TheReviewTrickster's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Castle III part D]

A thrilling conclusion that leaves space for more.
I enjoy the way you thoroughly develop each part of the plot here. First you introduce the flying monsters, whose design is pretty uncanny. The animation on them is a little wonky at times, but in other moments it really sells their creepiness. The way the bridge collapses is interesting, showing that the monsters don't need to be unkillable to cause major casualties, and we see this again with the fliers crashing into the choppers. It seems like you really know how to make each creature fit perfectly into its own niche of death-sowing and how to emphasize the designs with movement. The mouthless big guys are also cool, though they don't get much use here. The invisible monster, though, is by far the coolest. The way it sweeps through people before they can even react is terrifying. The moment the guy's arm just falls off while he's standing perfectly encapsulates the way you keep the tension going throughout. You put the characters through a ring of fire, and when they escape just in the nick of time, they're greeted by another danger. All this punctuated by epic background music, it's really exciting.

The visuals of running up the staircase are one of my favorite parts of this. Makes me think of a "stairway to heaven". The kills in this one were really cool again. I especially enjoyed getting to see Boomer fighting melee style and everyone doing what they could to get the Evils off their choppers. The grunt soldiers really put up a fight. The general using that revolver cowboy-style was a cool little moment as well.

The music selection was great in this one, but the sound mixing seemed a bit off, with some lines being hard to hear. This becomes more of an issue when there's no more subtitles like in previous parts.

Overall, a great wrap-up to the episode. Rides the tension out to the end and sets up some more stories, which we see play out in Repercussions.

[Castle III part C]

And here's the payoff of the first two parts.

The last bit of tension-building is executed marvelously, with Romanov's dramatic reading and escape intercut with Etrius and the general's confrontation. I also particularly enjoyed Beecher and the captain's eyes meeting. When the action does happen, it's stellar. There are some awkward shots, of course, but that hardly matters when you get such an awesome variety of kills ranging from knife to sniper. One thing I appreciate is that the helmet soldiers are actually pretty competent and, even though they're out of their depth, get some kills of their own. Usually they'd be canon fodder and the main characters would be stupidly OP. It's all spiced up by a number of different stylized shots, slo-mo instances that don't feel out of place this time, and awesome monsters. Seriously, that invisible thing haunted my dreams as a kid when I first saw this.

As for the story, it's a good development. Etrius gets the power. But is it really Etrius anymore? And, since he was bitten by one of the Evils, does that mean the voice in his head was demonic in nature? If so, the Evils really have won by getting to the power through Etrius. I hope more is revealed in Repercussions and, if it ever comes out, episode 4. The general's twist motivations are pretty much a cliche, but they make sense nonetheless and a cliche is acceptable in this kind of work.
Overall, this one was really great. Onto the final part of this episode!

[Sick the Hotdog]

The animation is nice, but nothing really happens. It could just as well be a GIF in the Art Portal, there's nothing really cinematic to it so I don't think it fits the Movie Portal.

[Castle III part B]

The tension does indeed build, and it is tantalizing.
The visuals in this one are truly beautiful. Something about the thin-lined backgrounds gets to me. Some of the perspectives used are a bit weird, but I adore the architecture. The winding staircases, the wide-spread chasms, the NOTHING. It's so simple yet so brilliant. What makes a place spookier than the feeling that something should be there but isn't... or that something is there, but you can't see it? The statues of figures with obscured faces, the halls that serve seemingly no purpose. There is nothing in the castle to suggest it was made for human life. It has the exterior features of a real castle, but it's hollow. It's a subtle way to unnerve you and it works marvelously. The lighting in the helicopter scenes is also gorgeous and very atmospheric. Fewer close-ups this time, which means less wonky eyes, though they are still there.
I felt like Etrius' dialogue was a bit better in this one, or at least the voice acting was. The banter between him, Beecher and Lloyd gives you a decent idea of who they all are without needing to go into detail. It's perfectly serviceable for a series about monsters in castles. It's not really about the characters, but more about the underlying attitude of disillusionment and desperation that underscores their interactions. Dr. Romanov's lines were the weakest and are the reason I'm taking off half a star.
Overall, this one really gets you hyped. It's really good build-up but, despite not having the pay-off in the same movie, it doesn't feel unsatisfying. It's also got that slight bit of character development and introduction.

[Castle III part A]

Here's where all those cinematic aspirations hiding just below the surface of the last episode come out in full.
The animation in this one is a good deal better than in the previous one. I especially like the backgrounds. They're bare, but that's the point. It sells the idea that this is an undermanned outpost in a desolate universe. The way their eyes move is really weird though.
The voice acting is corny and the accents are very over-the-top, but I find it fun. It somehow manages to sell the general as a somewhat believable character. If you allow yourself to be immersed, the strange accentuation almost seems to be an in-universe way of disguising his own low hopes. The characters are all very clear archetypes, but there seems to be a subtle depth to them implied by their interactions. This is the case when Beecher refuses to let the general have the book at first. Etrius, however, seems kinda boring. A retired one-man-army, brought in for one last job, reluctant to cooperate, snarky and disillusioned. There just isn't any hint of depth to him like with the (admittedly over-the-top) general. I guess the thing inside him will provide some depth in the future episodes. I can't quite remember what happens next.
The world-building is decent. It is an info dump but it's justified and spiced up by enough conviction to be fun. The flashbacks could have been shorter. The ones for episode 1 were nice as they gave the author a chance to re-do the animation from that episode (and the dragon does look awesome), but I feel the ones for episode 2 were too long, although they also had some awesome animation.
Overall, visually this is top-notch except for the close-ups, particularly the eyes. There are some issues with the pacing, but ultimately it's a good set-up for future plot developments.

[Castle II]

This feels like the real start of the Castle series. It's got significant cinematic aspirations, though the author's animation skills weren't quite able to carry them at the time. Still, though, the lo-fi edgy early-2000's music and janky visuals create a unique atmosphere specific to flash works of the era.
The action is okay and the gore pretty satisfying, but it's slowed down by close-ups of the main character's face which add very little. The music really doesn't always match up with it either, and there are lots of repeated bits of animation and somewhat boring slow-mo bits. The lack of character and background design often make it hard to tell where the main character is. There are individual moments of awesomeness which make it worth watching and that's why the scene selector is a very useful tool in this case. For me, the best moments were the chopper raining down hellfire, followed by the destroyed creatures rising again and that one monster getting slashed. I think what really sets the movie apart are the atmospheric shots which focus on just the creatures and the pillar. The way they move and jump over each other adds an eerie momentum to the action.
Overall, this movie is worth watching. The individual cool moments coupled with its value as a look into the past of both flash animation and the outstanding Castle series make it a shame to skip this entry.

[WING KING]

The animation and voice acting were of good quality. The whole concept gives me strong Regular Show vibes and I adore that show. I loved the quick way that background dude got disintegrated, barely even an afterthought. The one-liner was golden too, and it was all wrapped up neatly with that "Woo!", kind of like a twist after a twist, reminding me of Regular Show again. Overall, a well done, funny short.

[Mikoto n Bees]

The art is cute but I don't think this is something for the Movie Portal, as it's very short and nothing really happens. I feel like you could just as well post it as a GIF in the Art Portal, and all you'd lose is the little bit of music that's not really enough to make it a "movie", so to speak.

[Bridge Kids: Halloween]

That was really great. The artstyle was charmingly exaggerated, a little reminiscent of MeatCanyon, I loved the character designs, the way the one guy has huge teeth accentuating the fact that he just LOVES to talk. Speaking of talking, the writing was great. Just the kind of understated mundane rambling that tickles my funny bone. When characters start talking over each other elaborating on something completely banal, I start losing my shit. You didn't overdo it either, 'cause all the different characters had their own unique personalities and speech patterns (thank you voice actors) and you used comedic repetition pretty sparingly (the only time it really went on was the "home alone" conversation, and I liked that). The timing was great, you kept it moving with different interactions, different bits and basically didn't pause between jokes. I'm super glad I discovered this series and will be following all of you from now on.

[Preview for next animation #1]

I'm intrigued and really like the style but I feel like this could just as well be a GIF in the Art Portal as there's no sound and no progression, just a loop.

DCdrawsstuff responds:

That's fair, I was justuploading this to tiktok and didn't feel like exporting it again.