Seawana's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[War Crimes]

Kinda blah.

This movie is dull. I assume you were trying to get across a morose feeling with the slow quiet music and less action. That worked fine if that was your objective. However, drawing your audience into a dull boring state is not going to get them energized into action. Action can be the only major reason of creating a piece like this, so in that aspect, it gets low marks.

The real problem I have with this movie is the way the message is told. You show lots of photos of destroyed areas and the injured which could be photos of terrorist attack victims for all we know. You say nothing about them, allowing the [pessimistic] audience to infer that American soldiers are the enemy. That's certainly good propaganda, but it's also extremely irresponisble. Get actual pictures of real victims of America's military or caption the ones you have to make it clear. Otherwise, you will be called a liar by many people.

C'est la vie. The Iraqi elections had ~70% turnout. Iraqis are celebrating and displaying their purple dyed fingers (they were dyed to help prevent voter fraud) with confidence and enthusiasm. We should be celebrating with them. I am.

[The Truth!]

A solid flash.

That was pretty good. I think it really got your point across well. That is, the Bush administration is basically evil. I completely disagree with this point of view and find it rather naive, but that's not conversation for a flash review and I'll leave out the politics from now on out.

The movie had great sound. The music, sound effects, and voices really set the mood. I thought Hitler and the Third Reich were going to show up any moment.

The animation was simple, but then, you really didn't need anything else. A few fades, slide a few images around, and drop in your message and you're pretty much done with a good propaganda piece.

All in all, it was a good solid piece of work. I liked it.

[CI: Unregulated]

Simply amazing!

I was going to write a short joke review that said "Um ... there aren't sounds in space.", but the sarcasm probably wouldn't come across right. Instead I am going to bow down to this astounding movie and pray that you continue making work of this caliber.

I loved fricken' everything about this movie. Honestly; there is almost nothing about this movie that I don't like.

The style is fantastic. I really feel like I'm watching a full 3D film here. Amazing!

The animation is smooth, and for the most part, realistic. I think some of the movements are representative of ships maneuvering in an atmosphere, but that is incredibly nitpicky considering the scope of this work.

The camera angles are superb. I really felt like I was part of the action whether it be a pilot's view or omniscient observer. Showing rounds flying toward and past the camera was great.

The sounds are top notch and fit perfectly with the action (Yeah, yeah. No sounds in space. It's artistic liscence). I loved the choice of music too. It added a fantastic overall tempo to this movie. The voice acting was also very well done.

The story is short, but complete. I don't think adding more story to this would particularly help the movie as it currently stands. Even the mini plotline with the wounded (turned kamikaze) fighter was great. It wasn't too much, but just enough to make you feel for him (despite being a "bad guy").

From a technical perspective, this movie appeared very well informed. The HUDs used in the fighters were great and looked like they could be real. The weaponry, tracer rounds, and homing missiles were all superbly done. Also, the ability to skip forward and backward by scenes is a great addition.

I guess my only reasonable gripe would have to be the pilot looked oddly drawn compared to the rest of art. The textured ships and background really set a mood, and the pilot's style broke that feeling.

But hey. That little nitpick doesn't reduce the score. This work is amazing. I only hope I can someday create something this good! Bravo!

McFretN responds:

"Artistic licence" I like that. I know that you cant hear sound in space, but i had to put in sounds because it makes the overall experience so much better. As for the pilot, i know he would be criticized. The thing is that my Character drawings skill will never be on the same level as my animation skills. I actually hated having to draw that guy because i had no idea how to give him the same style. Thanks for the lenghty review. i enjoyed reading it

[Taegukgi]

WOW!

Ho-ly geez! The hairs are standing up on the back of my neck! As previous reviewers have said, I also am reminded of Saving Private Ryan.

Everything about this animation is nearly perfect. This is further proof that sticks can make for a fantastic movie. The sound effects and their timing are superb. The movie feels very real to me.

It would be great if it were a little bit longer, but I really like the overall feel. Starting with a black scene gives the viewer a little time to imagine what is going on. Then you thrust them into a huge bloody fray where the camera angles and scene layout really make the viewer feel like part of the action. I definitely thought the green men were the "good guys" and it really pained me to see them get mowed down in a later scene. (BTW, in terms of camera placement, "crossing the line" when they went around the corner and faced the tank confused me a bit on the first viewing.) The final scene really left me with a feeling of desperation too. Is he going to make it?

My two piddly complaints: the buttons need better hit boxes for their rollover state and a "replay" or "main menu" button after the credits would have been nice.

Overall, this is fricken' fantastic work! I hope a sequel will follow. Again, "Wow!"

[Chkubu, X-Mas Ice Cube]

That was more than just a little bizarre.

Not that being bizarre is a bad thing, mind you.

[ButterField 1: Britney]

Interesting, but meh.

I dunno. Honestly, making fun of people like this is really not all that amusing to me. Don't get me wrong. The art, animation, and audio are good, but the humor is pretty bland.

And what the heck is with the ad at the end? Newgrounds is covered with enough ads already. The last fricken thing I need is to see more of them within the flash movies themselves. Worse yet is the content of the ad. Soddom and Gomorrah this ain't. Not yet anyhow.

I like your work overall, but it seems to be on a slow moral decline, so I'm not sure how much longer I will be viewing it.

[Don't Step On A Crack]

Ha ha ha! Very funny!

It's funny, but this was exactly what I was expecting and I laughed my ass off! I must admit I think it would have been even funnier if she had flailed a little bit or fallen over or whatnot. Still, good work on a short that really tickled my funny bone.

[Ordinary Conversation]

Ha! Very good!

This was really funny for me. A friend of mine and I used to record ourselves like this just to do it. That kind of stuff is usually only funny to the people involved in the recording. However, your excellent visuals have really made this amusing for almost anyone who happens to (air quotes) listen in (end air quotes). Great job. I wonder if I even still ahve all those tapes that I made so long ago. Now I want to listen to them.