Dynimize's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Area 51 - Beginning]

Sluggish, but Satisfactory

The entire film moved at a snail's pace, which is my biggest gripe. I do understand that this is a horror film, and slowing things down in a dark environment can really add suspense and anxiety. However, what you have here is called "overkill," especially in the first several scenes where you show static images of the desert. Completely unnecessary. Each one of those should have only lasted a few seconds, not 20.

BUT, you managed to demonstrate PERFECT timing in two scenes. The first would be the scene when the alien opens his eyes. You left his eyes closed just long enough for us to start second-guessing ourselves, sort of like: "oh yup, the alien's about to open his eyes ... wait, is he? ... OH SHIT!" That was fantastic, because it really added a little shock to the moment (especially since the eyes were drawn so well). Even better was the last scene of the movie, where we got a first-person of the guard in the facility. Again, you dragged it out just long enough for us to think, "well, maybe something isn't gonna happen just yet" and then WHAM! Crazed mutant guy drops from the ceiling with a shrill growl and glowing eyes. Excellent.

Overall, this flash was definitely good, but the horrid pacing substantially detracted from its quality. This could have easily been an 8 or 9, but simply put, I was bored more often than scared. Nonetheless, the graphics were outstanding, and the animation certainly had that B movie vibe. Good work.

[Gun Vs Chainsaw]

Cool

This appeared to be your generic 'beat-em-up' at first, but it turned out to be much more innovative than I expected.

The animation was satisfactory (excellent at times, but rather poor at others). The content was very ambitious, so I still give it a big thumbs up overall, but the walk/run cycles in particular were too choppy for my taste. Then again, I also noticed a ton of FBF, which is always a bonus in my book.

Conceptually, it was simple yet quite brilliant. The idea of defending the defenseless white ball gave the flash much more of a purpose. I think if you had just made this an all-out brawl, you would have sacrificed a great deal of originality and entertainment.

The soundtrack was very fitting. Great choice.

I thought the ending was excellent. It was unexpected and actually a bit funny too. So overall, I thought this flash had a great plot that was accompanied by an outstanding effort. Nice job, man.

[Mountain Top]

Dry

This lacked creativity. The shame in it is that you set yourself up with an interesting concept - Goat vs Plane. You failed to capitalize on such a unique idea.

The classic cat and mouse scenario could've worked well. I was looking forward to some witty traps from the Plane and some clever escapes from the Goat. Instead, the Plane just rams the poor animal a couple times, which translates into extremely bland slapstick humor.

On a good note, you really made good use of sound effects throughout the flash. They were all consistent and had that cartoony feel that went well with your artwork. Additionally, I enjoyed your attempt (deliberate or not) to emanate the old Roadrunner cartoons, both through the sound effects, and the artwork/animation. Nice job on that! So overall, it was a decent flash. I just felt that it could've been more elaborate.

[Panda ESCAPE]

Execution

That's what you need to work on.

However, overall this was certainly a good flash. Your music selection was fitting, although I believe you could have used some additional sound effects. The graphics were quite good, especially the rainforest scenery. Great job on those landscapes, as well as the panda. The animation was a bit choppy at times, and I thought the frame rate seemed a little sluggish (I suggest 24 fps, if you're not already using it). Generally speaking though, the animation was acceptable, with a couple great instances (such as the panda's walking animation).

About the execution: this flash revolves around an "escape." Therefore, you should focus on animation techniques that give the audience the illusion of speed. Imperatively, you need that higher FPS I was talking about. This will smooth out
your tweens, and will allow you to create more chaotic scenes.

Regardless, this was a near-excellent flash with an ace storyline. Your head's in the right place, man. Keep at it.