Movie Website Updates for August 5 - August 11, 2007

August 12, 2007

Another good week for movie sites with a few sites that either won in the past or could win in the future. This includes this weeks winner, The Brothers Solomon - Official Site.

2 Days in Paris - Official Site
Just the basics without a sense of style.

3:10 to Yuma - Official Site
The trailer wouldn't work for me last week, but it did this week. The trailer is very effective and I was sold on the film instantly.

August Rush - Official Site
There's a new look and the synopsis, image gallery and trailer were added. Still not much, but the movie doesn't open till October, so there's plenty of time to add more.

Balls of Fury - Official Site
Plenty more video clips were added to the site, most of the behind-the-scenes clips have very little to do with the movie, but they are entertaining.

Be Kind Rewind - Official Site
The URL is still not functional, but the trailer is online. It's a great trailer, but I'm not sure how marketable it will be. It's got a Stranger Than Eternal Sunshine feel to it and I think the critics will love it, but multi-plex audiences will likely be tougher to convince.

The Brothers Solomon - Official Site
The flash site is up and it is big, and nice, and a lot is hidden behind age verification. Fortunately, I recently learned how to bypass the system, which is so flawed it fails to take into account the many moviegoers from north of the border. I have to say, for video clips that are restricted to 18 and older, they are very tame. Most of funny, but tame. As for the regular features, the synopsis is there, the bios are marked coming soon, there are images spread throughout the site, and both trailers are here as well. But the heart of the site is the narration done by the two brothers. It is always nice when studios produce new content for the site as it makes it seem like they are putting in the extras effort and that extra effort is being rewarded here with the newborn Weekly Website Award.

Charlie Bartlett - Official Site
Although it doesn't say it on the site yet, the new release date is February 1st. Hopefully this will be the final release date change.

Crossing the Line - Official Site
All the usual content is here, but not a lot of style, which is typical of documentary site.

Daddy Day Camp - Official Site
The full site is up, and it is much better than expected. Plenty of sound and animation, and even some original content. Of course, it makes the movie look terrible, but I don't think any other outcome was possible.

Dan in Real Life - Official Site
The site is just a re-direct, but the trailer can be found here. While it is opening in limited release, it looks like it should be able to escape and become a mainstream hit.

Descent - Official Site
Not much is here, and nothing in the way of style.

Exiled - Official Site
The trailer was added this week.

The Game Plan - Official Site
Another site with original content, that makes three so far this week. Here Dwayne Johnson introduces the features, which include new content like cast and crew, (the bio parts are still marked coming soon). Still too early to judge the site as a whole, but it is coming together nicely.

Good Luck Chuck - Official Site
Features is gone and been replaced with some e-cards and a link to Perfect Match. Also, there's a new trailer that doesn't even mention the premise of the movie and instead focuses almost entirely on Jessica Alba. I'm not complaining. In fact, if they could digitally remove Dane Cook from the movie completely, I would actually see the film.

Halloween - Official Site
Three TV spots were added to the site.

The Heartbreak Kid - Official Site
New look, and I think there's a new trailer. If so, it didn't sell me on the project anymore than the original did.

The Invasion - Official Site
Some TV spots were added as well as a whole lot of contests.

Ira & Abby - Official Site
Just the absolute basics with the trailer marked coming soon.

Jumper - Official Site
Excellent style here with the content hidden and the surfer has to hunt it down. So far there's not a lot of content, but the movie doesn't open until February, so there's plenty of time to add more. Hopefully there will be regular updates and not relatively nothing for the next several months.

The Last Winter - Official Site
There's a lot of content here, but absolutely no style.

Music Within - Official Site
Just the basics without enough to make it stand out. Also, the trailer wasn't as effective as it should have been.

Mr. Woodcock - Official Site
The game was added to the site, but it wasn't really a game. In fact, it wasn't much of anything.

My Kid Could Paint That - Official Site
The flash site launched and I like it, sort of. The menu is completely unique and you have to match pictures to get to the content, however, this is certainly a case of style over usability. But once you create a match, it places the menu item on the picture so it is much easier getting back to the right content the next time. As for the content, all the usual information is here for a documentary site including a timeline as an extra. There's enough to stand out, but not enough to be award-worthy. On a side note, I was amazed that people actually accused Marla of being a fraud, as if her paintings couldn't be made by a 4-year old. They are random squiggles on a canvas. Of course a 4-year old could do that. Back to the site, it's well done and close to award-worthy.

National Treasure: The Book of Secrets - Official Site
The full trailer was added to the site.

Persepolis - Official Site
The full site is marked coming soon, but the placeholder site has more content than most, including a making of featurette.

Rendition - Official Site
Just the synopsis and the trailer, but that's enough for now.

Rush Hour 3 - Official Site
All the basics are here with enough animation, (in the form of clips between sections), to entertain, but not enough to stand out.

Skinwalkers - Official Site
Nothing new this week. Nothing that makes the site stand out.

Stardust - Official Site
Half a dozen clips were added to an already award-winning site.

Sydney White - Official Site
MySpace. Yuuchhh--actually, this isn't bad, at least for MySpace pages, which tend to look ugly. The only content so far is the trailer that is introduced by Amanda Bynes; it looks cute, not particularly intellectually challenging, but on par with other Amanda Bynes' movies.

Wall-E - Official Site
A new side site, Buy'n Large has gone live.


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Filed under: Movie Website Updates, WALL-E, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Rush Hour 3, The Game Plan, Jumper, Halloween, Dan in Real Life, Stardust, The Heartbreak Kid, Good Luck Chuck, Balls of Fury, August Rush, Mr. Woodcock, The Invasion, Daddy Day Camp, Sydney White, Be Kind Rewind, Rendition, Persepolis, Deux jours à Paris, Charlie Bartlett, Skinwalkers, The Brothers Solomon, My Kid Could Paint That, Ira and Abby, Music Within, Fong juk, The Last Winter, Descent, Crossing the Line, 3:10 to Yuma