JohnMikeOOS's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[(2003)Newspaper Monster]

Fuckin' newspaper monsters always piss me off.

Great claymation, Knox. Sorry I can't be more constructive or more detailed, but really, all I can say is keep it up!

Knox responds:

thats all you need to say :)

[Adventures with Damon]

I don't know what to say.

I just don't. I am the kind of guy that will laugh my ass off at the "Bastards" collection at Newgrounds. However, I saw this, and I was absolutley disgusted. I think this was absolutely uncalled for. It could be because I see celebrity tragedy as fair game for some warped reason, while going after people just because they wanted to pay tribute to his/her friend is low. I can see how this made it past judgement (better graphics than I expected from you), but I'm amazed that the score is as high as it is.

[XIN Session 01]

Nice!

I agree with the last guy: this would be enhanced with good voice acting. However, this animation can actually function without them. Your visuals speak for themselves.

My only gripe: WAY too short. I can understand that you were just trying to introduce us to the story and the setting, but this jerked to a stop. This does have a good effect, though: Now I can't wait for Session 2.

Again, great job. I just wish you went a little farther.

[Independence]

This song just got new again.

What I suggest? Don't let the song dictate the pace. If you didn't have music editing software, then this is forgivable. But if you did, try adding additional gaps to the song. Build the tension a little more before you kick the song back in again.

For example, take the scene at the beginning where he first rescues the girl. He does the "shh" as vocals go "home..." Now, what you could've done is add a quiet gap in the song, and during this gap, you could have a quick gunfight scene between the guard and the hero. Hero wins, unties the girl, finds a nearby motorcycle. Cut to the dynamite: 2...1...now cut to the exterior shot of the building the girl is being held in. BOOM! NOW kick the music back in. "WAKE ME UP! Wake me up inside..." There are SEVERAL places this could be done, and if you did do that, this flash would've been even cooler.

As it stands now, this flash is even better than the "Bring Me To Life" music video. Hence the title of the review, because long after the song lost steam, you make this video, and now I love this song again.

[Gilbert - Episode 1]

Clever and original...you put work into this.

It's one thing to bust your ass on a frame-by-frame animation. The fact that you busted your ass on a frame-by-frame animation with an advanced concept such as yours is quite another. I loved it. It's going up on my favorite animations list.

[Oh Yah!!!]

I can't explain it...

At first I thought, "Oh, what a load of crap." Then as I'm watching it, I suddenly start to chuckle. I can't help myself, it's actually pretty funny for some twisted reason that I can't figure out unless I took a deep, dark trip into my psyche. In the end, I'm giving you a 3. It's not laugh out loud funny, but it's actually worth a couple of chuckles. I cannot deny that, as much as I want to because it's just so damn simple and it looks like it took you under an hour to make.

[Waxy NBA]

Damn straight!

Don't you just love those massivley sized NBA players who stop playing for the sheer thrill of basketball (unlike your man Danny, who obviously had a passion for the game) and make every move thinking about what the picture will look like in Sports Illustrated? That's something I've noticed about your work: be it funny or serious (you've obviously got a talent for both), you've always got something to say. I like that. I'm adding you to my "Favorite Author" list. Your flashes may not be the prettiest looking, but they sure as hell know how to compensate.

TaKEitOrLUMPiT responds:

haha thanks.Ill try to keep them flashes rollin in.

[Second Chance Hitman]

Outstanding!

Justin, as I'm writing this, your score is 2.82, which is just average. I beg you, DO NOT let this discourage you from making part 2. Could the drawings be better? Of course: I've seen better artwork on movies that I voted to blam. But the big difference is that your year's worth of effort actually shows in the final product. Your use of sound is better than some of the best flash I've ever seen, even Rob DenBleyker's work. The gentle whipping of the steering wheel as it turns, for example: some people just wouldn't think of that.

In fact, some, no, many flashers who submit to Newgrounds wouldn't think of the concept you came up with. Like others, you've chosen violence as your main draw...but the twist here is that you choose to focus more on the man than on what he does. And you don't try to do something completely dark: it seems that you're going for a more uplifting tone. Sure, the hitman's past may be very dark and depressing, but based on your taglines ("Every man has a second chance"..."Every man chooses his life"), it seems that you're dealing with the topic of redemption. I'm sure there are movies like that out there, but I'll bet few are in the style you've chosen, and fewer actually succeed like yours does (despite shortcomings, I'll get to that, though).

The only conclusion I can draw from this movie is that you are blessed with a filmmaker's eye for compisition (the shot of the showerhead as the water came down, for some reason, seemed dead perfect) and sense of timing (not to mention an ear for music and a gift for picking the right music for the right mood).

Of course, I do have complaints. I already talked about the graphics, and I won't talk about it any more since you seem already aware of that. My only two gripes are that a.) the ending was WAY too abrupt (while it leaves you wanting more, it pulls you out of the mood you so brilliantly set all too suddenly - there's little psychological closure), and b.) you didn't give a full listing of credits (example: where did you get the music from? Who composed it?). That's it.

I gave you a 4. Next time around, I'm pretty sure I'll be giving you a five. Meanwhile, I'm going to see what else you've done. GREAT work, once again.

TaKEitOrLUMPiT responds:

*Tear* Thank man.... Seriously your were the inspiration I needed. Man i only everyone on NG could have an eye like yours. But I am definately doing part Two. i dont care if lots of members rate this avg, but as my passion for film making i will continue, but i hope people understand hard work like you do.

God bless

[Perfect Kirby 1.3]

HE'S IN MY MOUTH!

Perfect Kirby features the best comedy writing I've ever seen, topped only by untoppables such as Family Guy, The Simpsons, etc. The animation is a little off (words don't sync up right, it gets very annoying at times and kills the pacing), and the voices aren't well recorded (not much can be done about that on your budget) but the writing is just laugh out loud funny. Can't wait till PK2 loads up...if you say you learned more about Flash for it, then I think it'll be worth every byte that has to load.

[8-bit Theater 3]

I never wanted it to end!

I can't remember the last time I laughed this hard. The strips were brought to life very well, the outtakes were great, and that little pasta commercial that you added was hysterical.

My one gripe: Black Mage's voice. You MUST pump up the volume on that voice. He shouldn't sound like he's muttering all the time, after all.