AfroUnderscoreStud's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[eBaums world dot com]

Funny, but could have been better.

First off, you needed to have a way of being able to turn off the subtitles, as once you turned them on, there was no way of turning them off other than closing down the window, add another button in the preloader that you can click to turn them off.

The very start wasn't very interesting as not much was going on on screen, it was just Eric standing there and there was no movement until he stuck his middle finger up, you should have animated him so that he was doing something, something as simple as having him walking would have sufficed. This opening sequence relied too much on the music to keep the interest, there should have been both visual and aural.

The animation of him walking around the world was nciely done, it was a nice way to show that he steals from everywhere. The pictures in the background didn't look too good though, perhaps it would have been better if you'd drawn the images yourself to represent each one, also the images were of a slightly poor quality, which didn't look too good.

I liked it when he pulled out his 'trusty watermark' and stuck it in the bottom left corner of the screen, it was a nice little joke which worked really well. I also liked the part where you had the guy crying and then when he was standing there with no arms and the blood spurting out, it worked really well.

The next part worked well too, with the money eyes, male prstitutes/lawyers, especially when they came forward pointing, also I really liked how you had the internet explorer logo with duct tape and gag ball around it to show that 'the interent became his bitch', it got that message across really well and was a nice funny little visual.

The part about banging his mum wasn't funny, it seemed too immature and it let the movie down somewhat.

I liked how you used the Etch-A-Sketch to show that his website got erased, again it was another funny visual which worked really well in showing a point. It was also funny how, it then wasn't true and how the lyrics then appeared on the Etch-A-Sketch.

Where you had the people all holding hands, you should have gone out further so that you showed more than 4 people, as only having 4 wasn't enough, you needed to have somewhere int he region of 8-10, also you could have had some cameos amongst them to add to the humour.

The end was good after showing everyone holding hands, as each action that took place went perfect with the vocals and got each message across really well. I also liked how you had the "trusty watermark" in the bottom corner of the movie pretty much the whole way through.

Overall it was a funny movie, but it could have been better as there wasn't too much about it that was visually interesting, yes there were moments that were, but it should have been visually interesting throughout and the movie ended up relying too much on the song, when really it should have been both visually and aurally interesting. The humour was pretty much spot on though.

Peace Out, Afro Stud

2/5

altffour responds:

refresh the window to turn off subtitles.

v(`.`)v

[Blockhead: Episode 4]

Great, the best Blockhead yet.

Once again, just like the last one, that was great, definitely the best in the series so far without a shadow of a doubt, so damn close to a 5/5, but not quite there, it was still damn great though.

The opening sequence has to be the best so far, I loved how it started off in a psychiatrist's office and how you made it seem like all along Blockhead was just part of some crazy guy's imagination, but then you had him show up and interact with the psychiatrist to prove that he existed and to change the story back to what it was before, it still left the possibility though that Blockhead was actually part of some crazy guy's mind still, an issue that I hope to see dealt with in a future episode and then perhaps you could finally reveal the truth in the very last episode of the series. the only thing I wasn't too keen on in this scene was the spitting in the face, it seemed a little over the top and also overdone, but it wasn't really all that bad.

Again I wasn't too keen on how you chose to use pictures that you'd played around with in photoshop at the start as it just gave the impression that the movie was going to be awful, again though fortunately it wasn't. I did like the different tune though, it was nice seeing the usual tune in a halloween style.

I liked the little sketch involving Blockhead not knowing what Halloween was called and it was a great way to start by having him instantly talking with his sub-conscience, it was a great way to instantly set the story up by giving you all the facts you needed to know in a humourous way, I liked how you chose mid-January though, most people would have chosen another special event of the year like Christmas if they did something similar, so it was nice to see something different.

It was great how someone actually turned up at his door as well, you could have had it so he was just wondering why nobody turned up, fortunately you didn't though and you had some funny sketches. It was even better when it turned out to be an insurance salesman and Blockhead asked him what he was supposed to be. It was nice to see the element of the tongs from the previous 2 episodes recycled again, it's always great when an old joke from a series gets revived.

I loved the following conversation between Blockhead and his sub-conscience, it was great to see everything explained and it was funny to see why Blockhead's sub-conscience looked the way he did. This scene had some really funny jokes amongst it and I have to say it was done to perfection.

I wasn't too keen on the next little sketch, it started out fine with the woman turning up asking Blockhead to apologize to the insurance salesman, but the tongue just seemed a little too much and not at all neccesary, it just wasn't that funny at all.

I loved how Blockhead then went trick-or-treating and it was funny when the old lady gave him some of her clothes, also it was nice to see an old character back in the movie. I wasn't too sure what happened at the second house, did the guy there beat him up or something? What happened just wasn't shown at all so it wasn't too clear what exactly it was that happened. The last house had to be my personal favourite, it was pretty funny to see him just grab the vase and then quickly run off.

You ended it marvelously too, it was great how after a short conversation, Blockhead's sub-conscience shot himself and then how a hole appeared in Blockhead's head, it was definitely one of the best parts of the movie and it again was done to perfection.

The main idea to the movie was always going to work, 'an idiot celebrates halloween on the wrong day', but you pulled it off especially well and it was great to watch throughout. I'm still loving the interaction between Blockhead and his sub-conscience too, it's an aspect of this series which is done to perfection. Anyway, well done, great job, keep up the great work.

Peace Out, Afro Stud

4/5

The-Swain responds:

It occured to me that you are more interested in the intellectual dimension of the cartoon, the part that challenges your ability to predict or understand what people tend to regard as normal. I'm sure that even though you may not have enjoyed the physical dimensions, such as spitting or hitting people with his tongue, you'd probably be willing to admit that it was necessary to establish BH's lack of self control (even if you didn't think it was funny). I knew the tongue thing wouldn't please you as soon as you explained that the spititting wasn't your favorite part, but that's understandable. But I'd rather that you were happy with the plot and the performance instead of the way it looked; animating takes a long time to do, but inventing the story and vocalizing it is always much harder. This means that someone appreciating that facet of my cartoon is much more rewarding to me.

Oh, and at the second house, there was nothing left to guess. BH asks the guy some inane question and then moves on without event (he discards the clothes, which you can see lying on the guy's walkway when BH leaves).

But I have to say, your review is almost as thorough a look at Blockhead as I give myself when I am writing a new script for him. I am very, very thankful that you took the time not only to write as carefuly as you did, but that you examined the cartoon just as efficiently. It was a tremendous insight into the cartoon, the likes of which it is very hard for me to come up with myself. Thanks a lot, and I'm happy you enjoyed it!

[BadGuys3:BatteredMonsters]

Disappointing.

Well I must say, I was rather disappointed by this, the last two were great but this one didn't seem to be that interesting, it kept seeming like it was going to lead somewhere, but it didn't, which was a shame. It wasn't that funny this time either and the only time I laughed was right at the very end when the trick or treaters spoke in the sewdish accent that's been used in every episode so far, it was funny because it's been a recurring factor within this series. The swearing jokes didn't work too well this time, as they just seemed too forced, like you were only putting them in because that's what this series is about, the context just didn't seem right this time and it didn't really work. You should have had more going on in it, as not much really happened, some trick or treaters turned up at a door and some random monsters appeared every now and then, it just really wasn't too interesting to watch, you should have had some more interesting lines amongst it and some sort of interesting to watch event taking place, also perhaps you could have used more than one location, as only using the door seemed a little bland, perhaps you could have shown some action from inside the house that didn't involve the trick-or-treaters. Where the guy was moving his head the animation wasn't very well, one minute he was looking right, then forward and then left it was just a sudden jerk rather than a flowing movement as he moved his head and it didn't look all that good. I was impressed with the sound, never before have I seen the use of two speakers done so well from a flash movie, it was great to hear the sound coming from one speaker and then at another moment the other, it just really made me wish that I had surround sound, excellent job in this factor. I'm surprised by the pace at which your releasing these episodes, you'd think that surely they'd be terrible but they haven't been, they've been good movies, okay I didn't like this one, but it still wasn't a poor movie in terms of skill, it just wasn't very interesting to watch, so seriously well done on making good flash at such a quick pace. I'm pleased to see that this episode isn't where your series is headed though and I'm definitely looking forward to watching the next one.

Peace Out, Afro Stud

1/5

ChrisNosal responds:

Paragraphs are your friend, use them. ;)

I decided to use just one camera angle because I wanted it to sort of be from the perspective of the kids. Like we stopped at the house with them.

As for an "interesting to watch event," I felt like that's what I was doing with the blue guy in the background. He had a chainsaw, then he was dragging a body, then you hear the chainsaw, then he shows up with the bloody bowl of candy...

And people talk about how I crank these out quickly, but really, it's just the 3rd one that's like that. I spent a few weeks on #2. And I'm spending a few on the next one. This one is just different because it's a holiday thing. I can understand your point of view though.

Thanks.

[Warhammer 40k Tribute]

A bit too short, not much really happened.

At first it didn't seem too bad and it seemed like a fairly nice start to an episode, but it was just too short and nothing really happened, there was just a bit of fighting and a few deaths, there wasn't really any significant events taking place and there didn't seem to be any story behind the battle. It was dissappointing when you had the crate open and the guy walk out only for you to suddenly end it, as that was the moment where the movie looked like it was actually going to go somewhere and that something interesting was about to take place, but instead you just ended it. It would have been nice if you'd had some story to this and had explained why the battle was taking place as it would have just made it much more interesting to watch as it would have drawn you in to the action more and it would have given a reason for the fight to be taking place rather than it just seeming like yet another violence movie. You had the characters nicely done and they resembled what they were supposed to be perfectly. The sound wasn't too good, the music and the sound effects seemed too loud when they both played at the same time and it didn't sound all that good either, you should have had one louder than the other by a significant amount so that it would have sounded better. It was also hard to make out what was being said on the occasions where there was something said, you should have made the voices more audible and perhaps you also could have added some subtitles just to make it clear.

Peace Out, Afro Stud

1/5

bumblebeetuna responds:

youve obviously never played warhammer and cant apreciate it i suppose, as for the random violence thats how the 40k universe works.. and ive created a tribute to it not a series

[Black Mages 5]

I loved it.

I loved it, right from the start it was great and there was never a dull moment, the movie was consistently great throughout and you were so close to getting a 10 for style(I use the style score for how much I like the movie out of 10). It was great to see that this wasn't yet another remake of the 2nd episode as I was kind of dreading that it would be. Once again I liked how you made them take damage from even the slightest touch as it wasn't something you'd normally expect which made it both good and funny. You made that factor of it even better this time by adding in how much gil was stolen, what item was stolen and what item was used, it was even better to see that done as well, and it just brought more humour and enjoyment to the whole thing. I loved how you had pretty much the whole thing in a very cutesy style and I loved how you had the thief disguised as a black mage at the start. Some of the events in it were completely random and stupid but this time you managed to do it in a way that was actually good, so well done for that. I loved the fight sequences in this as well, okay they weren't exactly action-packed, but that didn't matter, it was the style that they were done in that counted, it was just kinda cutesy and it worked really well and at times they were fairly random, but in a good way.

There was a bit of a sound problem at one point, when you swapped to scrolling up the mountains and eventually to space, just as the change to the mountains was madet he sound suddenly stopped and restarted, perhaps you should sort that out and then update it, although don't submit an entirely new episode with that one change made ;p

Anyway, well done, brilliant job, keep up the great work.

Peace Out, Afro Stud

5/5

matt-likes-swords responds:

The sound problem was due to scenes changing, I tried to fix it and succeeded in other parts of the movie, but because it was so big, Flash started doing strange things. Like crashing when I tried to export it.

But anyhow, thanks for the review.

[Flathead Symphony]

Short and eventless.

Nothing really happened it was just a few creatures playing instruments(some of them being odd instruments) with a bit of blood pointlessly thrown in every now and then. If you were going to have blood, you should have had a reason for it to be there instead of it just randomly appearing. You also should have had something visually interesting taking place in the movie, as creatures playing instruments isn't exactly entertaining, you should have had some sort of event actually taking place within the movie. Despite the fact that nothing at all happened within the movie it was still too short and it should have been longer. The sound was good as most of the time the action(if you can call it that) was in time with the music, but that's the only good thing there really is to say about this movie. I remember a time when I'd have said it had good graphics, but due to the fact I've finally got flash MX again recently, I realise how simple it actually is to draw this kind of graphical style.

Peace Out, Afro Stud

0/5

Dustball responds:

Thanks for explaining yourself, I hope you don't mind if I address a few things though:

"If you were going to have blood, you should have had a reason for it to be there instead of it just randomly appearing."
-It doesn't randomly appear, there is a guy that falls from the sky then splats. Perhaps you didn't see him?

"should have had something visually interesting taking place in the movie"
-Umm... was your monitor turned on? I don't know how to respond to that other than by saying, there WAS many interesting things happening all at once, what else would you want to see?

"you should have had some sort of event actually taking place within the movie"
-There was. They were performing a song.

"I realise how simple it actually is to draw this kind of graphical style."
-Try it, I dare you.

[Your Insanity(re-release)]

Why'd you submit this twice?

You said you'd made changes from the original, but you hadn't, it was exactly the same as the first one there was nothing different about it at all.

As this is the same submission as Your Insanity, here's my review for that.

From the start it was just completely random and it worked really well, I enjoyed watching it, it was a good movie. The whole thing just looked like you were making it up as you went along as each thing that happened next was just completely unrelated to what happened before. There were a few things I didn't like though, these were the frog, which was an ongoing joke throughout the movie, I just found it really annoying and I didn't like it at all, I also didn't like the part with the old lady as it was just completely irrelevant to the movie, despite how random it was. The only other problem was the sound, thevoices were of a poor quality and were also very quiet, and the sound effects were mostly just really annoying and horrible sounding. The movie could also have done with perhaps being a bit longer and continuing on as I was really enjoying what it was that I was seeing, and I was dissapointed to see it end where it ended at, I did like the whole idea of it all being filmed though, it just added to how good it was. Anyway, well done, good job, keep up the good work.

Please don't submit the exact same submission twice, there's no point in doing so whatsoever.

Sorry about giving this all 0's and for voting 0 but that's my rules when people submit the exact same entry twice, even if I liked the movie, like I did with this one.

Peace Out, Afro Stud

0/5

shade-v2 responds:

I respect your policy on voting 0's for resubmits, and I appreciate your criticism's as they are entirely constructive. Thanks for that.

Here's a little background on why I resubmitted the flash: First let me say that this was back in the days of newgrounds when (at least as I was aware) you couldn't "edit" your submissions or upload a new version of the swf. What you had first put up was there until the end of time unless you talked to Wade or someone else from the NG crew.

That said: The original swf had been made and submitted using, I think, flash 4. On top of that, it was my first EVER attempt at real flash work. So there were some major issues in the animation and sound sync of the original. At that time I hadn't discovered the Audio Stream property and was using everything as an Event. Then Flash 5 came out just a few months later and the improved processing of the new engine really accentuated the little flubs in the work.

All this added up to the original submission only playing correctly on 'average' computer systems. If your system was just one or two hundred megahertz slower or faster than mine, then a lot of things came out of sync from how I had intended them.

So I re-encoded and touched up the things that really bothered me about the film and re-posted it. (The Audio is still all Events because even then I hadn't found the glory of the Stream.) Later, I contacted Wade and asked him to replace the original 'Your Insanity' swf with the updated one - but leaving both entry submissions up for continuity sake.

So, that's how I ended up with two Your Insanity submissions. Of coarse, now I've got so much viewer feedback and so many reviews on each of the submits that I wouldn't want to dump either one unless it could all be consolidated. And with a PHP system as hefty and cross-referenced as Newgrounds, I doubt any of the crew would be up for volunteering the time to make it happen.

Anyway, that's the story. Thanks for asking! ;)

[Zapbots vrs Southpark]

Such a stereotypical terrible movie

If you set out to make a sterotypical terrible movie, well done you achieved it, it was spot on cheesiness, stereoypical and terrible, it was just so awful. If you made this being serious then that was a bad job, the story wasn't interesting, there were no funny jokes(it did raise a smile at how cheesy it was though), the sound was of an awful quality and some sound clips were too loud, you also should ahev used some voices for the characters, that would ahve improved it.

I didn't see how this ahd anything to do with Star Wars or Star Trek like you said it did, South Park and Transformers, yes, but Star Wars and Star Trek, no.

Peace Out, Afro Stud

1/5

botimus responds:

I set out to make a response on how horrible and wrong South Park was... not much to it..

[Avatar]

Oh is that it?

A guy finds his village has been destroyed, picks up a handful of ash then rides away on his horse, then it was all over, you should have had something happening as this was basically just absolutely nothing, you should ahve showed what happened before or after or something so that this movie had a point to it. You should have had sound effects in it as when the guy dropped to his knees and screamed and there was no sound it just looked weird. The graphics, while great, looked a bit rough around the edges against the background which was just a bunch of pasted images, it looked particularly bad when he picked up the dirt as you could clearly see part of a white outline around his hand.

I like movies like this to have a point and this just didn't have one at all.

Peace Out, Afro Stud

0/5

capn-g responds:

Did you miss the part about this being my first animation EVER? A little grace if you please...