chris_sc77

This is yet another Fantasy film based on a series of books for children/young adults. Release date is now set for Oct. 10, 2008. I usually don't get excited over these kinds of movies but my favorite actor is Bill Murray (who plays the Mayor of Ember in this one) so this is one "kids movie" I'll definitely see.
Here is the plot:

"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. Now, two teenagers in a race against time, must search Ember for clues that will unlock the ancient mystery of the city's existence, and help the citizens escape before the lights go out forever"




Anyone read the books or seen Monster House? Any good...

Nesbit

Monster House was good. I didn't get sick of it until at least the 3rd viewing.

chris_sc77

Teaser poster:

BJacks

Teaser trailer is out:
http://www.cityofember.com

Looks really interesting, IMO. Looking fwd to it.

chris_sc77

This does look really fun. Again, I hate kids movies but this does look like it could be something that doesnt feature overdone CGI or panders to solely children. Something like an 80's film like the Goonies or something.

RichC2

I liked Monster House a lot (reminded me of those 80s "kid" flicks, kind of a Goonies vibe) , so I'm looking forward to this.

Looks like a mix between Bioshock and Lemony Snickets. That really isn't a bad thing.

My Other Self

Bill Murray's done Garfield and Osmosis Jones.. can't say I'm a fan of him in "kiddie" stuff. I guess we'll see if this one is any better.

Zen Peckinpah

Sold on the cast and screenwriter, now let's see how the movie starts to pan out.

tylergfoster

Some posters on ComingSoon claimed the movie appeared to miss the point of the book in the trailer. Regardless, it looks fun to me, although the trailer threw in some dialogue at the beginning that threw me for a loop and made the plot seem more complicated than it was.

Matt Holston

Hey guys!

Got my hands on some exclusive, first-look screen captures from the upcoming action/adventure film, City of Ember (in theatres, 10/10/08).

Synopsis: The latest fantasy novel adaption from Fox Walden is City of Ember. Based on the 2003 novel by Jeanne Duprau, Ember follows two kids, Lina and Doon, who live in the City of Ember, where the sky is always dark. As Ember’s power source begins to fail and the lamps start to flicker, they search for clues that will unlock ancient mysteries about the city and save the people of Ember. The film stars Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Toby Jones, Martin Landau, Mackenzie Crook, Mary Kay Place, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste.

Other notable mentions: Directed by Gil Kenan (Monster House, Oscar nominated) and screenplay by Caroline Thompson (Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands).

Watch the trailer at cityofember . com and let everyone know what you think!

I have posted the exclusive screen shots below, there's a little description of what's going on underneath each of the images.


Bill Murray plays Mayor Cole; I'm really looking forward to his work in this film! He has such great comic timing, and I'm sure he'll do well to make this film good for all audiences, young and old.


Lina Mayfleet (Saoirse Ronan, Atonement) with the "Instructions of Egress" that unlocks the mystery to finding a way out of the City of Ember.


Gives you a good idea about the set design-- Martin Laing (Titanic, Pearl Harbor) really gave the movie an epic and unique post-apocalyptic aesthetic. Another tidbit, it was filmed in a former paint hall in Belfast, Ireland's Titanic Quarter. Other filming sites included England, Romania, Prague and Berlin.

chris_sc77

Only 95 Min. Long. Not too surprising I guess considering it's fox. Oh well maybe I'll still rent the DVD.

BravesMG

Holy crap man, it's a kids movie. They're not known for their attention spans or clamoring for character development and establishing shots. This shit has to be a joke at this point, right?

Zen Peckinpah

As I told a friend, it's like The Goonies in the debilitated Earth of WALL-E...only with 250% more Bill Murray!

mdc3000

I haven't seen a single commercial or trailer theatrically for this one... if it weren't for the poster in my theatre lobby I'd never have heard of it...and now it's coming out on FRIDAY and I still haven't seen shit about it anywhere... what is Fox doing? I'll see it because I thought Monster House was damn good and am interested to see what Gil Kenan does next... and of course Bill Murray!

Goldberg74

I bought the books for my 10-year-old son for his birthday this summer and he tore through the first three in a matter of weeks. He is really excited to see this film.

His school's Gifted and Talented program is reading the books (and he's re-reading them) then they are taking a field trip to go see the movie in the coming weeks.

I may just take him before hand.

cruzness

Read the first 2 books. Meh. Not really all that great compared to other series.

Patman

I found this film a little odd, or it just felt like it was filmed on the cheap, with a choppy script. Gil Kenan directs this film like he does an animated film (he directed "Monster House", which I did like), with these trying camera moves that don't really add much to the scenes in live-action, and it's sort of tough to make the overall grunginess an enriching cinematic viewing experience, but some of the production design is above average, though it's pretty depressing by design. The decaying underground city has a faltering power generator that needs to be fixed, which is the crux of the film, how will these generations of humans, sequestered away for 200 years after an apocalytical event, find a solution? The main characters, Lin (Saoirse Ronan) and Doon, are teenagers who are given occupations from a pick of jobs from out of a hat. Neither get the jobs they wants, but a bit of trading gets them near what they want, and this puts them in position to be near the generator as the brownouts become more and more commonplace.

The solution to their city's problem is nested within a time capsule of sorts that has been accidentally hidden away after a break in it being passed from the mayors of the city to their successors. Lin comes across it, but needs help in figuring out how to use the contents to save the day. There are obstacles in their way as the mayor's cronies have their own agendas. Lin and Doon have a somewhat a tepid action sequence to its conclusion, but it feels like the viewers get short-changed in the story/history department of the City of Ember itself. I'm sure there was an allegorical element to the story, but it seems like it was gutted just to get to its conclusion without providing more grit to the story.

I give it 2.5 stars, or a grade of C+.

The Bus

Patman, you saw this over Appaloosa?

Supermallet

I have to say, the trailers for this looked absolutely awful.

Thrush

I was really let down by this one. I found myself really hoping they would get to the "outside" world if for no other reason than to find some characters and situations that I actually cared about. Because Ember and its its residents were utterly boring. Robins and Murray were completely wasted in this.

Dont bother with this one. It isnt even a rental.

chris_sc77

yeah i felt this movie was pretty disappointing. Its like the film ends after the 2nd act and leaves you wanting to see a 3rd act that will never happen now.

RocShemp

I actually enjoyed it. However the whole plot thread of the large insects and animals was left unresolved. I was also hoping to see more of the outside world than the little peek offered and know more about why they needed to live underground. All you really see is an abandoned bus so I'm wondering what exactly happened (war, natural disasters, both?).

Still, I found in t rather sweet and enjoyable.

Thrush

I assumed

RocShemp

Nice theory, Thrush. But what about the bus the kids found at the end? SHouldn't that have been huge too? Or do you suppose the builders had shrunk a bunch of buses to transport them to the underground.

Thrush

Upon scrutiny my theory sort of falls apart. Unless the builders were also small.

We're never really given a clear reason as to why Ember is built beyond "the world was ending". If we assume some catastrophe caused humans worldwide to shrink. And the race was dying for no other reason than society was completely unable to cope with this fact. Then the speech at the beginning could have more than one meaning. "Growing up with no knowledge of the world outside future generations will be spared the sorrow of what they've lost".