Movie Website Reviews for Weekend of December 21, 2007
December 22, 2007
There's a big list of wide releases this week and that means there is a big list of big sites. There are three that stand out, but only one, National Treasure: Book of Secrets - Official Site, that can be given the Weekly Website Award.
Blonde Ambition - No Official Site
Charlie Wilson's War - Official Site
Flakes - No Official Site
P.S., I Love You - Official Site
Steep - Official Site
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Official Site
Taare Zameen Par - Official Site
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story - Official Site
No site. No surprise.
A very good site with all of the usual information one would expect (synopsis, cast & crew bios, image gallery, and trailer), as well as extras like clips from the movie and a featurette on the real Charlie Wilson. You can even watch the first 8 minutes of the movie from the main page. Add in several clips used as animated intros and it is a top-notch site.
No site to review.
National Treasure: Book of Secrets - Official Site
The site with the most flash this week, and the only site with any interactivity. In addition to all of the usual features (synopsis, cast & crew bios, image gallery, and trailer), there are four games and seven videos. The games include a hangman type game and an action racing game, as well as two others that were not as interesting. Of the featurettes, there is one on codes, on the international scope of the movie, and a couple of specific scenes, etc. There's a lot here, enough to be considered the best on this list and the winner of the Unraveled Weekly Website Award.
All of the usual features are here, as well as lots of videos. These including clips from the movie and short interviews with the cast and crew. However, I don't like the menu as you have to scroll through the choices to get to the interviews and can't just jump right there. The final feature of note is the E-mail time capsule where you can send a message to yourself or someone else in the future. It's cute, but not enough to really sell the site.
For a documentary, this website is quite visual. Then again, it's a visual documentary. On the site is the trailer, image gallery, and four clips, as well as bios on the crew and featured people. Sells the movie well.
All the usual features are here, as well as some interesting extras, mostly in the form of video clips. There are clips from the movie, which was expected, a featurette on the origins of the story, which was not, and finally, two clips from the recording session. The last extra is a section on the music, which has clips from all songs on the soundtrack. On the other hand, I was hoping for more flash, more animation, more style. Overall it is a really good site, but it is not award-worthy.
Unsurprisingly, this site focuses on the music more than most do. In fact, it spends more time on the music than it does on the cast and crew. Add in enough sound and animation and the site works, but doesn't rise above the crowd.
All the sites just re-direct to the international site, including when you choose the United States from that list. Maybe that helps explain why it stumbled out of the gate on Friday.
Filed under: National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Charlie Wilson’s War, P.S. I Love You, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Steep, Blonde Ambition, Flakes