Mr-CasTRO's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Childhood Confessions]

yeah

this had the potential to be something great, but instead you resorted to tired toilet humor. next time, look alittle bit further than the bathroom for your material. and get a real kid's voice cause this one sounds constipated and retarded.

[The Gonk At 1AM]

short and to the point

i don't quite really know why but this was great. a quick punch line and that's all that was needed. didn't see it coming! and i can't really stand all the harry potter craze so that helped alot too. awesome. thanks.

EvilBerryClock responds:

thank you kindly for the review

[Baghdad Basketball]

A great cartoon, but..

On a personal note, I didn't dig the blatant stereotyping. Yeah, it's a joke and yeah, you're making fun of the media's portrayal of blacks and Iraqis, but pointing the finger at the media is the oldest trick in the book. Media shmedia. The media shows us what we want to see. Sad but true. And this cartoon functions as a form of media, so that would mean that you're making fun of yourselves? Not quite.

I'm no fan of the NBA nor do I agree with basketball players pursuing thuggish rap careers more intensely than they chase loose balls. So you'd think that I would've found this more funny than offensive, but that wasn't the case. It's just too heavy handed. I've seen your other cartoons, and they have the same style.

This is far from a flame, though. It's a review. So, that being said, (and on a technical note), I feel that your comedic timing is off at certain parts. Either the one-liners are said too quickly or you don't give enough of a pause between funny segments. That kind of bam-bam delivery keeps the audience constantly on the defense, always trying to stay alert for the next joke without being able to fully enjoy the after-effect of the previous one. The drawings are top-notch, but I would recommend more "camera angles." This one didn't suffer from that problem as much as the Cheeleading one did. Sure, these guys are all behind a bar/counter, but if they turn to eachother, it's ok to switch perspective. That adds to the moment, instead of keeping the audience at a static distance. For your climax, I don't think killing off the American team (though they be "rogue thugs") with an Iraqi suicide bomber was the best choice for a climax. Especially since it looked like he even may have survived. That's a fitting end to some kind of films, but not a comic one.

All in all, good luck with your series and your website. Hope your time here at NG gets you the kind of attention your work deserves.

4/5

[Incompetent Chivalry]

original and funny

a worthy tribute to monty python and a terrific toast to medieval madness. the animation was creative, but the audio goes out of sync at too many times. the film was funny, but without the appropriate timing, it resisted being hilarious. even so, i enjoyed the story, its turning points, cinematography, and its characters. you definitely did your homework on this one. cheers!

[Secret Ninja Part 1]

cool clay

i'm not usually a fan of claymation, but this had potential. i especially liked the capn america shield bit and also the "maybe it's his trademark." those parts were exceptionally funny. however, in many places your animation goes out of sync with the audio. if you could clean that up, as well as fix some of the timing, the funny points would work that much more. pretty cool overall. peace.

[lll_Deception Part 4_lll]

ho hum

i dig your drawings, i even dig your accent, but i don't dig the story. matrix spoofing hopefully will one day hang itself, but i guess until that day, artists with lots of potential (like yourself) will continue to emulate that goofy trilogy. it's not that i have something against the matrix, but i would've rather seen something more original. you have the visual talent for it (sans lip synching) so it would be great to see it put to some creative use.
also, i know you're an NG cheerleader and whatnot, but be easy on flash like There She Is. you may hate it for some reason, but that's the kind of flash we need more of in NG: original in its drawing, plot, humor, style, and emotion. anyway, good job, and see ya later.

ps:there's a bug in the disclaimer button. i clicked on it first, and it sent me through to a couple scenes before the end of the movie.

alexsmolik responds:

Hey ! Thanks for your compliments, coming from someone who has a few awars on his own, that's always nice to hear.

I know Matrix spoofs are getting old and not funny, but I always wanted to make a spoof about it, and when I finally found the time, the inspiration, and a storyline... I just had to do it you know. I'll try to focus on something more original then. But I don't think I have as much potential as you say I do. :]

No, I don't hate There She Is ... it's just that I had to take a flash like that for the purpose of the film, don't worry, I love "TSI 1&2". They're masterpieces, no doubt about it. I just picked TSI like I could have picked Prowlies at the River, but since I "know" Adam Phillips and like his work better...

About the bug, I don't really know what it could be, it works just fine for me. I think it's just that the loader thing says it's loaded before it really is, so you click on a button, for example, the disclaimer, and since it's not totally loaded, it will get you to a whole other place. I think this is it, so just wait until the working bar is fully loaded on your browser window.

Thanks for everything and for the motivating review !
ALEX

[Tom Cruise Gets Wet!]

up to date and funny

i laughed and laughed. it's hard for me to do that on NG lately. thanks for restoring that hope. great concept!

[Space Belwood v2]

nice

thanks for including the original ms paint version. that was a nice touch. the decapitation was unexpected and humorous. the music, however, added nothing. next time, have something more comical in the background which can complement your comedic moments. having that particular song you played in the background while trying to watch this was like having sex to the fresh prince of belair song. anyways, keep up the good work. peace.

[The One (Stick) 2 Remix]

more stick people

this wasn't bad, but was too short. also, it seems like you're trying to hard to emulate xiao xiao's style. i mean, you even have your email dangling above the animation the whole time. also, the pace was slow at times. you should pick up the speed, use better sound, even some beats maybe, and lengthen the plot. see ya next time.

[DSTV3]

not too original..

but then again, i like how you incorporated music. it gave the flash a music video feel. the metroid was cool, the ff was kinda boring, and the sonic was nice. you get high points for the sound (even though i would've preferred your own music instead of others') and high points for style (haven't seen too many sprite music videos). but that brings me to my next point which is i just can't dig sprite animation that much. it's your directing, but it's not your graphics. it's kinda like watching a puppet show. i think you have some really creative ideas brewing, but they would probably be best served with your own art, your own music, and your own voice. 3/5. see ya next time!