LoginI remember it quite well, when I first heard about this movie, I thought it sounded quite intriguing. Unfortunately, when it finally came out, it turned out to be actually a huge flop but I was still eager to check it out anyway. Well, first of all, I thought it was quite a gorgeous flick. Indeed, they managed to deliver here some awesome sets and they created a rather impressive world. Unfortunately, I have to admit that the whole thing still didn’t completely work though. Above all, the main issue was that the damned thing was actually too short and, as a result, all the sub-plots were actually barely developped in my opinion. For example, they managed to get here 2 fine actors (Bill Murray and Tim Robbins) but they eventually had both nothing much to do. Still, during the last half hour, the whole thing actually turned into a rather thrilling adventure and I was most definitely entertained. For Gil Kenan, the fact that this movie failed was a huge blow for his career and it would take him 7 long years to finally come up with a new directing effort but, unfortunately, it would be another flop (‘Poltergeist’, a remake of the 80’s classic). Anyway, coming back to our main feature, even though it was a rather flawed picture, I liked it anyway, the whole thing was really gorgeous to look at and I think it is definitely worth a look.
City of Ember Reviews
A good movie
Posted : 12 years, 8 months ago on 19 August 2011 08:58
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A good film for entertainment.
Posted : 14 years, 4 months ago on 1 January 2010 11:33
To be perfectly honest, I was unsure of what to expect out of this film. All I could say is that it would be a bit like The Golden Compass which is what it did turn out to be. The only difference is that The Golden Compass was a lot better. City Of Ember is one of those films that are visually amazing but doesn't greatly focus on the plot and characters. I enjoyed it for its effects but as far as the story and characters are concerned it isn't good. It is a really fun film for the family but nothing else. The visual effects are absolutely amazing!! As far as I'm concerned, it is The Golden Compass of 2008.
Despite it only been 1 year after Atonement, Saoirse Ronan seems almost like a totally different person because she has grown so much. She was good in this film but it seems a little out of her league so to speak because I prefer her in dramas. She was outstanding in Atonement which lead to her first Oscar nomination and I am excited about seeing her in Peter Jackson's upcoming film The Lovely Bones. Bill Murray is a fantastic actor and I think he was miscast in this one too. Tim Robbins made an appearance in this film. Despite he wasn't in that many scenes of the film he still was miscast just like everybody in this film was.
Gil Kenan is a director of extraordinary visual effects in his own way. His work in Monster House is awesome! However, his work in City Of Ember wasn't as good this time because the film was way more focused on the effects more than the actual story and characters within the film. Sometimes, this kind of thing works but it doesn't quite work in this film. For example, it did in The Golden Compass because the story was very interesting and kept me going all the way through whereas this one didn't very much at all.
Overall, City Of Ember is an average film that I loved for the effects but hated for the story and characters within it. It isn't a bad film and it isn't a good film either. It is a good film for the family but I don't think everyone within it will like this one. I wouldn't recommend it and I wouldn't say it's a film you should avoid either.
Despite it only been 1 year after Atonement, Saoirse Ronan seems almost like a totally different person because she has grown so much. She was good in this film but it seems a little out of her league so to speak because I prefer her in dramas. She was outstanding in Atonement which lead to her first Oscar nomination and I am excited about seeing her in Peter Jackson's upcoming film The Lovely Bones. Bill Murray is a fantastic actor and I think he was miscast in this one too. Tim Robbins made an appearance in this film. Despite he wasn't in that many scenes of the film he still was miscast just like everybody in this film was.
Gil Kenan is a director of extraordinary visual effects in his own way. His work in Monster House is awesome! However, his work in City Of Ember wasn't as good this time because the film was way more focused on the effects more than the actual story and characters within the film. Sometimes, this kind of thing works but it doesn't quite work in this film. For example, it did in The Golden Compass because the story was very interesting and kept me going all the way through whereas this one didn't very much at all.
Overall, City Of Ember is an average film that I loved for the effects but hated for the story and characters within it. It isn't a bad film and it isn't a good film either. It is a good film for the family but I don't think everyone within it will like this one. I wouldn't recommend it and I wouldn't say it's a film you should avoid either.
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Good family film
Posted : 15 years, 5 months ago on 9 November 2008 09:17
The City of Ember is taken from the book by the same name. I have read the book and was really looking forward to seeing this movie. Even when I read the book I thought about how cool this book would be as a movie if someone could recreate this world and pull it off. I think the world that was created was very close to what I read in the book. If anything, it may be a little scarier and too much for small children under school age.
The idea of this story starts with the idea about what we as humans could do to survive a major nuclear attack. The city of Ember was built to help save mankind in such a situation. The selected individuals were taken to the city and were to stay there for 200 hundred years. Well, it was supposed to be 200 years but something went wrong and they have passed this time. Now the city is starting to break down and fall apart. The main generator that powers this underground city is failing and people are starting to worry and panic.
It is up to a couple of smart kids to try to save the people in the city. They have a lot of adventures along the way that are exciting to watch. Your kids should really get into the story and the world that was created for this movie. I really enjoyed the movie and my son gave it an A-. He said that they changed a couple of things from the book that he didn't like. They were really minor changes in my opinion, but he did notice them. If you missed this one in the theater, I would reccomend this one for your DVD collection.
Flash
The idea of this story starts with the idea about what we as humans could do to survive a major nuclear attack. The city of Ember was built to help save mankind in such a situation. The selected individuals were taken to the city and were to stay there for 200 hundred years. Well, it was supposed to be 200 years but something went wrong and they have passed this time. Now the city is starting to break down and fall apart. The main generator that powers this underground city is failing and people are starting to worry and panic.
It is up to a couple of smart kids to try to save the people in the city. They have a lot of adventures along the way that are exciting to watch. Your kids should really get into the story and the world that was created for this movie. I really enjoyed the movie and my son gave it an A-. He said that they changed a couple of things from the book that he didn't like. They were really minor changes in my opinion, but he did notice them. If you missed this one in the theater, I would reccomend this one for your DVD collection.
Flash
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City of Ember not City Of Fire...
Posted : 15 years, 6 months ago on 12 October 2008 08:07
''If you find truth you have to pursue it!''
For generations, the people of the City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights. But Ember's once powerful generator is failing ... and the great lamps that illuminate the city are starting to flicker.
Saoirse Ronan: Lina Mayfleet
Well where to begin with City Of Ember, where to start. Was quite looking forward to the prospect of seeing this film after seeing tantalizing trailers that pummeled me into submission. Unfortunately the film City Of Ember results in a film that succeeds in said trailer but when it comes to the crunch and the material itself misses the mark by a wide degree.
It's main plot consisting on a child version, fantasy-styled Logan's Run that seems to be hard to take seriously when all the characters appear to be two dimensional and to a certain extent flimsy.
Director Gil Kenan focuses mainly on the story which seems to be the main flaw of Ember. It's drawn out, slow and some characters hardly any screen time or impact whatsoever. The also following fact that Tom Hanks also produced this doesn't help matters.
Performances I would say aren't too bad, or the other extreme too good.
Saoirse Ronan of Atonement glory, shows she can at least act once again and makes most of an impact when she uses her dazzling blue eyes.
Harry Treadaway as Doon Harrow also does well as the male young hero, who's put to use in the pipeworks area after he swaps with Saoirse.
Tim Robbins also plays Loris Harrow, his father who previously tried to escape Ember but he's hardly given any screen-time, although he's part of the ending which has convenient written all over it.
Bill Murray surprisingly plays the villain of the piece as the Mayor who's literally a greedy pig of a man interested in providing for himself and not the City's needs.
City Of Ember starts off with a group of old architect people deciding to make an underground city, putting some daft secrets in a box, handing them down through a leader or Mayor every generation for a period of 200 years. We are given various questions but never answers to counter certain issues why they couldn't make a city that lasted longer or one where you could get out of it easily at the end of the designated time. When we finally get onto the futuristic old styled City we are given a fantasy setting laced with a modern complied feel, we get strange creatures and insects that are so huge but why? Why are they so big and not the people? Why can people grow food and vegetables underground without sunlight? Why do they have to have random jobs when some of them may not be suitable for their selected job? City Of Ember raises so many questions and has so many gaping holes in the story and plot I find myself torn between simply enjoying proceedings, questioning them or pondering at the lack of originality and imaginations in it's material.
The first half of City Of Ember does explain the general routines and goings on of the City and I do admit it was quite nice to see how the inhabitants receive their occupations and the general roles they play.
It's a weird concoction but City Of Ember has it's moments, just more Tim Robbins might have done the trick or more focus on what actually happens when the protagonists actually resolve the escape situation and proceed in saving the others. A computer game called Abe's Oddysee also seemed to remind me of this ballad, the whole escape scenario.
I did love a huge Moth creature on the film which made me have a sudden lapse and peeked my interest, definitely has it's spark at certain conjectures.
City Of Ember, let's face it is for the children, although some parts with a giant mutant mole rat thing aren't for them, but overall it's a tale that's best watched if you have no questions to ask about the crazy proceedings. The fact there was hardly anyone in the cinema and the length seemed to show that Ember isn't as hot as I thought it would be. Definitely more interested in kissing my girlfriend, and having her back home for the weekend, which seemed to be the highlight of seeing this film above all things.
I'd recommend if you're interested in fantasy/Sci-fi/Children's films, otherwise don't bother.
For generations, the people of the City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights. But Ember's once powerful generator is failing ... and the great lamps that illuminate the city are starting to flicker.
Saoirse Ronan: Lina Mayfleet
Well where to begin with City Of Ember, where to start. Was quite looking forward to the prospect of seeing this film after seeing tantalizing trailers that pummeled me into submission. Unfortunately the film City Of Ember results in a film that succeeds in said trailer but when it comes to the crunch and the material itself misses the mark by a wide degree.
It's main plot consisting on a child version, fantasy-styled Logan's Run that seems to be hard to take seriously when all the characters appear to be two dimensional and to a certain extent flimsy.
Director Gil Kenan focuses mainly on the story which seems to be the main flaw of Ember. It's drawn out, slow and some characters hardly any screen time or impact whatsoever. The also following fact that Tom Hanks also produced this doesn't help matters.
Performances I would say aren't too bad, or the other extreme too good.
Saoirse Ronan of Atonement glory, shows she can at least act once again and makes most of an impact when she uses her dazzling blue eyes.
Harry Treadaway as Doon Harrow also does well as the male young hero, who's put to use in the pipeworks area after he swaps with Saoirse.
Tim Robbins also plays Loris Harrow, his father who previously tried to escape Ember but he's hardly given any screen-time, although he's part of the ending which has convenient written all over it.
Bill Murray surprisingly plays the villain of the piece as the Mayor who's literally a greedy pig of a man interested in providing for himself and not the City's needs.
City Of Ember starts off with a group of old architect people deciding to make an underground city, putting some daft secrets in a box, handing them down through a leader or Mayor every generation for a period of 200 years. We are given various questions but never answers to counter certain issues why they couldn't make a city that lasted longer or one where you could get out of it easily at the end of the designated time. When we finally get onto the futuristic old styled City we are given a fantasy setting laced with a modern complied feel, we get strange creatures and insects that are so huge but why? Why are they so big and not the people? Why can people grow food and vegetables underground without sunlight? Why do they have to have random jobs when some of them may not be suitable for their selected job? City Of Ember raises so many questions and has so many gaping holes in the story and plot I find myself torn between simply enjoying proceedings, questioning them or pondering at the lack of originality and imaginations in it's material.
The first half of City Of Ember does explain the general routines and goings on of the City and I do admit it was quite nice to see how the inhabitants receive their occupations and the general roles they play.
It's a weird concoction but City Of Ember has it's moments, just more Tim Robbins might have done the trick or more focus on what actually happens when the protagonists actually resolve the escape situation and proceed in saving the others. A computer game called Abe's Oddysee also seemed to remind me of this ballad, the whole escape scenario.
I did love a huge Moth creature on the film which made me have a sudden lapse and peeked my interest, definitely has it's spark at certain conjectures.
City Of Ember, let's face it is for the children, although some parts with a giant mutant mole rat thing aren't for them, but overall it's a tale that's best watched if you have no questions to ask about the crazy proceedings. The fact there was hardly anyone in the cinema and the length seemed to show that Ember isn't as hot as I thought it would be. Definitely more interested in kissing my girlfriend, and having her back home for the weekend, which seemed to be the highlight of seeing this film above all things.
I'd recommend if you're interested in fantasy/Sci-fi/Children's films, otherwise don't bother.
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