone will put this on the Front Page since the unique execution already embodies enough nostalgia to warrant a look from everyone.

AeroHead1966 responds:

Thanks for the Audacity advice. Your ear is correct: basic sound recorder it was, and rather clunky. I learn something valuable from each Flash - the next will sound better.

[Trash and Clash ep 1]

Excellent Storytelling Technique

This would certainly make for a different kind of series on this site.

The only real gripe I have is the lack of voice acting--only quacking sounds and text make up the conversations. But the wretched little girl was well performed, though somewhat stiff (not very).

This has excellent potential for a series unlike any other cartoon on the site. Few are considered serious shorts, and this one is tough to call (considering that dog got maimed). However, I'd say this one's a serious short. It showcases two souls alienated one way or another by the society they fall victim to. It almost sent a tear to my eye.

I almost didn't review, much less even watch this flash due to the title--it's a misleading one, and you get so used to utter garbage being submitted. I'm glad this one proved me wrong for once. Keep up the good work, and I'm looking forward to Episode II.

Comick responds:

Thanks! I'm glad you did review it in the end, it really motivates me try better and address what I can improve for the next one.

[...To Revive Aeris]

The Revival Shit... Whatta Waste-a Time!

I prefer Aerith dead anyway; my fanfiction sort of requires her to be a kick-ass Guardian Force, an Einherjar that does all the reviving after the wickedly evil good guy does all the heroic killing (savagery?). Let me know if you ever want to read it.

This was narrated pretty well. In fact, it was the best sort of game code show I've seen in Flash, ever. Let's face it, someone needed to offer a good send-up of those insane revival rumors about Aerith. She's a lot cooler dead, anyway. Sound, however, was still a little shaky here and there, a little inconsistent.

But hey, it was well-written. It's almost required to rip sprites and images for the proceedings, and whatever artwork was made appeared too plain to speak of. Some jokes were a bit on the lame side, but not severely. Interesting to note some mild interaction through clicking on the right button during intermissions, and how you picked on your own flash for being long (you actually recommend a piss-break halfway through...), because I don't see that all too often around here.

I still say you could end up doing this for a living if you keep at the artwork end of it.

Dily responds:

"my fanfiction sort of requires her to be a kick-ass Guardian Force, an Einherjar that does all the reviving after the wickedly evil good guy does all the heroic killing (savagery?). Let me know if you ever want to read it."

DO I?! Please send me a copy!

I've said this many times in the responses to my other flashes, but...THANK YOU! AGAIN! Your review is very appreciated!

[Only Heroes Wear Cravats]

A Solid Effort

It went everywhere else, but had a cliffhanger. And it was okay in some sense--not as funny as previous movies of yours, but still put a smile on my face.

The style and art is somewhat better--simple, but aesthetically improved. Sound is still on the shaky, irregular side, like when the music is too high for the voice to compensate fairly. The jokes were simplistic as noted, but some were out there and it was outlandish enough to generate a smile in the whole audience while a few would start laughing aloud.

Anyway, keep at it. Like before, there were a few technical issues but nothing too terrible. This spawned from a random stream of consciousness, so try devising a script and storyboard to guide the direction of the actual court cast. Those "Phoenix Wrong" things might actually be a sensible source of inspiration for the kind of absurdity, but remember to do your own voices.

[The Rest is Silence]

Even Cooler

With each Flash I watch, you seem to get better and better....

It's great how this often gets turned into a family-run sort of deal. This had me smiliing and even laughing throughout. Every attempt at a cheap-shot on Shakespeare and his plays is mercilessly exploited. Facial expressions are flawless, but the fight sequence wasn't too great. There wasn't much actual fencing, but fencing wasn't the point. This was all about fun.

A few tweening issues were there, but for once, I really didn't care.

Sound quality, however, was sort of inconsistent. Some parts, like the fight announcers, were on the low side, while other times you could hear the characters perfectly.

In all, this is definitely the reason why you should continue working in flash, even if your art is quite simple. I'd recommend uploading your hand-drawn scanned images onto Flash and tracing them using Flash's tools. That way, you can somewhat bypass the crudity of drawing purely with a mouse without any references to trace over.