Bezman's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[[Early Work] Blue Sky]

Nice concept

I love the music and some of the animation is lovely to look at with some slow and touching elements.

The silhouettes were a nice idea - both add atmosphere and make it easier to animate... ;-)

Blue sky gradient is nicely made. Fireflies looked good (although seeing them 'turn on' multiple times seemed sloppy) and the reflections and ripples were really nice.

The bird flapping, though nicely animated, seemed slightly off in terms of perspective. The wings make it look as if we're seeing it from either below or above, whilst the head is in profile.

Whole thing seemed a bit too slow, and whilst that's no problem, suiting the song, there wasn't enough visual interest for my liking.

A play button should really be inserted so it doesn't auto-start when we're not yet ready.

But still, nice animation.

You have good taste in music. :)

Stay funky,
Bez

[Xombie: Chapter 3]

Better and better.

Some of the lighting effects are incredible and when you take the time to use shading, it really adds to the atmosphere and is used masterfully.

The dream was beautiful, with lovely shading and the silhouettes and playful fish added to the beauty.

The girl's eyes are specially lovely and I also really liked the monochromatic background as they passed the circus games.

The particles from the robot's head, the lovely looking clowns (specially liked the shading on the teeth), the drips and splats... so many things in this film are a joy to behold in and of themselves.

However, I don't really like the way Dirge's mouth moves.

The fight sequence is well orchestrated, with a bit of humour towards the end.

More of an action orientated animation than episode 2, this doesn't reveal as much, but poses a couple of questions of its own. With the basic situation explained, that's all you need to do. Keep showing little new elements of the world and we will continue to be captivated by your world.

Although I can't say it was all unexpected, it was certainly enjoyable to watch and I can't see it being any other way soon.

And in a way, cliches exist simply because they work. Still, I hope you manage to bring a few more original elements to the mix soon.

[Foamy's Rant IV]

Foamy's always too hard to understand.

I've grown to accept now that it's never going to change. You don't give a shit about any reviews, don't give a shit about this review...

But in case you're reading, I liked the random violence and whilst I agreed somewhat with Foamy's views on dieting and found the thing mildly interesting, trying to work out what he said was just too difficult.

[War.]

An entertaining film with a real message.

War is stupid. We should all know that.

For those who have difficulty, here's an animation illustrating the never-ending cycle of take-overs, greed, corrupted powers and senseless loss.

Graphics were simple and I admire the way you cut down your workload, ensuring every minute you spent on the animation was spent well.

The song was great and fitted it well, the 'direction' was good and the whole animation is one I would reccommend anyone to watch.

[Xombie: Chapter 2]

Blew me away

This was so much more than the random violence-based flick I was expecting! Shows we shouldn't be prejudgmental...

Although not much was revealed, the characters really seemed alive. The blue zombie reserved, pragmatic, caring, yet slightly aloof. And everyone in this situation is confused, just as we are.

The driving scene had some quality sick humour and whilst some bits were a bit too cliche possibly, The story and high production values really make me want to watch #2.

Music was brilliant - speech was all easily understood and music set the scene nicely without ever intruding.

Graphics were wonderful, but that goes without saying.

Only suggestion is a 'story so far' bit, but with her waking up and a lot of it revealed through the speech, that's not needed.

Personally, I found the start, where the characters were simply talking, the part that really gripped me.

My least favourite part was probably the car falling all that distance and not much damage occuring to the car or its occupants.

[Charakter Movie 5]

Some nice art

I specially liked the section with the high contrast on the purple guy's face and also the way the bird in the next scene added a bit of visual interest.

Although the proportions seemed a little off in the full frontal view of the purple dude.

The whole thing was a little short and unclear. Specifically, I was confused as to why the purple dude seemed to be running away.

In any case, it seemed fairly nicely done - you're a really competent animator - but watching a rip-off of DBZ just doesn't do it for me when there's no original elements really and nothing so outstanding it blows me away.

If you copy, do it better or do it differently. I suppose others have enjoyed it and it must have been good practise for you, so I suppose it's a success on those counts.

Also, like I say, you're a competent animator. Just maybe this story doesn't make for the best viewing experience.

[A Simple Line 7]

Brilliant work from everyone

It was all graphically impressive and had a nice fast pace and a nice mixture of musical styles.

Oro - Very nice work. Brilliantly timed, specially the start which really illustrated the beat. Some nice explosions, although there were maybe too many of them for my tastes.

Toxicbomb - really nicely done with some slightly amusing bits, some changes in style within, and some incredible effects (the ripples after the stickman and the particles that followed). Imo, the most violent of the lot, with the ending.

Api - a real trippy experience. The most abstract of the lot, only really becoming literal in the last few seconds.

BBQ - some really stylish work with some shading (a lot of effort, I know) and some amusing little characters. I specially liked the movement of the pig and the water-spitting.

TFC - this begins as the most surreal one of the lot, then goes on to tell a full story! (Although with a brief random skit for our constant entertainment.)

A great performance from everyone and a wonderful watch thanks to its changes in style and such.

There are a few moments were it becomes more of a technical demo and not every single moment truly amuses/entertains in its own right, but then of course the latter statement could be said of 99.8% of stuff I've seen.

A great watch and I feel like a better person for having seen it.

Very rare I can make that comment...

Thank you for all your hard work and efforts. Congrats to everyone.

Stay funky,
Bez

[The Mad Scientist]

Awesome movie

I really liked some of the backgrounds, with the sketchy shading and lines. Specially the main shot of the lab, with the 2 power things.

Although the starkly outlined characters weren't quite such a joy to look at. (Can understand why you'd do them that way for time issues though.)

The timing was brilliant, specially at the start with the button/switches.

Some great 3D effects, with the stone thrown and the pedestal.

Some fonts used with the multiple flickering instances work brilliantly.

Music isn't what I would have chosen, but it seemed to work for this piece.

Story was fairly involving, but the ending needs to be set up a bit more maybe, with maybe a bit of self-assured laughing from the madman. It came as a surprise to me, but I hadn't really really gotten to know him enough by the time the movie finished.

Maybe just a small bit of personality shown, maybe a thought bubble showing his plans for the serum (crushing the town after his oppression or whatever) would have helped us care a bit more about him.

Even as it is though, it's a wild ride and an enjoyable watch.

[FOX in a Nutshell]

It may be a shit network, but this is shit too.

Ironic that you would use a mundane brain-dead animation with hard-to-understand voices in an attempt to deride fox.

Your point may be true and from what I could see, there could have been some amusement in the brashness and obviousness of the dialogue, but the fact that it was so hard to understand rendered that a moot point.

[Skeletor's Bakery 2]

I giggled at times

The spoof studio audience was amusing to begin with and there were a few funny or disgusting elements (there's a few sights and phrases from He-man I'll never forget).

Graphics were nicely drawn and decently animated.

Sound was excellent. Apart from when Skeletor was 'thinking', I could clearly make out every word like crystal.

Whilst it failed in no aspect, it perhaps excelled in none. Sure, for some this may strike a real chord - humour is always subjective. However, for me, the humour, the story and art, whilst all good, had little flair to make it truly excel.