ShawnDavidStruck's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Mario's Restaurant]

Aw, so close.

Comedy is tricky. If even one element is off, it can tank the whole sketch.

The animation was fluid. The sprite art direction was genre-perfect, especially the food and food cart. The voice acting was spot on.

But what killed the skit (no pun intended) was how Luigi dealt with every thing. Luigi going bonkers? That can be funny. But whipping out a shotgun? On a site where random blood-n-guns as humor has been done to death? It just doesn't match up, and that lost a lost of humor for me. Violence isn't funny just because it's there-- there has to be a point for it to be funny. Or the violence has to fit the milieu of what you're using.

I mean, you're taking music, animation and overall cues in presentation from the Mario series-- which is fine! But then you're using humor that doesn't fit. I mean, Luigi going nuts and then sending fireballs after Mario could work. Or maybe smacking a toad into the horizon ala Smash Bros. The Mario series has traditionally been one of slap-stick, and if you use something that's too far out of place, the humor is lost, and then it can just look like you're trading on nostalgia ("Look! Beloved characters! Retro graphics!") instead of building on what you chose to make it funny.

I still think you're talented, and I hope to see more from you, dude!

JosephAS1 responds:

HEY DUDE! U HAVE THE GUTS OF A OBSERVATIVE VIEWER! AND THANKS THO... BUT U RATED "6?" HOW RUDE! :C ... HUH.. NEVERMIND!

[The Ring: Clock Style]

Impressive humor...

...the comedic timing was spot on, with enough jokes relating to the ring, as well as meta-clock humor and some good straight gags.

My favorite is FUClock's reaction in Day Four (I think) when Orange Clock asks "Aren't you supposed to be saving our lives?".

I also like the fact that you made the effort to make the text-to-speech program prnounce words properly, like n00b being prnounced "newb" and not "en-zero-zero-bee".

FUClock responds:

Thank you for your review. That's one of my favorite parts too.

[Final Fanstasy...Kinda]

Bland.

While you freely admit you were too lazy to animate the characters, could it have killed you to add some sort of indicator as to who was talking?

Also:

YOUR = POSSESIVE FORM OF YOU.
Example: Your text was riddled with the same spelling mistakes, over and over.

YOU'RE = CONTRATION OF A FORM OF THE VERB "TO BE", YOU ARE
Example: You're going to want to have someone check your spelling next time.

WHERE = LOCATION
Example: Where was your English teacher back in the second grade?

WERE = PAST FORM OF "WAS", USED WITH "THEY"
Example: Tifa and Cloud were upset; so naturally, they used several dozen exclamation points in text.

WE'RE = CONTRACTION OF "WE ARE"
Example: Said the collective users of NG, "So help us, but if we see one more repeated mess up of simple, remedial level English, we are going to come and beat you with a burlap bag filled with live, wet, yowling feral housecats!"

Here's some help for next time:
http://www.troyst.edu/wr itingcenter/handouts/confused_ words.html

Renegade51 responds:

Okay, you have a little to much time on you're hands....


Freak

[It just isn't fair]

Hate to be harsh, but...

If you want to just "make a point", then go post something on the messageboard. If you're going to do something in flash, then it had better be in a way that you wouldn't be able to accomplish in plain text.

The fact that you slapped together something this entry and just threw it up on Newgrounds doesn't make much of a point beyond "HI. I don't want to take the effort to make a good impression or statement". Honestly, you are more clear and effective in your "description" of the movie than anything else.

Splent responds:

I totally understand your point, but this was all I could think of at the spur of the moment when I really was mad. I see where you are coming from, but I just wanted to get it out there. I'm like that sometimes, I just want to be heard. More people look at the movie than at the message board anyway.