Movie Website Reviews for Weekend of November 7, 2008
November 9, 2008
It was a big weekend for Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. Not only is it going to win the box office race, but its Official Site won the Weekly Website Award.
The Alphabet Killer - Official Site
Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas - Official Site
The Guitar - Official Site
House - Official Site
JCVD - Official Site
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - Official Site
Otto; Or, Up with Dead People - Official Site
Pray the Devil Back to Hell - Official Site
Real Time - Official Site
Repo! The Genetic Opera - Official Site
Role Models - Official Site
Soul Men - Official Site
The World Unseen - Official Site
The basic information is here, as well as information on the real life crimes that inspired the movie. There's enough sound and animation to help build the mood, but not enough to help it truly stand apart.
All the usual features are here, plus a section on the book and a downloadable discussion guide for educators. There's not much in terms of flash, but this understated nature fits the movie.
All the usual features are here. There's not much in the way of extras, just a song that can only be heard while on the page with the synopsis.
Not a whole lot of content here, just the synopsis, image gallery, trailer, and short clips used as intros. There are a few short clips used and intros, and they help the mood, but not enough to stand out.
A rather small site with only the basics (and even then there are not bios just a cast & crew list). I do like the trailer and I think that might be enough to sell people on the movie.
A massive site with all of the usual features (synopsis, production notes, bios, images, and trailers). Also, there are plenty of extras starting with sections for the entire cast of main characters that include bios, downloads, and games to go with each. (Well, mostly. Some of the games are still marked coming soon.) There are also plenty of clips, including a behind-the-scenes featurette on the creation of the music. Throw activities and other downloadables, as well as plenty of sound and animation, and this is the biggest and best site on this week's list. I would like to have seen what those missing games were supposed to be, but even with that minor issue, it is still the winner of the safari Weekly Website Award.
Information here is rather limited, for instance, there is just a cast & crew list with no bios. There is a production blog that should interest readers.
A site for an advocacy documentary, and as such it spends as much time talking about the cause as it does talking about the movie. However, there's all of the usual features here, as well as some interviews, and the site should draw in those interested in the subject.
Small site with just the synopsis, cast list, image gallery, and trailer. However, it's a small Canadian movie, so this is not surprising.
There's a lot here, however, the site is as twisted as the movie, which makes it less effective. I do like the two featurettes on two of the songs from the movie, but I'm not sure the site will sell the movie to a wider audience. I'm not sure the movie can be sold to a wider audience.
I hate sites that hide some of their content behind age verification that I can't get passed because I'm Canadian. Zack and Miri didn't do that, so I know it's not impossible to be done. Another problem, after watching the clips, the site crashed on me. There's plenty of features on this site, including all of the usual ones, and extras like the clips, a memory game, an animated comic book, and a site for Sturdy Wings. This could have been enough to be a contender for the Weekly Website Awards, but the issues mentioned above prevent that.
All the usual features are here, but there are two main extras. Firstly, a section on the soundtrack, which I reviewed previously. Secondly, there's a timeline of sorts about The Real Deal, the fictional band from the movie. The emphasis on the music is expected and welcome, however, overall the site doesn't stand out enough to be a award contender.
All of the usual features are here and in addition there's short making of featurette. In fact, it is close to 8 minutes long, which is quite long for a video clip on a website. There is even historical information on the time and place the movie is set.
Filed under: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Role Models, Soul Men, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, House, JCVD, Repo! The Genetic Opera