robototron's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Keddi - Birthday]

a wonderful thing

Everything about this little slice of kitty (or Keddi) life is just incredible. So subtle, and yet so precise and stylistic.

To the author: pardon me if I don't review all the Keddi movies. But, rest assured, I've watched them, and they all deserve the most glowing reviews. Magnificent work!

dilosh responds:

oh... thank you..:)

[Salad Fingers]

magnificent!

That was across the board, amazing. It wasn't so weird that it was pretentious or deliberate. The visuals were terrific, the sound was clear, perfectly mixed, and added to the atmosphere in such an effective way. This was absolutely wonderful.

There is a sense of lurking dark comedy in this. So while I smiled as I watched, I also detected something sinister.

You've created another world with very in-depth characters.

Currently this is at an inexpicable 2.5 (or something). I honestly expected that, after I voted (a 5, obviously), it would say it was at a 4.5 or higher.

Well, I guess Salad Fingers aren't the only weird things around here. Apparently, the way people vote is even more bizarre.

Doki responds:

Yes. As i read all these reviews I see not a bad one, all 8,9 and 10, yet my score is currently at 2.60 ??? Who the fuck keeps giving me bad reviews!! It pisses me off so much to see shit movies constantly getting 3's and 4's. Cheers anyway.

[Minus World Ep. Zero]

potential

This shows promise. Just some suggestions - take 'em or leave 'em:

1. Smoother zoom ins
2. Too many cutaway tangents/scenes gets way too distracting and way too reminiscent of Family Guy.

I'll be looking forward to seeing a full episode. Looks like you might have something here. Good work.

shawn-lepus responds:

For the zooms I’m just using tweening with a move clip that has all the action inside of it. How can I make that smoother? Would it help to knock down the quality or is there something I can do on my end to make it better? Some people have said to up the frame rate but I’m already at 24 fps. Thanks, feedback from artists is always the best. Oh and the Family Guy thing. Sort of fair, but that’s really just how my humor works. If anything I’m ripping off Penny Arcade and Ren and Stimpy, or the Taco John’s commercial where the monkey is a cowboy.

[-=The Wheel=-]

for what it IS (not what it could be)

First of all, I just want to say it's funny that you keep copying and pasting the same response to almost everyone - and I think there's good reason for you to be repeating yourself. I like what you're saying (judge it for what it, not what it could be).

So, for what it is...

The car is drawn well. The movie suffers from a serious perspective problem. You have a good concept. The concept is not capitalized on at all, and there really are no "trials and tribulations" - it's just a tire going over the various natural obstacles. Though the music makes sense contextually, it's quite annoying and distracting.

You must understand that it is difficult for us to watch something and not think about its potential, which (whether you like it or not) your idea DOES have (that's a good thing, by the way). But for what it is, it's pretty flawed.

Just a quick preemption to any response that accuses me (or other reviewers) of sounding like a crusty old man, or needing a life, etc.: The purpose of reviews are to highlight both the positive and negative. Some people here on NG review things just to say shitty things and insult, but there are others who are honestly critiquing your work - you put the time in to make it; we put the time in to watch, consider, and review.

JohnMcCaffrey responds:

Thanks for the long review. Yeah, I worked pretty hard on it, but I'm not much of a professional artist. I understand that it is not that good and would probably get better reviews if finished, but I just don't have enough time anymore. The "trials and tribulations" thing was refering to the symbolism of the obstacles as we (people) are the tire. I guess that's it. Thanks again.

[Eric'sDemented Project]

Good concept with a somewhat flawed execution

I have good things to say, so let me first get some of the criticisms out of the way:

1. A little bit on the long side for all its content.

2. Too much pointless violence (cutting some of it could help the problem above).

3. Seemed like you (or your friend) didn't quite know how to end it.

OK, on to the things that were good:

1. There were some very cool concepts.

2. The beginning seemed almost like an homage to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

3. The drawings were rough, but the animation was great, making it appear nice and stylized.

To you and your friend, I implore you to track down an animation (not Flash) by Richard Condie. Once every blue moon, it is aired on television, but I'm sure you can buy it from the National Film Board of Canada (it will probably come on a compilation with other short animations, which will also be amazing). It's called "L'apprenti" or "The Apprentice" and it was made in 1991 - and was even nominated for an Academy Award (it won a ton of other awards, too).

I refer you to this animation because I think one section of your animation (the guy who is "stuck" in the same place, though he has no idea of his surroundings) echoes "L'apprenti," which handles every moment, and the entire story PERFECTLY. Additionally, that animation has just the right mix of funny/pointless violence and general narrative (watch for the dragon/monster thing...which your animation also has). And lastly, "L'apprenti" is drawn almost laughably rough, but the animation, like yours, is spot-on.

Really, I know you're probably not motivated to spend the time and effort of getting it, but you will be so glad if you did. I've seen "L'Apprenti" and Condie's other (and, actually, better) "The Big Snit" probably about a hundred times each, and they never get old - only funnier.

AlterEgoZ777 responds:

ic...well i thoughty that was a good ending and yea i ggotta chwck that out thanx...

[the bad job]

Very good

Not only is it a good joke, but the author really has a great sense of timing and when to step back. The extended pause at the end only adds to the payoff, and the fact that the last line is "So, what's your job?" is the only way this could have ended successfully. Trying to cash in with a line after that must have been tempting, but it would have ruined the whole thing.

Also, the whole "they throw you out when you go bald" is a pretty good concept on its own. So, really, this didn't feel like I was just sitting through one big set up, waiting for a rimshot.

Author: I think there might be one small goof, but it actually made it funnier. When you were talking about the consequences of not using tissue, I think you said "...running down into your nose" when you might have meant "....running down into your mouth." Either way, like I said, that actually made it better - as if someone is getting so heated up that their brain is working faster than their mouth can handle the words.

Nice.

baskotoiea responds:

thank you for your thoughtfull coment, and you are right, in fact, we were really working hard to get a good rant in there with many times being cut off by a phone rign and such, and do we were pretty worked up about it, which did give it a good affect, thank you and we will make more.

[Street Life with Tyrone]

strong effort, decent movie

this movie had some really funny moments, and the author has a great sense for dry humor (school supply store = liquor store;the apartment complex is called "Shitty Apartments," etc.). But the movie suffered from a few flaws, that I think the author can avoid next time around. Here are some things that I found that held this back from being an all great movie:

1. the pacing was a bit slow. the "jordans" bit could have been great (and, sadly true as i learned once in high school), but it all happened a bit slowly.

2. stronger narrative. i understand this was the first "tyrone" movie, so it serves as a sort of introduction, but i found that the movie was a bit too aimless. by the time it's the end, i felt like you had a great character, some decent jokes, flash skills, but didn't want to spend anymore time in pre-production with figuring out a good story. trust me, it pays off when the viewer has something to hold on to.

3. music choice: except for the intro music, i generally found the music way out of place. i was surprised to hear so much rock-based music, when this movie was SCREAMING for some west coast gangsta-gangsta shit (NWA, old Cube, etc). i was flat out baffled to hear ska at the opening of the liquor store scene.

nit-picky stuff:

1. 40's don't cost 24 bucks. If the guy had about 8 of them, then maybe it would 24 bucks, but the one or two (it was hard to tell) wouldn't have come close. BUT, the "I can't break a fifty! get the fuck out my store!" was hilarious.

2. Backgrounds: I liked your backgrounds - kind of sketchy and lopsided and random. But, such a location-specific movie like this probably could have funnier backgrounds.

OK, that's it. I wrote so much because I enjoyed it, not because I'm trying to criticize. Over all, good work!

FunkMobileX responds:

- I thought the music choice was good, but whatever.
- I know it wouldn't cost 24 bucks, it was supposed to be a joke about it costs so damn much. No one would pay for something thats $4 with a fifty.
-Yeah the backrounds were like the things i worked the least on heh

thanks for the long review.

[session.]

Tremendous visuals but rote messaging

Like many, I came over here directly from "Snow" to see what else the author had done. This is pretty much the exact opposite. Whereas "Snow" was short, sweet, almost silent, and visually subtle, this movie is visually bombastic, loud, long, and cynical. Not bad things, mind you. Just opposite.

But, then again, I would classify this as a music video. So, let's critique it as such:

First of all - and I should say overall - the graphics and animation in this movie are amazing. Actually, the graphics and animation are above superlatives. It's that good. If the author isn't already working professionally as a Flash artist, then the author has a ton of potential to someday be working professionally as a Flash artist. Visually this is better than most Flash things I see (and I don't just mean here on Newgrounds).

On to the other elements: I take issue with some of the content. The whole "Give in, Give up, Get out" and commentary on suburbia felt very teen-angsty. Where the graphics were pretty much unparalleled, the content here was pretty much par. I typically get more unique insight from reading the graffiti while waiting for the subway. The whole "bomb the suburbs" thing might sell to the kids hanging out in front of the 7-11, it's not speaking to a more intellectually, existentially, and generally more concerned audience. I guess what I'm saying is, if she's not YOUR mom, then what's the point of trashing a SOCCER mom? As annoying as they may be, they're generally harmless, and they're happy with suburbia. Disturbing their peace and forcing them to move to the city is only going to raise rents.

The choice of music here - Linkin Park - reflects the content. I can't criticize the author's tastes. You can't quantify that sort of thing - way too personal and subjective. But, I can say that Linkin Park, like the content, is generally the kind of music the kids hanging out in front of the 7-11 in the suburbs (yep, same kids) are rocking. It's the soundtrack of their teen angst. The author may love LP, and that's all well and good, but I wish (s)he would have chosen something more compelling.

Calvin Johnson once sang, "Snowfall what makes you all / so very unidentical?" I think it's because snow has a lot more to say about life than the same old "suburbia/automoton" complaint.

jayohelay responds:

shit, sorry that wasnt supposed to be the message. the whole thing wasnt really a narrative, just random elements, and i wasnt trying to say something negative. also, while the song is by LP, it doesnt have any lyrics, esp. negative ones