Movie Website Reviews for Weekend of December 15, 2007
December 15, 2007
Only two sites with an intense amount of flash, sadly the bigger of these two sites features some of the worst music I have heard in a long, long time. This left I Am Legend - Official Site - as the clear winner for the Weekly Website Award.
Alvin and the Chipmunks - Official Site
Goodbye Bafana - Official Site
Half Moon - No Official Site
The Kite Runner - Official Site
Look - Official Site
Nanking - No Official Site
The Perfect Holiday - Official Site
Youth Without Youth - Official Site
I pity parents who are talking their kids to see this movie. I can't stand listening to the background music for more than a few seconds, I couldn't possibly imagine sitting through it for 90 minutes. There are a lot of games on the site, but I can't take that music; five seconds in and I'm praying for an aneurysm. It has a lot of flash and that might help sell the movie to its target audience, I'm just not in that target audience. On a side note, the production notes, cast & crew bios, and two of the games are still marked coming soon.
All the usual features are here, but there's not a lot of polish. (Also, the trailer is lost behind a dead link.) The only feature that can be called an extra are the text based interviews with the four main cast / crew members.
No site to review.
I Am Legend - Official Site
A good site with all of the usual features (synopsis, production notes, cast & crew bios, image gallery, and trailer). There are also several extras that add to the mood. These including a daylight meter and an interactive map with images of different sets. There are two games, if you include the viral marketing / community site a game. And there's more than enough sound and animation to keep your attention. When the site first launched I was expecting more by the time the movie launched. That said, it is still the best site of the week and the winner of the pandemic Weekly Website Award.
There's a lot of content on this site including video clips, behind-the-scenes, songs from the soundtrack, etc. There are also several clip montages that feel like they should be interactive but are not. For a limited release, this is a strong site.
The site doesn't feel very polished, and it also seems like it is trying to argue a point more than sell the movie. This isn't necessarily bad for the movie, but it does hurt the site.
No site to review.
Mostly it is the basics without enough style to stand out. There are more than a dozen videos including several scenes from the movie, interview featurettes, and even a music video, but it not enough to truly stand out.
Just a warning, the synopsis is rather complete and contains what would have to be considered spoilers. There's not much here outside the usual features; in fact, the only extra is the section on the soundtrack, but at least it is a substantial extra with close to an hour of music.
Filed under: I am Legend, Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Kite Runner, The Perfect Holiday, Youth Without Youth, Nanking, Look, Niwemang, Goodbye Bafana