ThePrisoner's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Miss Kitty Sees You]

I really enjoyed this. I'm not sure how I came across this, I could be wrong BUT, I thought of the Pairbond theme from Bioshock 2 when watching this, so I played it in tandum with this. It doesn't work 100% but it does sync up relatively well. Evokes a whole new feeling when watching it.

[Demigods]

Really nice

This has a lot of things going for it, and there were a lot of things I enjoyed about it. I can understand what people's gripes were with the music selection, but personally it didn't bother me at all. Definitely liked and appreciated when I saw the traditional animation touch, a lot of motions felt fluid, timing and weight felt good. Now that being said there are some things that you could do to improve and take and use for future work. I wasn't worried in the slightest for the hero character. No matter what he was pitted against, I knew he would get out of it with little to no resistance. I would've liked to have seen some crazy obstacles presented in front of this guy. He is going against the God King, who earlier, had completely obliterated all of this guy's brothers and sisters, which would mean he should've been a powerhouse against this one person. I think a much more engaging and rewarding experience for the viewer would be if the hero were sent to hell and back, his limitations realized and overcome all during this battle, I want to care that this guy is fighting for revenge.
As far as the pacing goes for the whole thing, it had its kinks here and there. It felt like things peaked with the battle against the one hydra-like creature. I understand for timing and duration you had to repeat animations and hold on shots a little longer, however you could throw some more variety into it. Those blasts the creature was sending could've has escalated in intensity. Maybe it charges up for a really big one before a spear goes through it's head. You could've had the character get down to his knees from the constant onslaught, or steadily getting pushed back, just something to break the monotony. The final battle against the giant aquatic God King didn't feel quite as impactful as it could have. Maybe throw a thunderstorm in the background, or giant tidal waves. Maybe he uses nature itself AND his creatures to fight this guy. Raise the stakes to give us a wtf moment and we're left wondering how is he gonna get out of this one and for a second we might think, will he? Anyway just some things to consider. I hope it helps and keep animating! :)

javarush214 responds:

thanks for the advice bro. ill keep that in mind :)

["Ice Cream"]

After three consecutive watches I'm ready

I really like this one. A LOT! This was a very interesting flash. Firstly I have to say I really like your environments. The juxtaposition to the style of the characters was a nice contrast. I dug the whole vigilante vibe. I would've like to have seen a bit more of this guys degradation since his wife's death. When you see his room, maybe to have take out food or pizza boxes or empty bottles of liquor and booze. I was also wanting to know a bit more as to how his wife died, if all else to explain current circumstances. Was the way she died something that drove him to do what he does? Was he always this way? It doesn't need to be spelled out but something to ground my speculations.

Side note: Using Boards of Canada was a nice touch! Fit right in with the mood you established.

fearing responds:

Wow, I'm honoured that you bothered to watch it three times in a row! I really loved watching Monkey Dust when I was younger and that really inspired me for this flash, you should check it out if you haven't before.

You're right about the little details and maybe some of the background, that could have added to the plot a lot, but I had to compromise a lot with the time limit that I was given. Where I would have liked to have spent about two weeks per scene, I Really couldnt spend more than two nights on even the better scenes. But next time, when the project is to be made in my own time, I will definitely take the suggestions into consideration.

Thanks a lot for your kind review!

[Swingers Episode 1]

NIce!

Some intriguing characters, not sure what the overall narrative is but I guess I'm not supposed to know at this point. I'm intrigued give me more! A few things to consider for the next episode. There were some continuity issues with regard to some of the shots. Like the girl is a bat over the top of the building, then we cut to the inside and we see the girl now back to her original form. It's nit picky but stuff like that can break the ebb and flow from a shot to shot standpoint. Just something to look out for next time. Hope it helps.

[Moonwalk]

Entertaining but needs a little more

This was quite an ambitious undertaking and I commend you for what you were able to accomplish. That being said, I'd like to point out some things that I felt hindered the delivery of the short. Even though there was a beginning, middle and ending to the story, the pacing felt like it was on one speed the whole time, and things felt rushed on instances where shots could've been held a little longer. A lost of things happened really fast and I felt like I was being bombarded with images from the get go up until the end. You're music I think was key in setting the pacing, it starts out slow and then builds up to the intense orchestra in the climax, but it didn't congeal with your animation. Try to really examine your shots and pit it with music and figure out what shots can be lengthened, which one's can be shortened, even get a second pair of eyes on it how they feel about it. Be super critical and objective and you'll come up with the best result. The pieces were all there, it just needed a bit more spit and shine. I hope this critique helps, keep trucking and make more animations.

[Tremen]

Nice

Firstly I have to say congrats on having done this. I truly admire the work you guys put into making these flashes. I really liked the story. I little confusing but I'm sure you'll piece it all together. The animation was very fluent. The music was beautiful. i loved every second. Reminds me of the stories i would make up when i was yonger. I'm sure that your skills as a flash animator will continue to grow. Keep up the great work.