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October 11, 2008 by Travis Jonker

Critics Weigh In: ‘City of Ember’ Movie

October 11, 2008 by Travis Jonker   1 comments

Did you know “City of Ember” opened this weekend? It kinda snuck up on me too. I’m surprised I haven’t seen more hype. I mean, I watch TV, I’m not living under a rock, yet I haven’t seen nor heard anything about the release. Strange…

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I’m excited to see it, however, and I’ll be posting my personal review soon. In the meantime, let’s take a peek at what the official critics (and one imaginary one) are saying about the film. See if you can spot the fake!:

“Ember is seldom riveting, but it’s consistently compelling, and its uncompromising literal and metaphorical darkness renders its climax enormously satisfying.”
–Nathan Rabin, The Onion (A.V. Club) 
—
“It’s not an entirely convincing trip, but it is the sort of satisfying movie you wished they would make more often.”
–Neely Tucker, Washington Post 
—
“If older kids and adults seek out this picture, which 20th Century Fox and Walden Media clearly aren’t sure how to sell, they may well find themselves drawn into a subterranean world of considerable imagination.”
–Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune 
—
“An impressive and imaginative fantasy.” 
–Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle 
—
“I’ve never been more disappointed. Not one trace of the beautiful gem so boldly declared in the title. “City of Amber” my foot!”
-Distinguished Ladies Fine Jewlery Magazine
—
(Read more reviews at Metacritic.com )

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About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

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  1. Critics Weigh In: Coraline Movie « 100 Scope Notes says:
    February 9, 2009 at 2:02 am

    […] some other recent children’s lit film adaptations (*cough* City of Ember *cough*), Coraline has actually been on the radar of film viewers for a bit now. Maybe it’s […]

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