Movie Website Reviews for Weekend of October 17, 2008

October 19, 2008

As we've seen already on the box office, the movies that came out this weekend were not strong, and neither were their sites. The best of the list was Passchendaele - Official Site, which was the winner of the Weekly Website Award.

The Elephant King - Official Site
Just the bare minimum, and there's not even any images. There's nothing to really set it apart, but at least the site is not completely static.

Filth and Wisdom - No Official Site
There's no official site for the movie, but IFC has a page with the trailer and other information.

Frontrunners - Official Site
All the usual information is here, including bios on the four candidates. You can even vote for who you think is the best. The site looks good, but can't stand out.

Mary - No Official Site
No official site, but you can see the original French site here.

Max Payne - Official Site
Coming soon. There should be nothing on a site marked coming soon after the film hits theaters. The site has all of the usual features (synopsis, bios, image gallery, and trailers), and plenty of sound and animation, including cool transitions and audio clips used as introductions. However, the only extra on the site is a section called Features, which is sadly marked coming soon. Had the features been top notch (clips from the movie, behind-the-scenes videos, or even games), then this site could have been award-worthy.

Morning Light - Official Site
A better site than most documentaries have, at least in terms of flash. In terms of information, it is just average.

Passchendaele - Official Site
An excellent site with a ton of video clips from the behind-the-scenes about a various topic, as well as Paul Gross reading a dozen letters sent by the real Michael Duanne during World War I. Add in the usual features, and a bit of style, and it stands out, especially amongst the limited releases. All of the usual features are also on the site (synopsis, cast & crew bios, image gallery, and trailers), as well as a good sense of style. Add in a rather weak competition, as well as an admitted pro-Canada bias, it is the best site of this week's list and the winner of the Aboot Weekly Website Award.

The Secret Life of Bees - Official Site
Typical Fox Searchlight site. It's too bad that they have such great information, and such a cookie cutter site.

Sex Drive - Official Site
Average site for a wide release, at least the stuff I can see. There's the regular features, a few clips, plenty of sound and animation, and a section hidden behind an age verification, which doesn't take into account Canada and 10% of the total domestic audience is Canadian.

Tru Loved - Official Site
Wow. There's a huge number of bios on this site, 28 cast bios and 8 more for the behind-the-camera guys. Sadly, it's a very static site with no sound or animation.

The Two Sides of the Bed - Official Site
Site's dead.

W. - Official Site
I like the film guide, which details all of the references in the movie. Consider it footnotes for the movie. On the other hand, the rest of the site is just average.

What Just Happened? - Official Site
On the one hand, this is a limited release film. On the other hand, it is a limited release film with a wide release cast, and I was expecting more from the site. It does have the usual features, as well as some audio clips, but there's nothing here that makes it stand out.


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Filed under: Max Payne, The Secret Life of Bees, W., Sex Drive, What Just Happened, Morning Light, Frontrunners, Filth and Wisdom, Tru Loved, Los 2 lados de la cama