XjokerX's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[HOTM 3 Part B]

Well done

While you fear that this series may go unrecognized on the Newgrounds community, you should not let that discourage you. A lot of very talent authors here are subverted by whatever trendy bits hit the scene at any given time. Never mind the fact that the Fulps must protect their financial interests within this site and have to promote the subsequent series accordingly. Trust me- I've yet to see S.A.M.V. hit front page when it's deserved and earned more recognition that some other more popular series. Episode 4: Fear scored higher and recieved better reviews than the last Waterman, and they were submitted within a weeks span. While SAMV took portal awards, Waterman scored front page. Never fear- if your art, talent, and story progress succintly, then you'll surely gain the noteriety you so richly deserve. That said- let's move onto the movie review.
Graphics- improved greatly. Color seperation and definition far superior to previous works, as is the writing itself. Dialogue was a step above previous epsiodes/examples in structure and wit. Much more congruent to the action. Very well tied together.
Art work is improving on an exponential scale- figures were much more defined, right amount of shading, and good color scheme. Pacing was well done and punclines were delivered on time and in the right context. The crown jewel in the series thus far. I'm still wanting a Jesus T-shirt though.

Bobert-Rob responds:

Yeah, I won't really be expecting a front page or anything anytime soon, though sometimes I wonder... in any case, thanks for the great review! I really enjoy a good review... and expect things to get even better in part C!

[Merry Melony ep.1]

American Gothic~Tres Magnicient~

At last! A superior piece to the renassiance of American McGee's Wonderland! The Escher and Salvador Dali-esque scenes were of the finest quality- I'll admit to zooming in during my third time watching this and looking at your lines in better detail. A most breath taking cross genre use of lighting, shadow, and depth for this illusory world the title character has made for herself.
Highpoints include the the obvious metaphor of her profile drawn on the overpass with "Remember" was a good piece of visual rhetoric...however what you may not realize is that crack in the pavement along the foreground where Melony enters is what breathes life into the scene. The use of subdued pastels with such well defined lines is what pushes the story. It makes it compelling above similar pieces due to the fact that it is not so "over the top." Using brighter, more "piqued" tones would only add a cartoony campishness to this that would simply ruin it.
How can I congratulate you on a stunning success? This piece harkons to me in the way that old thrillers do. The inversion of a "trigger" sound (i.e. sirens, static, flashing bits of other subconscious information) is particularly nice as it has become a moniker for these kinds of thrillers since before Silent Hill. Truly awesome. Great Work. I have only the highest expectations of this series.
I also write for Jason Dix's series S.A.M.V. here on NewGrounds. While of a different genre altogether, you both share similar artistic styles and unique, although macabre, humors that leach through the art. Powerful piece, best of luck.
~Ed

[The Performance Artist]

Quasi-intellectual Kudos

Ineed you hit the nail on the head. So much of performance artistry is inhabited by overblown attention hounds. Simply pissed off by having missed out on the "high art" styles that hit their peak during the "Lost Generation." And they never realize that the leaders like Kerouac, Ginesberg, and Ferlinghetti they all worship, admitted that their "beat nonconformity" was only a "a more pronnounced bleating of so much impotence." Bravo- a just stab in the eyes of Maplethorpe wannabes.

[Faust - Episode 1]

Well done!

When I originally saw and reviewed Faust ep.0,I did not have high hopes for the series- teh south park style with the mixed "Hellsing" references were more than a bit off for the story. However, Now that I see what you're doing withe actual series I am more than delighted. I've always been of the opinion that good literacy is not a predominate feature of NG users by and large. So, when a piece such as this comes out, it is iportant to laud the arrival of something that bears witness to true, "high" art.

[Save Our Souls]

Thank you...

While Holocaust (ne WWII material) here on Newgrounds concentrates on satirizing the atrocities and figureheads of the second world war- rarely do we find something as simple and moving as this.
As one of the few jewish members of the NG community and as someoen who is old enough to have known Holocaust survivors, I thank you for your attempt at contemplating the simple barbarism of the situation. While many might would criticize using the clock/lock relationship as a locums for your story- I'd like to point out the following:
1) The clocks and Locks represent that particular genre's motiff- it would only be natural to have those caricatures enact the story. The simple fact that we don't see a Pube Muppet Hitler or a B Churchill is what sets the trend- this is a serious piece and the characters reflect that theme. Just because a clock/lock represents a human figure does not reduce the valueof the piece- look at Maus for example in how a "natural" relationship can be used in acting out the conflict between Jews and the Nazi regime.
2) Clocks have place in the NG community- however, their exclusion/alienation on the site due in part to some bad films, in-fighting, and anti-clock sentiment has created a social stigma over "clock films." I think the majority of people who rate ths movie poorly, and besides those of obvious anti-clock angst, are offset by the fact that this is not "zany" and random. Quite the contrary...besides the Holocaust imagery- the piece reflects in part some of the recent troubles for the clock crew- the afore mentioned infighting for example between clocks and locks. Furthermore, it exemplifies how clock films are all together lumped together as worthless crap unless sporting superior graphics and/or popular culture. How, what was a phenom in amongst the mythos of NG culture, one prankster created a whole generation of artists. And how, despite contributing more "high rated" films than any other NG faction (i.e. Star syndicate), they have been ostrocized for their style of animation.

This is a touching rendition of equating popular subculture to one of the darkest hours in human existence. Thank you.

[Banned Down South]

very well done

However I wonder about Carnage's wallpaper on his computer being a picture of my friend and his two kids from... "Urban Paintball."

PureCarnage responds:

Yeah, I wondered the same damn thing... that's still my current wall paper... lol, too funny. Thanks for the review.