Movie Website Updates for December 30 - January 5

January 5, 2006

During the past week promotional websites for several movies were launched and some older ones added additional content. Not the busiest of weeks, but there were a few contenders for the Weekly Website Award with The Pink Panther - Official Site taking the prize.

BloodRayne - Official Site
This is a good site with all the usual features, a few extra, sound & animation, all in a tight package. The site is easily better than the movie it promotes.

Charlotte's Web - Official Site
Some additions this week including a game, fan art / fiction, and a short tour of the barn.

The Chosen One - Official Site
The news section still says, "Happy 2005! Updates and info coming soon!" Maybe we'll get some information before the end of this year.

Clerks 2: The Passion of the Clerks - Official Site
It's been three weeks since this site was on this column and in the meantime 5 clips were added to the site including the usual mix of behind-the-scenes, interviews, and more. The best of the bunch was The Good, The Bad, and The Man, which shows the three directors talking about screening the movie.

Firewall - Official Site
The site has a new look, but no new content.

Ghost Rider - Official Site
There's a teaser clip and a look at the upcoming maquette.

Glory Road - Official Site
There were a couple of new features this week, including the first of two games. However, the site still feels very ordinary and can't set itself apart from the crowd.

Grandma's Boy - Official Site
The site just has a bunch of video clips, (trailer, 3 TV spots, and a music video). From the trailer and the TV spots, it looks like theirs is absolutely nothing to recommend this movie.

Hoodwinked - Official Site
The full site is up and it's the best Weinstein Co. site I've seen. But that's not much of a compliment. The site has the usual features, plus a lot of video clips with even more marked coming soon.

Hostel - Official Site
This could be a really good site, but you need to post your I.D. to get to the heart of it. And I'm not going to give out that kind of information over the Internet.

Last Holiday - Official Site
The cast & crew bios, production notes and the games were added to the site, none of which helped the site really stand out.

Manderlay - Official Site
An interesting site with all the usual information. The list of cast and crew is rather annoying because it scrolls and if you miss the person whose bio you want to read, you have to wait for the whole list to go buy. When style interferes with function then it's gone too far.

The Pink Panther - Official Site
Another site that looks better than the movie it is promoting. This site has all the usual features, as plenty of sound and animation, and is more interactive than most. The heart of the site is an interactive map where you drive around to the various locations, each of which features cast & crew bios or trailer, etc. There are also hidden clues and if you find all of them you get a certificate you can print. It's the best site of the week and the winner of the rose-colored Weekly Website Award, but I must say, the more I see of this movie, the less I want to see it.

Running Scared - Official Site
Big update since the last time the site was on this list with a lot of style, but not much in the way of regular features. Maybe as the release date nears more regular features will be added and it will become an award-winning site.

Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny - Official Site
The latest Hell O'Clock News video clips was added to the site, this time featuring Jack Black and King Kong. These bits are funny, but I'm not sure if they are really selling the movie very well.

Why We Fight - Official Site
The site is live and there's an amazing amount of information, including a very intriguing trailer. There's not much in the way of style, which is true of most documentary sites and the bios should have been divided up into individual people, not just two groups.


-

Filed under: Movie Website Updates, Ghost Rider, Charlotte's Web, The Pink Panther, Firewall, Glory Road, Last Holiday, Clerks II, Running Scared, BloodRayne, Manderlay