Movie Website Reviews for Weekend of September 12, 2008

September 13, 2008

September is the month to release films that studios have no real faith in. Since they have no real faith in these projects, it comes as no surprise that the best of the websites, Righteous Kill - Official Site, doesn't really stand out enough to be worthy of the Weekly Website Award.

Burn After Reading - Official Site
There's no sound. Why is there no sound? There's sound on the trailer and on all of the clips, but the site itself has no sound, and given the amount of animation, it feels wrong. Just a little bit of sound would have helped the site stand out more, but as it is it is just too average to be remembered.

The Family that Preys Together - Official Site
All of the usual features are here, as well as several short clips that are used as introductions to the sections. There's even a personality quiz to figure out if you are more Andrea or Abby when it comes to corporate politics. (I'm a little of both, which is a rather boring answer.) Finally, there's a section on the Soundtrack, but it is marked coming soon.

Greetings from the Shore - Official Site
All of the usual features are here, as well as a 'preview' that is several minutes from the opening of the movie. It is mostly the opening credits, but we see just Kim Shaw in a couple of scenes as well. Overall the site is effective, but there's not a lot here to make it stand out.

Moving Midway - Official Site
A lot of information on this site, but not much in terms of style. Well, nothing in terms of style. However, this is typical of documentary sites.

Righteous Kill - Official Site
All the usual features are here, plus a few extras. Extras range from common features like a clip from the movie, to text based extras like some reader questions answered by the director, Jon Avnet, to a quiz where you have to figure out who said which line, De Niro or Pacino as well as audio clips used as introductions to each section. The best extra here is a target practice game, which is well done, but does differentiate itself from other, similar games. Arguably the best site on this week's list, however, it is still sadly average.

Tired of Kissing Frogs - No Official Site
There's no site for the American release, but the original can be found here.

Towelhead - Official Site
All the usual features are here (synopsis, production notes, bios, image gallery, and trailer), plus information on the title of the movie, information on the original book, as well as seven clips. I like the style of the site, even if is it not flamboyant, and it is better than most limited release sites.

The Women - Official Site
All the usual features are here, but the only special feature is a blog called The Vault. At least it is relatively busy; I've seen some blogs that have one or two entries when they first start up, and then nothing for weeks at a time.


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Filed under: Righteous Kill, The Family That Preys, The Women, Towelhead, Chu Chu and the Philly Flash, Greetings from the Shore