City Of Ember [Blu-ray]

great film, most enjoyable and inspiring.

Perfect feelgood family movie.

The first three quarters works well (though I did find myself wondering where the breathable atmosphere was coming from), with strong realisation of the world and really good acting. Liked the idea of the box and it's contents; I felt there could have been more of that investigation. It's the end that let it down for me. The 'plan' (trying to avoid spoilers) left by the builders is ridiculous and rather like an Indiana Jones Tomb Raid. And that's a shame.4 stars for the main part; nearly gave it 3 because of that 3rd act.

This was good film and reminded me of Logans run in a way of a film about a human community whose ancestors were forced to live in a city cut off from the outside world. Many generations later no one really knows why or what happened but think the world outside means instant death. In this film there is the complication that the city, which is underground, was only supposed to be used for a west period of time and they had a series of disasters which meant they have stayed too long and everything is breaking down. They are left underground with no light at regular intervals. Their food supplies are running out and as ever the rich and powerful start secretly hoarding the food for themselves while telling everyone else they are trying to help everyone. Can they find a way out and is there anywhere to go? An example of the value of books in preserving knowledge and how once lost is not necessarily rediscovered. Computers do this but what if you forget how to use the computers properly or what if the books are lost? We have actually done this with medicines where our ancestors knew about but we have completely forgotten about in forests or rainforests and many crafts have been lost. Also one reason we have foreign companies building Nuclear Power stations in the UK is the people who knew how to build them have long ago retired as we have not built any for so long so this loss of knowledge has actually happened many times all around us but we do not know what we do not know we do not know! So this is actually quite possible.

To be honest, I didn't know what to expect before I watched 'City of Ember' , it was a dvd the kids picked up in the supermarket and I hadn't heard of it before.Now I'm glad they did pick it up as we all thoroughly enjoyed it.The story begins with a group of fairly old looking men in suits discussing an un-explained disaster and the world of ember created to save mankind. The first mayor of ember is given a metal box with 200 years on a timer, it is to be passed on to each successor so that when the time is up and the box opens the people can return to the surface.Things don't quite go to plan as 240 years later the people are still there, Ember is beginning to struggle with food supplies running low and the generator failing more each day and some of it's people begin to wonder what is beyond their little city.The story focus' on two young Emberites(not sure that's a word) who have just started their first job, together they attempt to unravel the history of their dying city.This film was so engaging and visually stunning, with every scene filled with detail.I can't recommend this highly enough, please just watch and judge for yourself, I have also bought this as a gift for several friends and family members and the all loved it too.

On the surface, The City of Ember has everything you would want from a family fantasy/sci-fi adventure: Mysterious and detailed setting, two strong young actors in the leads, quality supporting cast of A list actors and B list character actors, wonderful production design, high production values and a solid novel on which to base the script.But sadly, and ironically for a film about a city deep underground, the surface is about as deep as it gets.This film fell flat, in the same way that Eragon did and to some degree, The Golden Compass. All the individual elements that should make a quality, successful film are present, but they're just not tied together very well.The pacing is very poor, and the script doesn't allow either of the competent leads to shine as they might have done with better writing or direction. Many of the human elements like the dementia of a family member, or the lack of basic knowledge left by generations of isolation are brushed over, and many of the characters are nothing more than caricatures of "good" or "bad" people.I didn't hate this film by any means, but I wished it could have been so much more: It just ticked the boxes and sat back waiting for the paycheque, when what it really needed was passion and the sense of wonder the book used so well. Definitely one for a rainy afternoon, but certainly not good enough for a special family treat.

I really enjoyed this film. I then went and got the book and, hooray! The film-makers hardly tinkered with the plot at all, kept all the characters exactly as they appear in the book and did a damn decent job of it all into the bargain.Now why can't more film-makers do it like this?It was, as another reviewer points out, also refreshing to watch a film with no sex, hardly any violence (and then more hinted than actual) and a happy ending.The sets looked just like the city described in the book and the only jarring note for me was the giant mole-rat and the giant beetle claw - neither of which was explored any further and neither of which appears in the book. Pointless putting them in, really - except that it was one way of getting rid of the main baddie (magnificently played by Bill Murray).The two teen leads were engaging without being 'Hollywood pretties', which was also refreshing and they really looked like 2 children who'd lived a life of semi-deprivation.I saw this in an empty cinema and felt very sorry for everyone who missed it. If you love sci-fi/fantasy, this is an excellent film and I highly recommend it (oh, and read the book too - it's just as good).