AloneInTheDark's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Noah - A Short Film]

Pretty good

That was pretty cool. I am a sucker for those surreal endings. The concept was nice too, but could have been brought a little bit more detailed and more thought out though.

The first part of the flash was very good. The cafe scene in combination with the weird setting inside the box and not to mention the awesome radiohead music on the background created a nice atmosphere. I was a little bit dissapointed that you approached the flash so seriously though. Things like these are alot more powerful when approached with a bit more humor, like in movies such as Magnolia and American Beauty. Add a bit more hidden comedy to the scene man!

This especially goes for the final scene, when the flash turns out to not be an original, cool surreal piece, but a flash with a nice idea, executed with overdramatical music and an awkward semi Steven Spielberg 'you should believe in yourself' atmosphere.

I still respect things like this for at least trying to use flash in an originl and more ambitious way though. Take care man

AITD

Siard responds:

Thanks man! A review from someone who makes cool movies is always nice:) Well you know, I thought it had enough humor in it:) And Magnolia and America Beauty are awesome movies.

Thanks again!

[glenn said]

Just timebombs :)

Man, i love your stuff. I really adore it. And im so glad that you arent dead. Your animations are one of the reasons i check out the portal every now and then.

I couldnt help but notice that this flash was alot different from the rest of your work. Usually it is very cinematic, with alot of attention going in the voiceacting and the virtual expressions of the characters. This was more artsy, but man, i loved it.

Ok, maybe my judgement is a little bit clouded here since i am such a big fan, but how come every time you make a flash you make subtle powerful statements that almost nobody else here can. Your flashwork is so humorous and light hearted while at the same time so gripping. Was this just a simple joke? a small story, an animation test or is it something much deeper. This is the question i have when i watch many of your flash movies and it is what makes you in my opinion, the best animator on newgrounds.

Even in terms of animating you improved alot. The animals moved really realistically and i was especially impressed by the way the birds came out of the plane. Even though your work isnt about sublime graphics, the style you developped fits so well with your music and ideas. The fact alone that you make your own music is fascinating alone.

Well, i am going to watch How It Will End now for the 30th time. I hope you will never stop animating flash. In the end, you are one of the few artists here who can put a smile on peoples faces without making corny and cliche jokes. And that is something very important in our lives.

:)

AloneInTheDark

[X-Men: Death Becomes Them]

Didnt like it

As much as i used to like comic books and superhero movies, it pains me to say that this was quite bad. Seemed like such a good idea to make a parody of the x-men series, but the way you presented this thing is terrible.

I dont understand why so many comedy flashes use the infamous 'legendary frog' tweening animation style, since it has so many limitations. The only thing you can do by using this style is drawing your characters frontal while tweening their heads and arms. I mean, cmon, use a little bit more cinematical skill next time and choose the camera positions more wisely. What is even worse is that with a style like this i expect very good and well drawn art, since you dont have to draw different keyframes, but the art was really mediocre.

Other negative points about this flash are the length and the humor. What i did like was the voice acting though. It saved the flash a little.

A funny detail is how you drew the oldskool costume cyclops. At least as far as i know, cause i havent read the comic for ages. Anyway, this was my advise, i still hope to see more flash from you in the future though.

AITD

[Captain Low-Rez Ep.1]

So awesome

I love this. I have seen it before somewhere on this site, but even better now it is in the portal :)

Sprite animation and stickfigures are usually poor excuses for people who cant really animate to make quick use of them in their lil flash. Sometimes however, it can be used in such a refreshing and original way that they arent unoriginal overused methods of animating at all, but really refreshing and awesome. Johnny Rocketfingers, The Mario Brothers and War for example are good examples of how well these minimalistic styles can work for the flash.

Cause of the simple pixel style the viewer can easily concentrate on the other aspects. The wacky storyline, the humor and the atmosphere were really good in this flash. I like artists who dont put all their focus on the visual side of the flash, but put more effort in the concept and idea. And those things came really out wonderful in Captain Low-Rez. A true NG cult classic :)

AITD

[Polsupah]

Return of the master

I cant believe you are back man. A new drawing style, colors, voice acting.... things we havent seen done before by your hand. The macabre creepy and the sick sense of humor is something we do know from you though :)

And it turned out beautifully man. From a distance the style might be a little bit similar to 'salad fingers' but in contrary to salad fingers this flash actually has something to say.

It's quite obvious how this flash was a parody on the western society and how we are driven mad as consumers to only consume more and more. The american bubblegum popmusic worked well on the background as a subtle hint also :)

All in all a very clever piece in which you can see the author spend alot of thought in the different aspects of the movie, like it should be. Sorry i didnt write a longer review, but i am kinda tired.

Adios

AloneInTheDark

[Story Tag 2b: Blown Away]

Just a suggestion

It all pretty well thought out and the voice acting and music is of high quality too. One thing bothered me alot though.

And that was how you use the drawing tablet brush lines for the backgrounds and characters. This really gave the thing a sloppy look and took away alot from the smooth professional atmosphere. These type of lines work better for a more detailed background (i.e like in foamy or merry melony) than in a cartoony one.

I would suggest either to use the pen tool to make the thickness overall the same or by removing the outlines completely (like you did in a scene inside the castle) and only draw the character outlines with the pen tool. Really, it would look so much better this way.

AloneInTheDark

Dustball responds:

Hmm, well I disagree. I think the pen tool looks awful, unless being used for some sort of detailed architectural design, which this isn't. All of the most popular flash artists use the brush tool, not the pen. First, there is no weight to the pen so it looks like so stiff and unaesthetic. More importantly though, it takes the drawing out of drawing, in my opinion. With the brush, you just draw what you want, and let it flow out. With the pen you draw, but then have to sit and meticulously tweek and fix the lines using handles and all that jazz. I don't know, I think the beauty of Flash is the way the lines look. (The lines of the brush tool, that is) Interestingly, I didn't even draw any of those backgrounds with a tablet, that's just just the way the brush tool looks, which is more cartoony and fun, rather than detailed and precise.

[Crayon Bear]

Excellent

This was a very good piece. It started out a bit slow but after a while i got really involved in this. A very good example of how something can be beautiful without being too overly complicated.

The design of the bear was nice, but what was really amazing was the actual animation. The bear's emotions were really made clear with the subtle arm/head movements. Also the 'coming to life' of the different things he drew was very well done.

Another thing which helped creating the atmosphere was the sublime music. It fitted your clean style well and gave the thing the right serious tone.

But what really made me love this animation was the fact that i could identify myself so much with it. I animate alot also and i find myself pretty much like the blue bear, lol. I also draw all kinds of stuff and make them come alive in my mind. It was actually pretty touching to see this animation.

Well, keep up the good animation. I remember seeing another animation a while ago which was also pretty good. I think it was called something with 'hat'. Hope to see more from you in the future! Adios.

AloneInTheDark

[The Performance Artist]

Heh, great job

Very nice job. This animation really fascinated me and i went to watch your other stuff including your website. Now that i know a little bit more about you it is easier to give this thing a review.

You really have something to say and you do this with a rich background, being an artist yourself for so many years. It's nice and refreshing to see a flash told from a mature perspective for a chance instead of by a 15 year old who feel like they have a solid opinion about a difficult topic like art, without having any good arguements.

I partly agree with you and i also dont see the beauty in a movie in which a 'superior' artist smacks itself on the head with a fish, which others see as a brilliant and powerful act. But thats kind of the point here i think. Art is about opinion. Thats the only thing certain about it. All the rest can be doubted and discussed. And even though you did a great job expressing your opinion, i dont think its wise to judge other people's interpretation of art so bluntly, no matter how bizarre.

The animation itself was very well done. Especially the first 5 seconds of the 2 people walking into the gallery was impressive. The drawings were good, but it was the animation which was excellent. Its not easy to realistically animate a man fainting after holding his breath or the movement of a dead fish being slapped. People should appreciate these details and not only desperately search for exciting fight scenes and such in a flash.

The voiceacting was also top notch. I saw you learned to set the sound to 'stream' to put it in sync with the video, in contrary to 'you get what you pay for', where the video was out of sync with the music.

But the most important fact is that i found the thing funny. And since this is a comedy, thats what counts. Especially the examples of the work of the bald artist and the final scene with the baby making art for the first time, heh. Plus it got your point across really well.

Anyway, like i said before, very refreshing to see something made from a person who understands the topic and theme he animates. I wonder what kind of original project you will come up next.

AloneInTheDark

Topdrawer responds:

Thanks for you thoughtful and well-written comments.