wizardman's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Afro_Stud's Birthday!]

Yay, happy birthday. I liked the music that went along with this, nice that it wasn't that copyrighted junk that somehow still is. The animation itself was quite funny as well, with the star jumping around and the scribble line to show him unwrapping the present. All in all, it was very simple, but actually quite nice.

harryjarry responds:

I believe he did have a very happy birthday on the day this was submitted! :) Haha, I was happy with the song I found—I'm glad you're happy with it too! Thank you! I'm glad you watched and enjoyed ^_^

[Mastermind 2]

Awesome

Well, of course I'm going to find it awesome, this was made by The Swain after all. I loved the beginning with the layout of the terrain and the guys walking around. I was expecting some action to continue outside, but instead the flash stays in the Mastermind's lair, which is still cool. He's yelling at some guy, and the trapdoor trick is used, which was quite amusing. Gay man- I mean Gaylord comes in afterwards, and they have a nice talk, which was hilarious. The third part with the superhero-type guy was probably the best part, very enjoyable to watch. Overall, this is an improvement from the first one, since it was more varied, but there's really not much more to say since most of my compliments from the first one still stand.

The-Swain responds:

Sorry I missed your review, Wiz. Woulda responded ASAP if I'd seen yours, out of anyone's.

I'll be onto the fourth one not too long from now, and I hope you'll give the new Mastermind game a chance once I've gotten that all finished. MM4 seeks to combine the single-gag setup of MM1 with the multiple-facet dynamic of MM2. As for MM3...well, we'll let that remain its own thing.

[ScientLOLojyuuichi!!]

Perfect

Hehe, I instantly knew what the title was referencing, and being a fan of Neil Cicierga's original work, I had to watch this. I must say it was hilarious. The dialog, crazy animation, etc. was just awesome. It's hard not to make Tom Cruise funny, granted, but it was still funny to watch him ramble about scientology. It's similarities to the original made it even better, as it made this in itself feel more original. Loved it, quite simply.

LULZunlimited responds:

Gahbunga :3

[Mastermind]

Awesome

You know, as great as Blockhead is, and as easy as he is to enjoy, I think I like your non-BH work better. This is a clear example, as this is one of the best flashes I've seen in some time. It had a great feel to it, which the use of red being done extrremely well. Plus, the walkign pair of tits was just great. a lesser flash author probbaly would've had a bunch of troops thinking "loltits", yet you pulled it off very well. The action between the mastermind and henchman felt very Tankmen-esque as well, or maybe that's just me. Anyway, 10/10.

The-Swain responds:

It was anything but sexual, you'll agree. Obviously that's what it meant to the Mastermind, but to us it's a comedic situation. Sure, I love Blockhead and all, but I'm not "the Blockhead guy". I'm as likely to depend on him as I am to give up on him. I just need to create, whatever it may be.

As for being Tankmanesque, I confess that most of my visual inspiration comes from JohnnyUtah if I had to pick the most influential source. As for the interplay, think of it as just another Idiot vs Logician scenario, but where it's not exactly clear who the idiot is.

It always impresses me how you manage to find my work (I just read your MM2 review and then ended up here). I think you're more familiar with my progress than even I am :O After all, you one of the first people to even review Blockhead 1 when it was just another little idea scampering onto the portal.

[You Love This Movie]

Amazing

I'm surprised this only got underdog of the week, since this is one of the best flashes I have seen in some time. The flash pretty much had everything. The different characters getting killed was fun, the storyline was great, and it was just so enjoyable to watch. I can't really find any major flaws with it, so a 10 by me is well-deserved. I'm definitely checking out your other flashes.

RSQViper responds:

Awesome, man. Thanks a lot for checking it out.

It actually didn't just get underdog, it also got a daily 1st which we were REALLY happy about.

[Pico's Time Tank]

Super amazing (~4096 characters)

Alright, I finally got around to reviewing this great Swain flash known as Pico’s Time Tank. Just to start at the beginning, quite fun being able to smash that guy with the shovel while I waited for it to load. The title screen shows up, and the black and white scrolling images were pretty cool, though the lack of a scene select for later was disappointing.

We start off in the city, and the way the buildings look is just great against the overcast sky. Pico uncovers this tank, and he is apparently sent back in time. Pico appears in a cave, and a giant monster is ready to fight him. The close ups of the monster were just great, actually made Pico kinda look like an average animation job. A nice fight scene, with some great aerodynamics when Pico falls, then of course, the necessary violence, and the quite humorous tagging, rounded this out as Pico left. We’re back in the city, and after sound being lacking in the flash thus far, we get to hear Swain’s original soundtrack, yay. In what’s arguably my personal favorite area, Pico dons a trench coat and goes to work, shooting wolves as they show up. Of course, the animation is extremely compelling, with the bullets falling, the blood spilling, and the like. Of course, Pico getting the girl has to be thrown in, and that was done very well, much like one probably would see in an action movie. The back flip on the wall was just sweet, and then Pico disappears into the night, or shoots away.

And then comes in what all great flashes should have; pirates. Yup, you send him on a pirate ship, a well made one with a catchy tune, may I add. Then, in an almost Blockhead-esque style of enjoyment, he starts carving up the pirates on board. The pirate scenes are so fast and compelling with the swords that I almost had to change it to low quality so it would keep on going. Still, the guy getting kicked by Pico and his eyes shooting out of their sockets, wow. Super graphics, slow motion, those 2 seconds had it all. The massive blood spilling continued, of course, since everyone loved violence. A pile of dead bodies, and I believe I see Alien Hominid there too, unless I’m mistaken. Pico’s in a sword fight with the captain, and we get to see some voice acting, which has been missing, although there was nowhere to put it until now. It was such a great sword fighting scene, so what does Pico do? Give the captain a grenade and bolt away. And yes, I saw Blockhead being killed by that grenade as well, or maybe a prototype version of him. Or maybe it is him, I can’t tell with his new outfit. Anyway, bye bye them. Pico has quite an interesting expression about what that tank did and..... splat.

Well, there’s a way of going out with a bang, no? Or in this case a splat, it kind of ended the flash quickly. I was actually a little disappointed when the flash ended that quickly. I think he could’ve squeezed in another spot. Then again, with how full and great the graphics were it would’ve been tough to throw in another one anyway. Still, this flash was just amazing. It was obviously one of the best Pico Day flashes to reach Newgrounds. But now for a wee bit of criticism. It felt almost kinda weird how this tank just happened to warp him to a few places and bring him back, which was a little bit confusing. Second of all, I was wondering, was the city he was in fighting everyone the same one as the one he found the tank? If that is the case then that’s rather interesting in itself. But you know, I won’t harp on that kind of stuff, this was meant to be a fun flash to watch, and not one to over think about. Then again, I’m not a Pico expert, so this could certainly be realistic for his sense, who knows. Still, the graphics were superb to say the least, had a realistic feel to them, felt like watching a TV animation or the like. Loved the music and the sound, albeit there wasn’t too much of it for a while. Super animation, just the right amount of blood and carnage, and overall just a super flash. Sure, there’s some nitpicking, but it really is 10-worthy. Now, hopefully I’ll get a response from you Swain.

The-Swain responds:

Haha, another essay from the Wiz :D

That was pretty observant of you about the city/time travel element. Was the city with the wolves the same as the one with the tank? This is something we thought about when we were ordering the scenes, since the three time zones could have happened in any order. We put the "Underworld" scene right in the middle so that there was no confusing city-to-city transitions. Even the moons and sky were different, showing that it wasn't the same time period. As for whether or not it is actually the same city, then all I can say is "probably".

And as for the problem of Pico finding a tank that kind of pops him around and then brings him home again without any real purpose or solution, then my answer is the same one I have for most questions in my life: Flux Capacitor.

Glad you liked it so much, and I hope to have you back for another review when Blockhead 9 is out :D

[Birdie Birdie]

Interesting

I'm actually not exactly sure what to make of this. The graphics and animation are great, I definitely know that. The bird chirping was pretty cool, and the bush moving over a bit was pretty funny, since the bird didn't get it. I'm not positive what he/she did to the bird, but it definitely looked very painful. This was an enjoyable little flash. Not much happened, but what did was good to watch.

Homeless responds:

Your wondering what happened to the bird in that bush are you?

Anything that you can imagine happened to that bird. I mean EVERYTHING that you can possible imagine has happened...

Thanks for the good review

[Doughboy's Revenge]

Actually pretty good

Yup, this flash was actually quite good. The graphics were really good, and although the tweening the whole bodies thing though looked bad, it was enjoyable to watch. The storyline was compelling, and although I was disappointed that I could see the shooting, the explosion form the poke and the dialog was pretty cool. Just work on your animating skills and you can be very good.

Lukidge responds:

in the lost sequel that's never been seen (*go 2 responses down), i show the people being shot. and there's an even bigger explosion!

[At&t, future products]

not really anything

First and foremost, the voice was great, it actualyl sounded professional to an extent, which isnt' seen often. Problem is that that is basically all the flash had going to it. It's just a few images moving around to the sound, no real graphics or animation. The idea was good, but had you drawn the images or added in something extra, the flash would have been so much better.

Daemond responds:

Hey thanks for the write up... This animation is 7 years old! Made it when I was 15. Now at 22 I'm actually studying 3D animation right now, maybe I should take some of my new skills and make some new kick ass flash.. .thanks for the inspiration

[-=Pen and Paper=-]

Interesting

To me, the flash was a litle boring, but it was a decent one anyway. The concept was interesting, and the animation, although a bit slow, was relatively good. The graphics were pretty simple, but they worked for the falsh. Adding in the background noise helped out this flash a lot as well. To improve, I would've have made the transformation into the 4 pens a little smoother, as the shape tweening didn't look right to me. Also, I'm not sure of the significance of the paper's fold on the corner.

Grumbles responds:

I know, I really need a good short story to animate. But I have a really short attention span. The fold thing was just to give a little depth. TY