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Nominate-best-2010

City of Ember

Outdated, passable entertainment
By MARK BAZER  |  October 15, 2008
2.0 2.0 Stars

cityofemberINSIDE.jpg

This passable entertainment feels like a movie a kid might discover on TV on a rainy day. Based on a 2003 fantasy novel by Jeanne DuPrau and directed by Gil Kenan, City of Ember takes place in the future but is anachronistic to a fault. Ember, an underground city home to the world’s only remaining (and nearly all white) humans, is strewn with old pipes, wires, and light bulbs. When the generator that powers Ember begins to fail, it’s two young teens, Lina (Saoirse Ronan) and Doon (Harry Treadaway), who realize how high the stakes are. Kids who see the truth when adults cannot is a — if not the — central idea in children’s stories, but today’s kids would hardly recognize the grown-ups in Ember’s totalitarian society. Bill Murray plays (for laughs) the city’s corrupt leader, but it’s jarring casting that only reminds you how outdated the film is. Tim Robbins chips in as Doon’s crackpot-inventor dad. 95 minutes | Boston Common + Fenway + Fresh Pond + Chestnut Hill + Suburbs

Related: Review: Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Mission Control, Review: Zombieland, More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Bill Murray, Bill Murray, Saoirse Ronan,  More more >
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ARTICLES BY MARK BAZER
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    I'm hard-pressed to say, though, whether Extract is a significant leap forward for Judge in terms of story or just not as funny as his earlier work.
  •   SOUL MEN  |  November 05, 2008
    Mac especially is a joy to watch, and a counterpoint to the humor elsewhere, as he breaks out Temptations-style moves with just the right mix of sly fun and respect for the music.
  •   FILTH AND WISDOM  |  October 27, 2008
    As the lead character narrates his “filthy” story, and those of his London flatmates/neighbors, we hit upon boredom long before wisdom can arrive.  
  •   CITY OF EMBER  |  October 15, 2008
    Kids who see the truth when adults cannot is a central idea in children’s stories, but today’s kids would hardly recognize the grown-ups in Ember’s totalitarian society.  
  •   IGOR  |  September 16, 2008
    Nothing like walking out of a theater with your kid asking, “Daddy, what is suicide?”

 See all articles by: MARK BAZER

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