Movie Website Reviews for Weekend of November 23, 2007

November 24, 2007

There are not a whole lot of movies on this week's list, but at least we had a race for top spot with both This Christmas - Official Site and Enchanted - Official Site. Both had their strong points, but in the end Enchanted was able to take home the crown.

August Rush - Official Site
As expected, there is an emphasis on the music on this site with clips of several songs being featured as background songs as well as a music video and section on the soundtrack. There are also two clips and a trailer remixer as extras, but that's not enough to really stand out. Effective, but average.

Enchanted - Official Site
All the usual features are here including the synopsis, production notes, cast & crew bios, image gallery and trailers. There are also plenty of games, mostly aimed at little kids, including the very common memory game, as well as a couple action games. In addition, there were several video clips, which were longer than most you find on websites, and a behind-the-scenes featurette. However, the site feels smaller than it is and there's not enough sound and animation outside the animated transitions. Even so, the level of interactivity helped push the site over the top and helped it win the captivating Weekly Website Award.

Everything's Cool - Official Site
Sites for documentaries, especially for advocacy documentaries, tend to talk more about the issues than the movie. It is no different here. However, the site does have more information than most, as well as a little more style. This includes nine clips from the movie, which should sell the film well to its target audience.

Hitman - Official Site
The main attraction to this site is the Anatomy of a Hit section, which goes over a few of the details on Agent 47. There are also three age restricted animated comic books dealing with the origins of this character. Add is some short clips from the used for intros and the site works, but doesn't stand out enough to be award-worthy.

I'm Not There - Official Site
Just two trailers and a short, short synopsis.

Midnight Eagle - Official Site
Just the basics on the English site. The Japanese site appears to have more, but I don't read Japanese.

The Mist - Official Site
All the regular features are here as well as a few video clips. These include an interview with the director, and two behind-the-scenes clips, (as well as TV spots). However, there is not nearly enough sound or animation to stand out.

Nina's Heavenly Delights - Official Site
The usual features are here, but not much else. The site has a full song that plays in the background, but only on the home page, while there are two recipes as well.

Starting Out in the Evening - Official Site
Not a full site but a re-direct to the distributor's main site. Here's there's not much, just a synopsis, small gallery, and trailer crammed into a very small space.

This Christmas - Official Site
I like the design of this site, the main menu is a photo album where you can get the usual features, (synopsis, bios, and trailer), while there are also extras to be found like clips and a music video. Surrounding the book are several other features some of which are repeats, (clips), others are new, (image gallery, personality quiz, background songs). Combined with the sound and animation, this site was in contention for the weekly website award, however, Enchanted had more interactivity and won out in the end.


-

Filed under: Enchanted, This Christmas, Hitman, August Rush, The Mist, I’m Not There, Starting Out in the Evening, Nina's Heavenly Delights, Middonaito Îguru, Everything's Cool: A Toxic Comedy About Global Warming