Melaisis's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Fists of Fury (clay)]

Everybody was CLAY-FU-FIGHTING!

I'm a great fan of claymation (obviously thanks to Knox and a few others). It is something which NewGrounders tend to do really well. Despite it being very easy to mess up, most people pull it off, to great success.

You are one of these people.

The flash was super-smooth. Which is very hard to find when it comes to claymation, even proffessionally. Some of the stunts were awesome and proved to me that almost anything is possible in claymation (hey, I didn't know they could run up walls!).

The music was obviously very well fitted. It helped keep the feeling of action all the way through the movie. Although the fighting did slow down once or twice, the music still kept the atmosphere, as all music used in animation should.

The humour was light and well placed. It kept things fresh and not just boring-old-fighting all the time with the same moves. I really liked this flash overall.

Except maybe for the graphics. I enjoyed the little details on the characters, but the constant static of the video didn't really do anything good for the flash. I didn't mind it too much, though. And I doubt it won't really effect your score in any way.

[Bunbun love]

Hah! Cute.

Well, I didn't really think much to this short and sharp animation. It has nice graphics, (which are pretty cute, too) to go with the whole feel of it. The music is relaxing and somewhat romantic. And I can honestly say that I can see this flash being on a proffessional e-card site. It serves its purpose. Nothing more, nothing less.

A bit late for Valentines, don't you think?

[FreeKill]

KA-CHING!

'Oh Gawd,' I thought. 'Not another flash about ninjas!' But hey, I had just played Dynasty Street, so I thought that the NG submitters might be on a good-ninja-flash streak today. I was partly right.

Firstly, I applaud the fact that you didn't use stick characters. Sure, the models look like something from Interactive Buddy, but atleast they look slightly more real, and not something done by a pre-schooler.

I also applaud your music. Blink 182. Wow. How 12-year-old-ninja-fan-ish. But atleast you either delved into THE DREADED AUDIO PORTAL or looped the music yourself. Lyrics really wouldn't of suited this animation (I can't stand them anyway). The sound effects were nice, although they were quite typical.

To summerise, ninjas aren't very original. And neither are ninjas who have been sent to kill someone. But, it was decent and it won't get blammed (not for now, anyway). The action was fast (but not really thick). Generally, it was a good effort.

(I don't really like the way it just cuts off at the end, though)

[Horror Theatre]

**Cracks fingers** It's going to be a long day...

So, I suppose this animation was supposed to be about a horror movie, in a horror theatre. Alright, that sounds like a geniue idea. The pre-loader looks all very good and graphical, and so I click play.

Now, I can't really express how witty the 'death tickets' were. Maybe because they weren't at all. However, they really do (along with the ancient man) bring out a decent atmosphere to set the flash in. As the customer walks off, down the graphic-less corridor, he encounters... (dundundun) THE SCREAMING MAN! And so, the flash begins its decline.

I didn't really see any point in putting 'him' there. It wasn't scary, and the main character didn't react to its presence. Instead, we see the character enter the main cinema, which, to be honest, has decent graphics. The movie plays out. It's bad (and thank God it was supposed to be, eh? Although it does look like something which was blammed from the NG portal xP). But from when the movie (in the cinema) ends, there isn't any more horror-ish action. There's just a ticket-returner guy, who looks like he's been transfered from the frontline of McDonalds (scary?) and then a dark room with a load of people in.

Overall, it was short, sharp and raised a smile (in the end). Not very horrorish, but it was still ten times better than Sunday morning T.V.

weiglo responds:

When I read the review.... In my Head (OH! a long one) but I liked it, at some parts it was depressing, but thats okay life goes on (ah nuts) obviously you like story and obviously I dont write, I just went with the flow. thanks by the way and If you see a handicapped kid trying to ride a bike, just laugh at him, dont hold it back. (as in I did this for fun)

[vsdvfdsvdfssccvcbccc]

"Sell it to the Jackass crew and fans of the NES."

That was three minutes of my life well wasted. Usually, pixelised video-game music videos scare the shit out of me, as they usually come in the "OMG LOLZ LOOPED DANCE MUSIK ND PIXEL ANIMATIONS!" format with the occansional "VOTE FIVE!" on the side.

However, this flash was different. It's new, and exciting. Sure, the song is a bit poor, and probably brings back a few hair-gelled, Duran Duran-filled memories for older NewGrounds users, but that can probably be classed as a good thing. Maybe if the MTV Generation had songs and videos like this on channels 444 and above when they were growing up, people might of taken more care.

Moving swiftly on, the animation was somewhat looped, but I won't hold that against you. Nice and original song.

[Sadistic: Raito]

Amazing!

What an ironic twist of fate, eh? Deviant Art won't let you put it up for having music, so you put it up here, and get great rates!

Well, I must say, I'm not really a fan of Linkin Park. That is usually because whenever it is featured in a flash, the animation is almost certainly going to be Dragonball Z-style conflict with crappy graphics which is almost always made by a 12 year-old who thinks they "pwn" at flash just because they can link slides. This flash is exactly the opposite of that. It has excellent graphics (but I should of expected that, if you were supposed to put it on Deviant). And, even more so, marvelous lip-syncing. I love how the lyrics and overall feel of the song fits with the whole feel of the flash.

However, as everyone has said before, it is too short. Make it longer! Or atleast incorperate it with another flash with the same characters!

[Im Blue (I need a guy)]

Hah!

I know how sometimes song lyrics when you hear them can sound quite different to what is written down by the lyric sites. I suppose this is one such case. But, the mis-hearing worked out to be pretty well. Obviously you were focusing on the audio aspect in this and getting the supposed lyrics across to the viewer, rather than focusing on the actual animation. Of course, everyone will believe that your graphics sucked, but you obviously weren't focusing on them at the time.

However, the animation DID match with the music at the same time in the background. Of course, quite a few people thought that one or the other was half a second or so slow, but that'll probably be the fault of other programs running at the same time. You took some of the lyrics very literally when it came to visualising them, but it seemed to work to humourous sucess. Which is a rare sight in music videos on NG, even when people spend months on one project, the images still don't go with the music.

Very good.

[Stop Crying - Part 1]

Well...

There is one key reason why I never write, or try to watch, flashes which include death or the overcoming of a relative's death in real life. I never write about it, because I never seem to feel any remorse after a family member's death. I don't mourn. I don't feel anything. No sadness. No happiness. If I were to write a flash about a subject as such as this, it would have no emotion.

As to why I hardly ever watch a flash of this genre, is because people tend to insert too much emotion (or not enough, if it's a fiction death) into it. A lot of the time, it's just people looking for sympathy. Or the author is mourning over the loss of their twice-seperated cousin's hamster who was called Barry and was "a true friend". Neither of these things apply to you or this flash. You aren't looking for sympathy (as you state in the author's comments), you are just mourning. And obviously, if he was your brother, you were very close. So none of this "long-lost relative" business, either. This flash really seems to give off an aura of emotion about it. Happiness (in the case of towards the very end). Sadness (of the death, obviously) and anger (at your home life). All of these typical elements put together really make the flash into an inferno of passion. Which is what NG lacks lately.

Now, onto the actual quality. The graphics are awesome, assuming you've only been doing this for two months. The voices are just as smooth and as crystal clear as the graphics. The use of colours really brings out the emotion of every scene. This is a really geniue piece.

So, what does it lack? Nothing.

Of course, I'm not really used to this genre, so someone else will probably pick up on something really small. But who cares?

[Cannon Ball - Music Video]

Oooooooooh

I'd like to start out by giving you this link: Lodger.tv. Now, I suppose it could be classed as advertising a site, but hear me out. Lodger dot tv is a site full of music video flashes by One Eyed Films. I would suggest to anyone who plans to ever make a music video flash, to watch these animations. They are the top most standard for music flashes. Learn from 'em.

Now, onto commenting on this flash in itself. The music is pretty good, actually. Which is rare nowadays for an NG flash. It isn't looped in any way, or just doesn't appeal to the majority of people. It's good. But more importantly, it's good, and it's not SOAD, Korn, or any other number of heavy bands everyone simply loves to make music videos about. So far, so good.

I didn't reckon much to the actual quality of the animation, though. Either you did it on Paint, or you are relatively at a low skill level with another painting program. This is really fine, because it shouldn't be the quality of the graphics which count, it should be how the animation actually fits in with the music.

And, to tell you the truth, it doesn't really. Sure, there are moments when the lyrics fit the action which comes a second later, but the "plot" of the animation doesn't really fit with the music. Sure, every 12 year-old likes Dragonball Z type fighting against random skeletons after falling managing to fall from the sky at maxium volicity. Unfortunately, every user on NG isn't 12. So, the "plot" of the animation has probably lost you decent rates, along with the typical random fighting scenes which everyone has seen a thousand times before. Look at Lodger or even There She Is (which has been at the top of the top fifty for God-knows-how long). Do they include any elements of what you have put in your animation (except music)?

Overall, it's above adverage.

TheKrimsonKrusader responds:

Thank you for this insightful and helpful review. I will try to improve.

[Dungeons and Discounts]

DRAGON BUTT LOLZ!11

Ah yes, a flash which is as fresh as mountain air on a spring morning. It doesn't include any spirtes, it's not set to any random Japaneese or Romanian music, and it is a geniue spoof of something not Metal Gear Solid! So far, full marks.

However, there was a lack of annoying, commerical voice-over which I think everyone noticed as soon as they saw the first label. Sure, the FlashKit sounds are perfectly fitted for this animation, but nothing really beats the novel feel of the typical American sound-man, ranting away like the thing on screen is something which will (if you'll excuse me...) "probably save your life".

Overall, it was short, sharp and witty with smooth graphics. I couldn't give a toss about how short it is. It's obviously supposed to be that way, so let it stay.

VSE responds:

I would have added a voice-over, but the computer room is noisy and has low quality microphones. Looks like no one will bare witness to the majesty of my voice for a while.

I feel your pain.