Movie Website Reviews for Weekend of January 18, 2008

January 19, 2008

It's the busiest week of the year for new releases, which means it's the busiest week of the year for websites. However, while there is relatively high quantity, the quality is low. There are a few good sites, but there are more releases this week that are without sites and even none stand out as award-worthy.

27 Dresses - Official Site
The site has most of the basics (bios are m.i.a.) while there are a couple extras including a personality quiz and a dress designer. The personality quiz is well down and includes 10 short clips, however, overall the site feels too small to be really effective.

Beaufort - No Official Site
No site for the North American release. However, you can check out the original Israeli one here, but it is in Hebrew.

Blonde and Blonder - Official Site
Just the synopsis and the trailer, neither of which help sell the movie.

Bombay to Bangkok No Official Site
Nothing to review.

Cassandra's Dream - Official Site
Just the very basics with just enough style to not seem boring.

Cloverfield/1-18-08 - Official Site
There's just the trailer and a very short synopsis, as well as a link to MySpace. The original official site still has nothing but a few pictures. Very disappointing. However, I can see why they would not want to give a lot of information about the movie in the website given the marketing campaign they built up.

Day Zero - Official Site
Typical independent limited release site. It has all of the usual information, along with a poll about the hypothetical draft, but not a lot of polish. This lack of style hurts the site's effectiveness.

Little Chenier - Official Site
Another site with just the basics. This one also lacks polish, but that is common for site for independent films.

Mad Money - Official Site
All of the usual features are here, synopsis, production notes, cast & crew bios, image gallery and the trailer. There are also extras including character bios and four clips, but that is not enough to set it apart.

Still Life - No Official Site
No site, no review.

Summer Place - No Official Site
Yet another release with no official site.

Taxi to the Dark Side - Official Site
This site has a lot more style than most documentary sites have (I especially like the redaction used to change Cheney's quote). There's good information here, including some background information in the form of an extensive timeline.

Teeth - Official Site
The site has all of the usual information and includes some background information on the Vagina Dentata myth. (On a side note, we are certainly messed up as a species. It's amazing we've lasted this long.) Sadly there's not a whole lot to set it apart; in fact, there is no animation and very little sound.


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Filed under: Cloverfield, Mad Money, Cassandra's Dream, Teeth, Taxi to the Dark Side, Beaufort, Little Chenier, Sanxia haoren, Yihe yuan, Blonde and Blonder, Day Zero, Bombay to Bangkok, 27 Dresses