empireonline.co.uk review (empireonline.co.uk)

Member Name: Walter_Kovacs

Product:	empireonline.co.uk
Date:	06/10/08 (36 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting articles

Disadvantages: Site can look a bit busy

empireonline.co.uk is the website of Empire magazine, which is one of best selling film magazines in the country. As it is the internet, this is a lot more in-depth than the magazine as you can update whenever you want and pick and choose what you want on the site.

Going to the front page you can immediately see that there is so many different things to look at. They have interviews with all your favourite stars, and a daily quiz. Empire do actually have fun quizzes, they're not just your normal question and answer ones, it seems like they actually put some thought into them and so are always fun to solve.

Of course, being a film website they also have the release dates of new films and reviews. I don't take much notice of reviews, they wouldn't put me off going to see a film, but empire always seem to do good reviews, even though they have got it wrong before. Empire review every release so even if you want to know what a obscure arthouse film is like, they will have it reviewed.

They also have features about films yet to be released which is great for wetting your appetite, and for more classic films (they have a guide to Sherlock Holmes up now). I find their features to be very accessible, they can bring their point across in interesting and engaging ways, and can hold your attention better than, say, if you were reading a book on the subject.

There is also competitions which give away good prizes and an image gallery, so they really do give you a lot of information making this an entertaining experience. They do tend to focus more on mainstream features, but you can't blame them for that. They have to appeal to the masses to get the most traffic so they put the emphasis on what the most people want. They still have features of more independent films, you just have to look a bit harder.

The adverts they do run don't get in the way and you can easily ignore them if you want to, although sometimes on the forum they have those ads at the top where if you put your cursor on them they fold down. They can be annoying but it's only minor. You can also register, which means you can post on the forum and write your own blog etc, but you can also put your whole DVD collection on-line. I haven't tried this out yet, so I don't know how good it is or how many DVD's empire have in their database but it's a good idea as you can keep track of what you have and show everyone else the size of your collection.

They have a forum which is very helpful and insightful. Ok, there are some trolls on there, but so does every message board. On the whole you will find the users to be helpful and intelligent and you may even find out about some new films you never even heard of, I know I did.

Overall a very good website giving you an all-around look at the movies of yesterday and today. Recommended for anyone who loves their movies.

Summary: A must visit for all film fans!