Coop's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[A Goomba's Life - Ep 1]

Not bad, but needs refining

I think that there's lots of potential for this piece here, though it does need to be refined a little - the sounds are all of different volumes, which could also be seen as a little high, so toning them down could really help you out.

With the sprite based animation, you lose so much from the overall animation, just by zooming in. You use this and it really takes away from the quality, which is a shame. Start off with it zoomed out further and then maybe have the zoom shots to the level of the "regular" shots and the quality will increase by so much.

Some of the dialogue needs looking at - too neat and clipped, in essence. People don't talk like that and perhaps they would throw a few more words into the mix, to keep things chugging along for sound, while characters are exiting, for example.

Still, it's a decent start and onward to episode 2.

[Review Request Club]

DemonicDragon93 responds:

Thanks a lot coop for your honest review. I've been doing animation for years now but i never really sat down to come up with a "comedy" sprite movie. So making a actual script is still a WIP for me. I'm trying to get better. From what my Co-Story writer told me. Ep 3 is the best script yet. So stay tuned for Ep 3. I'll rely on the RRC for Ep 3. :)

[The Animating Process]

Ah, writer's block

Quite a subtle expose on how it affects all artists from time to time (all of the time for you, perhaps?) which can get us down. I appreciate that as much as the next man, particularly as I suffer from that myself from time to time.

The one question I must ask is what was the significance of the mooing when the cow just sat there apparently doing nothing? If he's doing what I think he's doing, you need to be more animate in you portrayal :P

Your animation style looks different - are you working with different techniques, or drawing styles? I prefer this look, as it looks as though you've put more effort into the piece overall - without that, it would just look like it needed a little something else, just to push it over the top. With this "raw" style, the viewer is likely to be more tolerant of what you're conveying and ultimately less likely to pick out major faults. While the walk looked like it wasn't all that detailed, it still came across as a decent animation, while simple and well worked.

Obviously, I hope it's not going to be 2 years before we see your next piece, so keep it up and give us something more to admire.

[Review Request Club]

Imacow responds:

Thanks for the review. Hah, lets hope not :P

Oh yeah, the mooing was supposed to be cow porn, guess I should of portrayed that better.

[The Sugar Claws: III-VII]

Nice mood

Well, this piece, despite the pink shades that you've used for the entirety of it, is very dark, as are most of your works.

A couple of issues that I had with the writing were the line about "The Sugar Claws had been in wait" - I'd have suggested that you used "lying in wait". The second one was when you cleaved the rabbit into two halves. I'm not sure it's spelled right, being "halfs", though that might be an Americanism.

The portrayal is dark as usual and I'd dearly love you to diversify a little, because you'll end up getting typecast. My teachers always used to say that about me with how I incessantly read Discworld. Now I've branched out, I can see their points.

Still, keep wroking on this tale, it's another one of your excellent works.

What was with the API connection? Were there medals lurking in this piece?

[Review Request Club]

Celx-Requin responds:

Hi,

There aren't any medals, the api is there because there is a ad on the very last page.

As for my stories, I don't think I'm gonna pigeon hole myself because I fund all my projects out of my pocket, even "The Sugar Claws" in comparison to "Shark", or "Cooljaw" is fairly different, in terms of the way it's written, and drawn.

If you're referring to the darker content, I guess that's just the kind of subject matter that I have interest in telling in my stories. I have done comedy, and more mainstream submissions like the "tank half full" music video, and the "dirty squirrels" cartoon.

At some point I'll work on "Cancer", which isn't really all that dark, but again not really mainstream.

Thanks for your review!
- Celx

[Sir Henry Studios Intro]

Waste of space

Don't get me wrong, it's a really well made introduction, but there is one major problem with the piece - the file size.

If you have an intro that is 4meg in size and a limit of 10 meg, you've used up 40% of the file in just the first few seconds, introducing your "studios", which might not be the best policy. It also sets the bar ridiculously high, when it comes to the standard required from your animation, to follow it up.

With the way that the file is compressed on Newgrounds, it takes away the quality, both of audio and video (though there are other avenues being explored, which may help with that). Making the piece shorter, less intensive with the animation and more direct would help, because you'd not distract people from what's supposed to be happening and getting them straight into the flash. Bear in mind that it'[s the first thing they see, so every time someone watches it, they see it. Some people just use a still for this end. Why not just have the "Sir Henry Studios" bit flash up on screen?

[Review Request Club]

[L.A. Noire: Deleted Cases]

Yay for casual racism!

Wow, I've seen some shit in my time... well, this has to be the pinnacle of how a casual racist gets along since a friend's Malay wife told him that she didn't understand what the expressions of "the white people" meant.

Some good, some bad, some out of line, but it's simple in the animation and your talent as always seems to lie with the writing. Seriously, get over to the writing forum and lend some of the poor schmoes in there a hand with their joke telling.

Not quite on a par with your best, but still funny.

[Review Request Club]

[LL - The Bell Tolls]

A good joke

Well, the buildup was brilliant - sublime, simple and hard hitting, as it starts to get going with a video for a track of epic proportions. Then you hit us with the joke, which was pretty funny, but it's been done before, so points off for lack of originality, I'm afraid.

When you said that it was based on a Novel by Charles Dickens, you should have said Ernest Hemmingway, as he wrote a novel called "For Whom The Bell Tolls", so you'd have gotten a very nice little joke in there, which only a small handful of people (those that can be bothered to use Google) would have got.

The musical credit for Jessica was missing, but that should be taken care of, to give more complete information to the viewers. WineLock riding around on a Llama does break from your traditional animation style, but only for humour purposes, which is good, but I think I still prefer your original tweening methods.

Will you ever release the proper video for this track? I'd hope so, because you're one of the better animators on Newgrounds.

[Review Request Club]

LeafLock responds:

Ahhh, damn. I forgot about Hemingway. In fact, i think im going to go fix that right now. Lol, I am planning to release a full length FBF video sometime in the near(ish) future, though probably not to this song. As always, thanks for the review and the support.

-Leaflock.

[LL - Leave This World]

Very interesting

There is a good deal of poignancy in this piece,m because of the attitude of the music and the emotions conveyed by the various locks, despite some of them lambasting it as gay. Mind you, that's a pretty accurate social barometer you've got going, so it's not a problem.

I think that with the varying animation styles, it does give you a bit of range, though most of the pieces are tidily drawn and well animated -a couple of them have "wobbles" with the drawing / animation aspects, but it's not that big a deal, in all honesty.

Yes, I know, I'm going to have to download some Flogging Molly.

I just want to know what happens to Coffee Lock in the end - I can imagine an outtake, where someone yells "CUT!" and suddenly the tractor beam is turned off, dropping Coffee on the tarmac and reducing him to instant coffee :P

Someone should do a Lock Legion outtake reel at some point, that would be classy.

[Review Request Club]

LeafLock responds:

The end piece was originally going to be used with our Journey Collab, and right around that time Coffee was leaving us "forever", though he has since returned to us. Once again, thank you for your thoughtful reviews, and for your support!

-Leaf

[anon_partyhard_2.O]

Hardly a "music video"

It seems to be a rather basic animation loop, set to a decent piece of music. If it's your own piece of music, perhaps you'd like to submit it to the Audio Portal? There you can gain credit for your own music and not for the short-cut version of the animation.

Seriously, I have read your comments and if that's the best you can do, you need to think more carefully about it - the end product of the drawing looks great and it moves smoothly, though it could be so much more - that's my point, not just "it's a loop, it shouldn't be here!" You've got potential and it irks me to see people with talent not apply it to the best of their abilities.

The quirk that was applied here was how you got out of the facial imagery, by putting the "stock image" of "no photo submitted", which works really well. Other series on Newgrounds have done that to good effect, with Madness, Clocks, Locks and the like all having their own quirks.

I'm not sure how I would take this forward, as the piece in itself can't really be developed, without changing the music and that could end up compormising the artistic sound of the music. Catch-22, I feel.

[Review Request Club]

Synonymous responds:

I'm not sure why you reviewed this as though it were meant to be taken 'that' seriously, though I doubt you understand the origins. I apologize for the in-joke.

For more information google "anon partyhard" the foremost result may shed some light on it as that is the source of a staggering number of variants based upon the original on which this flash also is based.

[LL - Leaflock Chronicles]

Loved it!

Ah, what a refreshing change to see a joke that you just know you've worked out be correct and you still laugh. I watched it and the buildup made me think it was all serious, like your work normally is (more or less, you've got to admit), but the piece comes together well and knocks me down with a good degree of laughter.

Your animation style emerges once more, triumphant and the world still turns. What more can I say, other than I'll probably be stalking you for a while, hoping that you make good on your promises of more flash like this one, since you've made me laugh.

[Review Request Club]

[LL - Becoming a Lock!]

Nice recruitment infomercial

Well, it's basic for your work and I think that it really does all that you require - you're advertising Locks to the wider internet and as a result, you might actually get some proper recruits, for a change.

I loved the part where you threw in the various popping sounds and the change of "grey-newb" to another lock of some sort, plus the practicality issues that might be experienced with something like "Darkness-Lock", for example.

Okay, there was a decent musical track for this and while you've got a good base there, you may wish to consider adding a subtitles bar, since this would assist you greatly.

[Review Request Club]

LeafLock responds:

Thanks again for your review!