Madisun's Arc - Reviews By Darth Marsden

[Secret Fawful]

As your attorney I advise you to...

What didn't work:
Yeah, I was gonna mention the shouting. Also, please...please.....PLEASE do not use more than one That Guy With The Glasses joke in one video. If you must use one, fine, but doing it more than once will make you seem, no offense, like a tool. Thankfully, you used probably one of the best ones you could have picked.

The Spear of Destiny reference would have worked better had you just had the game appear on screen and not really even said anything. The loud "NO NOT THAT ONE!!!!" kind of made it feel like a joke you were relying on to work and not so much just a reference, and it's a tad bit obscure for that to work.

The times you made a joke, such as "the mystical blue screen effect" or "old man who gets easily bonked on his bonce", and just did it nonchalantly worked to amazing effect for you, and I genuinely laughed out loud at these. Some of the shouting would have worked except that you did it all the time. And finally, you need to work on sincerity a bit. Complaints work better when they feel like they're coming from the heart so to speak, but the fact you that it as a monologue kind of makes it hard to work in the sincerity you need. This is also my biggest complaint with the TGWTG crew. They monologue their reviews and leave little room for the sincerity their comedy needs.

The Great:

For all the moments you lacked sincerity, there were just as many where you had plenty of sincerity. These were the moments that worked the best for you, again. I can not stress how much sincerity is needed not only for a believable review but for great comedy.

You have a really great screen presence. You look good on camera, and you sound good on camera, not counting the shouting. Also, you have a great camera, and your background is also great. Your writing is spot on, with some great points, and some great jokes. I lost it at the Hardy Boys and Inspector Gadget comparisons.

So far, you're doing pretty good, in that I want to keep watching your reviews. Unlike Linkara or Film Brain, who I watched one review by apiece and never wanted to watch another. So, you know, I'm saying you're better than Linkara and Film Brain and Nostalgia Chick, and more enjoyable than Spoony is currently, so that's already like a fifth of TGWTG or something I think you're better than on your second review.

[Darth Marsden]

Again, thanks for the feedback!

It may sound like an odd question, but could you define the moments when I wasn't 'sincere'? Y'know, so I know what not to do in my next review (which is still in the scripting phase, BTW). Would appreciate it.

And no, I won't rely on ripping off The Nostalgia Critic. That DuckTales joke was just too good to miss.

EDIT: Actually, I've just remembered that's not true. I'm going to take a really small clip from Alone in the Dark. But it'll be worth it, I promise!

[Secret Fawful]

Sincerity isn't something you can really script. It might even just be me. But mostly, it just came through that way in the first half of the review. Some of it came through in the delivery, and some of it came from the fact that it felt like you were reaching a bit hard for things to get mad about.

But you know, on my second watch of the review, things flowed better than on the first watch and somehow what seemed insincere before came through a bit better, so maybe it is just me. Just tone down the yelling and the anger and you'll be fine. Being maniacal is fine; it worked for the "JUSTICE!" bit.

[Darth Marsden]

Me? Reaching? Never! Flynn was a dick. I make no apologies for pointing it out, since it only gets worse in the sequels.

On reflection, if I was to redo that review, I'd have changed the Justice! bit. I probably wouldn't laugh maniacally, just call out the word with a giant smile on my face. I dunno. Would that have worked better?

Also, quick question to everyone who watched. I actually edited a scene from the movie a little bit. Is it particularly obvious? (I don't mean the scene at the bridge, I'm aware there's a frame-skip there).

[Secret Fawful]

No, and no. The maniacal laughter was great.

[Darth Marsden]

Cool. Apparently my editing skills are awesome then. Huzzah for me!

[Icedhope]

How did I not catch that tron joke til the second watch..

[Darth Marsden]

Well, it was a bit subtle. Next one'll be a little more obvious. Not many mentions of Flynn in Tron: Evolution.

[Darth Marsden]

Oh hey, look, I did another one. It's almost habit forming, this.

I should have the full thing finished by tomorrow evening ready to upload to Blip.TV overnight. Thoughts on the first three minutes?

[Secret Fawful]

As your attorney I advise you to...

Well, it's much better non-shouting wise. Show more energy in the next review and I can't really think of anything else. Looking forward to the full video.

[Darth Marsden]

Video's busy converting, and I'll upload it in the (later) morning.

I'm thinking of getting a theme song (I'd probably start using it after the third Librarian film).
Anyone got any suggestions?

[Darth Marsden]

Video's up!

Would have posted this earlier, but I forgot the forums basically shut down around 9:00 over here.

[Secret Fawful]

Pretty good. Like I said before, more energy is really the only thing lacking. Also, don't be afraid to be spicy and take risks, but all in all I enjoyed it. As far as a theme song, man, that's kind of hard for one to say without knowing what you personally like. It should be something you enjoy listening to I suppose.

I dunno if you need any review suggestions, but some movies similar to the Librarian films are the Richard Chamberlain Allan Quartermain movies, and the two MacGyver movies, one of which has to do with finding Atlantis. A MacGyver looking for Atlantis movie should be good. It's not...especially since both MacGyver movies don't even use the THEME SONG.

[der_ketzer]

Originally Posted by der_ketzer

- The red bottle behind you will be a running gag, woun't it?

Just quoting myself because this is funny. Maybe this should be a running gag and this thing should move around during the review just to annoy the viewer.
Watching the review now.

Edit 1:
- I liked the bit where you dropped the can. (good idea, would be better if the impact of it felt real, a soundeffect would have done the trick but I understand that you don't want to mess up your room more than is needed
- and a second empty bottle standing behind you, visible in the scene where you stood up.

Edit 2: I like your slightly annoyed self a lot more than that screamer thing you tried last time.

[Darth Marsden]

I'm not that hot on sound effects. The glass smashing one that I use later on in the video was pretty much a first for me, and I still don't think it quite fits. It's just a throwaway gag though, so I kinda get away with it.

As for future reviews, I've already got a couple lined up. I'd like to alternate between games, movies and TV shows, so after I do Judas Chalice I'll be doing what's considered to be one of the worst games ever.
(Hint: it's not Superman 64).

With regards to films, I want to try and do a pretty wide range of stuff. Which isn't to say I don't appreciate your suggestions, but I never watched MacGyver, so I've no context to compare the movie to the series.

Although... Searching for Atlantis? Really? They made that? Huh. Maybe I'll tackle it at some point. The DVDs I've got on my shelf take priority though. Some crackers waiting in there, trust me.

[der_ketzer]

I liked that glass effect. Came as a real surprise.

[Darth Marsden]

Well, that's good to hear!

[der_ketzer]

Were you sick while you filmed this? All this medication(?) and stuff.



Also: I am proud to be one of you 3 fans.

[Darth Marsden]

Sorry for the delay, my PC's come down with a virus and decided to pull a sicky.

Anyway. Clockwise from top:

- Throat syrup. 'twas needed after Quest for the Spear!

- Paracetamol bottle. It's an old bottle formerly full of paracetamol which I filled with Skittles to use as a prop in the Solomon's Mines review. Thanks for pointing it out, I'd completely forgotten where I'd put it.

- Thermal Cleansing solution. What you use to clean Therman Paste off your processor.

- Red Rooster energy drink. Running joke.

- Root Beer. It's an empty bottle originally aacquired from Waitrose, and it's not as nice as the canned stuff.

So there ya go. Little surprised that's what you were focused on, but whatever, so long as people are watching!

[der_ketzer]

Originally Posted by Darth Marsden

So there ya go. Little surprised that's what you were focused on, but whatever, so long as people are watching!

Well there was nothing else to complain about.