Movie Website Reviews for Weekend of June 27, 2008
June 28, 2008
Strange week for movie sites as both wide releases could have won the weekly website award. However, of the seven limited releases, most didn't even have full sites. The best of the week was WALL-E - Official Site, while an honorable mention goes to Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, which released its teaser trailer this week.
Elsa & Fred - No Official Site
Finding Amanda - Official Site
Gunnin' for that #1 Spot - Official Site
The Last Mistress - No Offivial Site
Red Roses and Petrol - Official Site
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic - No Official Site
Trumbo - Official Site
WALL-E - Official Site
Wanted - Official Site
No site. Even the original site from Spanish release is gone.
The 'official site' is just a re-direct to the distributor's which has the synopsis, cast & crew list, image gallery, and trailer. No extras, nothing in terms of style.
More substance than style. In fact, outside of the trailer, there is no sound or animation on this site. That said, this is typical of most documentary sites and it does not negatively affect this site's effectiveness.
No site, nothing to review.
The site has an impressive amount of information, including text based production notes and a trivia section, as well as several interview clips. However, outside of the interviews and the trailer, there is no sound and animation. However, this is typical of many limited release sites and overall it is still effective.
No official site, but that's not surprising for Bollywood film.
The 'official site' is just a re-direct to the distributor's site, which has the synopsis, cast & crew list, image gallery, and trailer. No extras, nothing in terms of style.
I don't think there's ever been a Pixar movie site that I didn't enjoy and this site is no exception. The amount of the 'usual information' is a little light, but that is normal for an animated movie. (The bios are less important for voice work, especially for a movie with very little voice work in it.) However, it shines when it comes to video clips. Not only does it have the trailer, or several trailers, it has five short vignettes, four featurettes on various subjects, and finally a couple of clips from the movie. There are also numerous games, including ones where you can build your own robot first. Not all of the games are great, but most should entertain the target audience enough. (One of the games even rewards you with bonus clips the more levels you complete.) Add in plenty of sound and animation and this is clearly the winner of the automatonic Weekly Website Award.
This site has all of the usual features (synopsis, cast & crew bios, image gallery, and trailer). However, the heart of the site are the dossiers, which contain background information on many characters and the Fraternity in general, as well as several clips and lots of sound and animation. There is even two games, one of which is a target practice game that I rather liked. (The other is a clickfest without any skill involved. My ability to create a controlled spasm that I perfected playing Decathlon on the Commodore 64 served me well during this game, but it wasn't very entertaining.) Overall a very strong site and most weeks would be a clear contender for the Weekly Website Award.
Filed under: WALL-E, Wanted, Une vieille maîtresse, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, Elsa & Fred, Trumbo, Finding Amanda, Gunnin' for that #1 Spot, Red Roses and Petrol