Movie Website Reviews for Weekend of October 19, 2007
October 21, 2007
There's a new look to this column this week as we are changing formats. From now on, we will only be looking at movie sites for films that opened this week. This is being done for a numbers of reasons, mainly to allow more time for DVD reviews.
Busy week in terms of wide and limited releases with well over a dozen sites on this week's list. Although most struggled to stand out, there were a couple that helped sell their respective movies very well, including the winner of the Weekly Website Award, 30 Days of Night - Official Site.
30 Days of Night - Official Site
The Comebacks - Official Site
DarkBlueAlmostBlack - Official Site
Gone, Baby, Gone - Official Site
The Man from Earth - Official Site
Meeting Resistance - Official Site
Moondance Alexander - Official Site
O Jerusalem - Official Site
Rendition - Official Site
Reservation Road - No Official Site
Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour - Official Site
The Ten Commandments - Official Site
Things We Lost in the Fire - Official Site
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D - Official Site
Wristcutters: A Love Story - Official Site
Exactly what you should see in a wide release. It has all of the usual features, (synopsis, bios, images, trailers), as well as extras like clips, (some of which are hidden behind age verification. There are also two interaction features, Explore Barrow Alaska and a multi-player game. (There is a short target practice game within the town, as well as most of the clips. Overall it sets the mood and sells the movie well and is worth of the nocturnal Weekly Website Award.
Arnold's Park - Official Site
The usual feature are here, (minus the bios), plus some clips from the soundtrack. There are also clips from the movie, but they are marked coming soon.
There's quite a lot of content on the site including the usual features, (synopsis, bios, images, trailer), and lots of extras, (mostly clips and games). However, nothing here sells the movie. Then again, I don't think it is possible to really sell this movie.
This site has more flash that you normally expect from a foreign language import. There are not many extras; there are some audio clips, but those are of little use unless you speak Spanish, while there is also a where you can read about and listen to a couple clips from the original score.
Small site with just the bare minimum.
All the regular features are here as well as a lot of information on the making of the movie, (although the final director's blog is still not on the site). Finally, the theme song is here to listen to. Overall it is effective, but it doesn't stand out.
A lot of information, but almost no style to make it stand out.
The site has all of the features you would expects as well as clips from the soundtrack and even a music video. However, there's not enough sound or animation to make the site stand out.
The only extra on this site is a timeline of events. While it stretches back nearly 2000 years ago, only 1946-1948 are there any real details.
All of the usual features are here, but the heart of the site is the character sections. Each one contains audio and video clips and there are more than a dozen in total and the combined effect is powerful. (Arguably better than the reviews it is earning.)
There appears to be no official site for this movie, which is very strange indeed. There's a URL, but it's just a re-direct to the main page for Focus Features.
Just the very bare minimum, (synopsis, images, and trailer), plus some audio clips. Nothing here makes me think this is a professional movie.
This site seems to be trying to sell the religion more than the movie, (although given the quality of the animation, I can see why). There are a couple behind-the-scenes video clips, but nothing that makes the film or the site stand out.
There are a large number of videos on this site, and not just clips from the movie, (although there are three of those). There are five interview clips with the director and some of the cast as well as two featurettes. The first, called Featurette 1, is a typical promotional piece while the second one, Featurette 2, focuses more on the director. There is also a section called Letting Go that allows people to tell the world what is troubling them. It fits with the theme of the movie and may be a selling point for its target audience.
Pretty much the same site as last year and likely will be the same site next year. There's a game and a contest, and of course the trailer, but that's it for content.
I like this site. While there is not a whole lot of content, I like the way you can navigate the site. The stereo takes you to the music, the bobble-head gets you to the videos, etc. There are a few extras like clips, interviews, links, and webisodes, but only the last one is actually on the site and not marked coming soon. There are webisodes, which are short flash animations that both end with, 'to be continued.' Maybe when the movie expands nationwide they will be added, if it expands nationwide.
Filed under: , Gone Baby Gone, The Comebacks, Rendition, Things We Lost in the Fire, The Ten Commandments, Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour, Wristcutters: A Love Story, O Jerusalem, Reservation Road, Moondance Alexander, Meeting Resistance, , Azuloscurocasinegro, 30 Days of Night