Movie Website Updates for January 13 - January 19

January 19, 2006

During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. It's busier on this week's list than it has in a while, but there was only one site that was in contention to win the award, Underworld: Evolution - Official Site.

16 Blocks - Official Site
Just the trailer, which is actually on BET.com.

300 - Official Site
The second Production Journal entry was added this week, but that was it in terms of new content.

Akeelah and the Bee - Official Site
Just a placeholder site at the moment, but the trailer is online. Spelling Bees are not the most cinematic of competitions, but the trailer does a good job of setting up the tension and excitement.

Art School Confidential - Official Site
After a short intro, there's not much here outside the usual features, (synopsis, cast & crew bios, image gallery) and the trailer is marked coming soon.

An American Haunting - Official Site
This site spends far too much time trying to convince that this ghost is real. I hate movies like that, but I seem to be the only one as they keep making money at the box office. The site also has the image gallery and the trailer, but not a lot of style.

Clerks 2: The Passion of the Clerks - Official Site
Two more video clips are up, one on logistics, and I'm not even going to tell you what the other's about. Let's just say the phrase, "Not Safe for Work" applies to this one. For those of you at work who can't watch it, I'll offer you this piece of advice. If Jason Mewes ever offers to shake your hand, I suggest you politely decline.

End of the Spear - Official Site
No new updates in nearly two months.

Failure to Launch - Official Site
The flash site launched this week, but there's not enough here to set it apart from the hundreds of flash sites I've seen. On the other hand, only one of the four special features is on the site, so there's room for improvement.

Final Destination 3 - Official Site
The flash site is up, but there's too much style, not enough substance. Of the regular features, just the synopsis, image gallery and trailer are there, which means the site spends almost as much time trying to push the previous films in the franchise than it does trying to sell this movie.

Firewall - Official Site
The photo gallery was added.

Flight 93 - Official Site
The teaser trailer was added this week, but like most such trailers, I found it ineffective.

Friends with Money - Official Site
Just some images and the press kit so far.

Hard Candy - Official Site
The trailer is now on the site.

Heart of Gold - Official Site
Just the synopsis and trailer so far.

Idlewild - Official Site
Another placeholder site with just the synopsis, image gallery and the trailer.

London - Official Site
This is either a really good placeholder site, or a rather poor flash site, it's too soon to tell. It feels like the typical Sony placeholder site, but with more content and a touch more style.

Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World - Official Site
No changes in a while.

My Super Ex-Girlfriend - Official Site
There used to be a re-direct to the Fox Official Site, but now it's just dead.

The Real Dirt on Farmer John - Official Site
A good documentary site with all of the necessary information and a bit of style as well.

She's the Man - Official Site
The flash site is up, but there's not much there. The synopsis is there as are the crew bios, image gallery, trailer and downloads with the crew bios marked coming soon. A couple of notes, the image captions all say, "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod" which sounds like what cultists would chant to summon an Outer God but is in fact just dummy text that has been used by page-setters for centuries. (This has nothing to do with the website, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless.) I assume this dummy text will be replaced very shortly. Secondly, the trailer was more effective than I thought it would be. When I first heard of this movie I didn't think it would work at all because Amanda Bynes, while being a talented young actress, is also a very feminine looking one as well. I simply didn't expect her to pull off looking like a man, and while I still don't think she looks manly, she is more convincing as a boy that I would have thought. It still looks like fluff, but it looks like it will be fun fluff.

Something New - Official Site
Yet another new flash site this week but right now there's just the synopsis, cast & crew bios and the production notes with everything else marked coming soon. There is enough sound and animation that I remain hopeful for the full site.

Tsotsi - Official Site
Has the right information, but doesn't feel polished.

Underworld: Evolution - Official Site
Easily the biggest website on this week's list, there is nothing new from last week when the game was added. The site has the usual features, (synopsis, image gallery, trailer), but it is the extras that make it stand out. The heart of these extras is the Bloodlines feature, a huge collection of character bios and video clips. The site also features are very good strategy game that can be played against another person, but there doesn't appear to be enough people playing to make it effective, which is a very bad sign for the film's chances. Even so, it is the best site on this week's list and the winner of the warring Weekly Website Award.

Why We Fight - Official Site
Good site for a documentary with plenty of information but not a lot of style.

The Wild - Official Site
Just the trailer, which seemed somewhat familiar. No, that's not quite right. It seems like a complete rip-off.

You, Me and Dupree - Official Site
Typical placeholder site with just the synopsis, two images and a trailer that crashed my browser. It worked the second time, but it was funnier when my browser crashed.


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Filed under: Movie Website Updates, Failure to Launch, You, Me and Dupree, Underworld: Evolution, Final Destination 3, Firewall, The Wild, She’s the Man, United 93, Clerks II, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Akeelah and the Bee, Friends with Money, Idlewild, Something New, Art School Confidential, Tsotsi, Hard Candy, 300, 16 Blocks