Movie Website Updates for September 9 - September 15

September 15, 2005

During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Here the list of this week's releases, a couple of new sites and few updates, including this week's winner, Cry Wolf - Official Site.

Brokeback Mountain
Just the trailer so far.

Corpse Bride
Not much new this week, but the site is still amazing and well deserving on the award. On a side note, the last clip is still marked coming soon, but it should be added before next week's wide release. However, since the film has a prestige opening tomorrow, this is the last time it will appear on this column.

Cry Wolf
Not much has changed since the flash site first went live and we're still waiting for the clips to be added. The heart of the site in a looping animated / interactive tour that not only shows the surfer all the regular information, but really sets the mood while giving additional background information. (There is also a menu to system to jump to the information you want at the moment.) The biggest extra is a game based on the one played in the movie, which is a lot more cerebral than most games you would find on movie websites. The only real complaint I have is the lack of branching on the main site; a little more real choices would have changed the site from a clickfest to some truly interactive. Even so, this is a top notch site that combined style and substance in a very effective manner and is the winner of the misleading Weekly Website Award.

Daltry Calhoun
A Miramax site that doesn't suck. Granted, there's still not much here with just the synopsis and cast & crew bios, (trailer marked coming soon). But that's still more that most such sites have. Also, there's actually a little bit of animation to go with the content.

Dirty Love
The flash site launched this week and it's pretty mediocre, but that's a hundred better than the movie itself looks.

Doom
There's a behind-the-scenes look on the site now, which is your typical promotional piece. I'm still not sold on the film, however, it could either turn out to be a great roller coaster ride or a complete train wreck; it's just too soon to tell.

The Fog
You can now explore the three locations on the site, which adds a lot to the mood of the site, but the film itself still feels very generic.

Fun with Dick and Jane
The placeholder site has been redesigned, and quite frankly it's a set backwards.

Hellbent
This site has all the usual features, but doesn't have a very polished feel. On a side note, that is one effective poster.

Just Friends
Just the trailer so far. First thoughts on the movie, it's a rental. But I'm still open to the possibility that it will be a pleasant surprise.

Just Like Heaven
The rest of the site has been added, but while it is very good, it's just not quite good enough to win this week's award.

The Legend of Zorro
The flash site launched over the past week, but there's very little there that's not marked coming soon. The first of two games is on the site, but a target practice game without a time limit or a score is kind of pointless. Hopefully the site will improve as more updates are added.

Lord of War
The rest of the World Tour section was added to the site including a Name that Weapon game. I was able to get 11 out of 14 based on the silhouette alone, which is strange since I'm not big into guns and I didn't think I knew so much about guns. Sure, I know what the Walther PPK looks like, cause that's the gun Bond uses. But the fact that I knew so many of the others just shows how prevalent these guns are in popular culture.

Proof
No changes from last week.

Saw 2
More of the interactive flash site has gone live, but this time it left me cold. It's very much like when I first reviewed the original's movie site more than a year ago. Considering how well that movie did, it makes sense not to change the feel of the site to please just one critic.

Separate Lies
The flash site launched this week but it's hard to be overly enthusiastic about the site. It has all the usual features, (and three clips as a bonus) and enough sound and animation to keep the surfer's attention. Even so, there's not enough here to make it stand out.

Serenity
The TV-Spots have been added to the site, but I don't like the voice-over work; it sounds corny. With a couple of weeks to go till the movie is released, just the production notes and bios are marked coming soon. One last note for the Browncoats, the store is open and the merchandise is going fast.

The Thing About My Folks
All the usual features without much in the way of extras.

Thumbsucker
No real changes in a while.

Two for the Money
The flash site is up, but there's not much here that makes it stand out.

Venom
It's a Miramax site, 'nuff said.

Waiting...
The flash site launched this week and while it's heavy on style, there's not much in the way of features, at least not yet as there are several sections marked coming soon. It is worth keeping your eye on, as I could become an award winning site as more features are added.

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
There's a new look to the placeholder site and a new animated intro to the flash site.

The World's Fastest Indian
Not much here in terms of content, but the trailer is certainly worth checking out. Could earn some mainstream success when in plays in limited release here.


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Filed under: Movie Website Updates, Fun with Dick & Jane, Saw II, Brokeback Mountain, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Corpse Bride, Just Like Heaven, The Legend of Zorro, Just Friends, The Fog, Doom, Serenity, Lord of War, Waiting..., Cry Wolf, Proof, The World's Fastest Indian, Thumbsucker, Separate Lies, Venom, Daltry Calhoun, 2 For the Money