Miggs's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Madness Inundation]

Enjoyably Violent

It was an enjoyable watch. Though it seemed to lack any point besides just watching Hay Zeus shoot through an army. The music fit well. The animation was well done.

However I think that you could have done something a little more interesting with the shots. The side scrolling aspect just made me feel like I'd rather play a video game than watch this.

It was like a long arduous Pico combined with Xiao Xiao, but its only defining characteristic is its blasphemy (which I'm all for, by the way).

I think it was well done. The tone and mood was beautiful. The animation was well developed, but the film's cinematic direction was lacking (even if it was the point to be side scrolling, it would have been much more interesting to have opened it up to a fully cinematic scope).

Good job, but felt kinda pointless.

[Valhalla Knights 2]

Great Animation, But Lacks Interest

I know I'm going to be alone in saying this, but I don't think the story was presented in an interesting manner, and I don't think there is much to the characters. Nothing the characters did or said made me feel anything for them, other than that they had big anime eyes.

The art is absolutely georgeous. It's as if Todd McFarlane drew an anime cartoon. However, some of the stylistic shots didn't pan out in animation: meaning that alot of the images seemed flat on screen when tweened. Other parts were beautiful and had alot of depth.

I think the pacing is a little drawn out considering that not much happens with the characters other than a little scuffle. I think the pace and tone would be more justified if the characters actually had a little more to them. The girl is hot. The dark figures brood. And Mr. Ponytail is... an anime prototype.

The audio was of fine quality. Some of the dialogue sounded sort of like voice acting from Warcraft III, which isn't a bad thing. The music fits well with the sequences and adds some mood and drama.

But, again, I just don't see much to the characters to justify such drama. Sure, we have demons and such, and that might be more interesting if the interesting parts weren't so ambiguous, nor non existant.

I would give you a 7 based on this piece alone, but I'm guessing there is more to the story I haven't seen, seeing that this is a sequel, so I'm going to give you an 8 for the benefit of the doubt. But because of the lack of interesting things happening, and the lack of interesting things said, or interesting things the characters have about them, other than some generic anime qualities, in this particular episode I'm not motivated to watch any more.

Imaculate art, though.

[Wii Are Sold Out]

Genuinely funny, great delivery!

The subtleties to the animation were perhaps the best part, mainly on the clerk's reaction. The hysteric efeminite nature of the buyer is a great tension building rise, and very funny with the cuts in between of the "Japenese people" and "rape" and "tentacles" and "bullshit".

Very well paced. Very well excecuted. And the punch line just brings it to a higher level. Not a hell of alot higher, but higher none the less :)

My only criticism is to work on some of the camera angles and clean up some of the art and animation so it's smoother. Other than that it's great, genuinely funny, and absolutely fantastic comedic deliveries (truely top notch) :D

[Mastermind 2]

Hirariousch!

Very amusing. The animation was superb, though you did keep reusing the same angles over and over again.

Great use of color and "lighting", it adds to the guy's brooding nature. Also, the ins and outs of office life is a great setup for comedy involving a character such as this.

However, while the characters were very diverse and funny, I believe you're late to the Gaylord joke. It's been done.

But good job, none the less! I would like to see some story next time.

The-Swain responds:

By definition, it would be difficult to reuse different angles rather than the same ones :)

As for the 'Gaylord' joke, the encounter here was making fun of the humor people find in it, and not so much tapping from the humor itself. Much like the "A little to the left" trapdoor parody. Mastermind as a whole is just a parody series if anything, which cracks jokes about the whole supervillain genre as well as taking currently existing gags just a little bit further (dare I say, too far).

Ahh well, maybe I'll work in some kind of plot, but I have more...INTERACTIVE plans for this series :D

[-Guitar-Zero-]

Bad Music, Funny Piece

As far as the music goes, I weep for the future.

I think it would have been much more interesting, and more amusing, to have used a Kinks or Beatles track for the transendent sequence. Not only are some of their tracks intense and loud, but fun and amusing.

Angst rock just doesn't do it for me. Wasn't one of the whole points of rock and roll and punk to say "Fuck you! You can't keep me down! I will have a good time despite you!" This generation's quasi-underground (but really just secondary mainstream) music just lacks all the good stuff. Perhaps it is a lull.

But besides the music I enjoyed the piece. The situation was surreal, and the bunny, or whatever the hell that thing was, was a very intruiging figure. I also enjoyed its obedience to the parental unit.

Oh, and Guitar Hero blows. Go buy a real guitar.

:D

[Bang!!!]

Well animated, but of an argument full of holes.

If the universe not needing a "creator" isn't a sufficient argument, then why doesn't the "creator" need an explianation to its existence? The simple answer is that if the "creator" doesn't need a creator, then neither does the argument for the existence of the universe.

Well animated, though.

[Confinement +]

Intruiging, which is the point, I suppose :D

The flick does make me wonder as to its meaning. Though I think the term "confinement" comes off a little intellectually abrasive, as if it were a short film for a college course.

I would also shy away from defining your animation as being "metaphoric" and "meaningful", for it makes one sound pretentious. Not that being pretentious is a bad thing, narrative film is inherently pretentious if it's not a documentary. But it does make one sound as if they think their shit doesn't stink.

Overall it is a very well animated piece that displays some believable emotion through the character's physical performance and manerisms. I have to say I enjoyed it, though I feel that the title raises its nose above the audience a bit.

Liquidsword responds:

"atleast to me"
The description on the front page was changed from what I originally put. Which wouldve made even less sense (mainly because I never thought it would be put up there). lol

Thanks.

[Bench]

Interesting for how Short it was.

It was extremely well animated, and very interesting for how short it was, but I wish it were longer so that I could give more of a critque.

[The Ghoul and the Girl]

Fantasty-tastic!

The film was fantastic. The story was endearing, engaging, entertaining. Whatever E words you want to throw in there. Elderly?

...no.

I haven't enjoyed a flash film this much in a long time, and I'm very happy to see someone utilizing the narrative to do something really great. The story is a fantastic fable, so whoever wrote it should get a pat on the back and be bought a beer.

The voice of the narration is superb. It is both quiant and appropriate, being with the Scottish accent (I believe it's Scottish, atleast. Or is it Northern English?). The deliveries are so humble and wholesome that it gives the story a beautifully realistic quality, as if this was truely an age old fable. It is easy to picture someone sitting around telling this story to their children.

The humor is on par with that of Pixar, in that it is both very funny and very endearing. The look on the Ogres face with the lassey's hands on his cheeks elicites such empathy from me, I can't tell you how great it is. I felt as if I were watching a Brad Bird film.

The only criticism I can make is on the animation. While all the shots were beautiful, funny, and enthralling, the sketchiness of it, while it has its charm, could be done without. If it were more polished in that sense you would easily have gotten a 10 from me. The shots, angles, and the physical and emotional animation of the characters were fantastic, though (and also on par with Pixar [and I say that as an enormous compliment, Pixar is probably the best film studio in the world]).

I wish I could give it a 9.6. Great job.