Movie Website Reviews for Weekend of April 4, 2008

April 5, 2008

Only 11 movies on this week's list, and nearly half of them had no site for the North American release. This made it rather dull reviewing the sites this week, but it did give me a chance to waste an hour or so playing Seashell Shuffle on Nim's Island's Official Site. But despite the addictive nature of that game, the winner of the Weekly Website Award was Leatherheads - Official Site.

Flight of the Red Balloon - No Official Site
No official site.

Jellyfish - No Official Site
No official site for its North American release, but the original one is still online. It is in Hebrew, however, which limits its usefulness in selling the movie to audiences here.

Leatherheads - Official Site
The first site on this list that stands out. It has all of the usual features (synopsis, cast & crew bios, image gallery, and trailer) and a few extras like character bios, which are mostly clips from the movie. However, where the site really shines is in the style department. The film is set in 1925, and the site takes advantage of that fact with the background music, art design, etc. It doesn't take much to make a site stand out, mostly because most site do so little to try, so it is especially fun to see a site that really sells the film this way. It was also the only site on this week's list that made me want to check out the movie more than I already did, which is obviously the most important job of a promotional site like this. And with that, it wins the roaring Weekly Website Award.

Meet Bill - Official Site
Just the synopsis and the trailer, which is almost as bad as having no site at all.

My Blueberry Nights - No Official Site
Another movie without an official site for the North American release. It does have one for the U.K. release, and as long as you ignore the release date, there's no reason it not to check it out. The site has good background music, but that's the only aspect that is above average.

Nim's Island - Official Site
This site is short on content with just the synopsis, character bios, image gallery, trailer, and two games. Also, outside of the games and the trailer, there is no sound. A site for a fantasy adventure movie like this should have more in terms of style and flash.

The Ruins - Official Site
Has all of the usual information, including stuff hidden behind age restriction, which I can't get to because I'm Canadian. I hate that. I used to plug in George Bush's name, zip code and birth date, but I think they closed that loophole. The main extra is the Travel Advisory section, which details dangerous vacation spots, like the catacombs beneath Paris, which as a city artifact location and is useful for completing The Interesting Shop. (I don't expect anyone reading this to get that reference.) There is also a Passport where you can put your image on a passport. Overall it is effective, but not overwhelming.

Sex and Death 101 - Official Site
All of the usual features are here, and there's even a section for trivia. On the other hand, there's no sound or animation outside of the trailer.

Shine a Light - Official Site
All of the usual features are here and there's a clip ahead of each section and a different song playing in the background. This would be impressive for most sites, but considering this is a concert film, it is to be expected. If there weren't a ton of music on this site, I would have been really upset. Other extras include several clips, as well as a section fro interviews that is still marked coming soon.

Tuya's Marriage - No Official Site
No site. No Review.

Water Lilies - No Official Site
Another release without an official site. At least for the North American release. There's a site for its release in the U.K., as well as a MySpace page in French. (Le yuck.)


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Filed under: Nim's Island, Leatherheads, The Ruins, Sex Drive, Shine a Light, My Blueberry Nights, Le voyage du ballon rouge, Jellyfish, Tuyade Hunshi, Naissance des pieuvres, Meet Bill