Eye Candy #288 - "City of Ember"

City of Ember: There has been a glut of children-targeted fantasy movies as of late (say, the last three years), and while this entry is Johnny Come Lately to that particular party, it fairs better than most that I’ve seen in terms of coherence and watchability. In the future, mankind is forced to build an underground city, Ember, where humanity is supposed to wait out the upheaval and destruction facing mankind. They are given a case containing instructions on how to reach the surface that is time-locked for 200 years. However, as the years go by, the people of Ember forget their past, becoming so compartmentalized in their jobs that they lose sight of anything higher than the day they pick their “career”. But the generator that powers Ember is failing, the blackouts are getting longer, and food is running in short supply. Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow are two teenagers who discover clues that there indeed may be more to life outside of Ember than in, but have to contend with an autocratic mayor (Bill Murray, in a “nice” villain turn) who is using the collapse of Ember for his own personal gain. The film is just about the right length, the acting is good from the leads, and it gets to where it’s going satisfyingly enough. Better than “Golden Compass” and “Spiderwick Chronicles”. Woodchuck sez, “Check it out.”