The defence The Popcorn Loyalist
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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City of Ember
Adventure · Family · Fantasy · 2008
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, before the the lights go out forever.
Movie details
City of Ember
“Escape is the only option”
2008 Adventure · Family · Fantasy 1h 35m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.4 / 10
Community rating
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, before the the lights go out forever.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over City of Ember?
For the defence
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Inkheart
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The adventures of a father and his young daughter, in their search for a long lost book that will help reunite a missing, close relative.
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The Secret Kingdom
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Verity and Peter’s trip to the old family mansion takes a turn when the floor of their room suddenly gives way and they fall into an underground chamber where they are met by a civilization of creatures. The leader tells them that Peter's arrival was foretold as he’s the one who can use Great Clock of the Citadel to restart time and destroy the Shroud, a malevolent creature who feeds on fear itself...
The Indian in the Cupboard
Adventure · 1995
A nine-year-old boy gets a plastic Indian and a cupboard for his birthday and finds himself involved in adventure when the Indian comes to life and befriends him.
Discovering Dinotopia
Adventure · 2002
The citizens of Waterfall City flee for the tenuous safety of Earthfarm, abandoning their city to the dangerous Outsiders - who discover the key to Dinotopias future and threaten its survival.
A Minecraft Movie
Family · 2025
Four misfits find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they'll have to master this world while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve.
Anastasia: Once Upon a Time
Family · 2020
Anastasia Romanov escapes through a portal when her family is threatened by Vladimir Lenin, and she finds herself in the year 1988, befriended by a young American girl.
Return to Oz
Adventure · 1985
Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, finds herself back in the land of her dreams, and makes delightful new friends, and dangerous new enemies.
Jumanji
Adventure · 1995
When siblings Judy and Peter discover an enchanted board game that opens the door to a magical world, they unwittingly invite Alan -- an adult who's been trapped inside the game for 26 years -- into their living room. Alan's only hope for freedom is to finish the game, which proves risky as all three find themselves running from giant rhinoceroses, evil monkeys and other terrifying creatures.
The Dark Crystal
Adventure · 1982
On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal and restore order to his world, before the grotesque race of Skeksis find and use the crystal for evil.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Gil Kenan
Written by
Caroline Thompson
Saoirse Ronan
Lina Mayfleet
Harry Treadaway
Doon Harrow
Bill Murray
Mayor Cole
David Ryall
Chief Builder
Tim Robbins
Loris Harrow
Mackenzie Crook
Looper
Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Clary
Court is in session
Put City of Ember on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.