City of Ember (2008)

Actors: Mackenzie Crook (actor), B.J. Hogg (actor), Matt Jessup (actor), Toby Jones (actor), Simon Kunz (actor), Martin Landau (actor), Conor MacNeill (actor), Eoin McAndrew (actor), Frankie McCafferty (actor), Ian McElhinney (actor), Mark Mulholland (actor), Bill Murray (actor), Christopher L. Parson (actor), Tim Robbins (actor), Liam Burke (actor),

Plot: When mankind is about to come to an end, a group of scientists decide to create and populate a city deep underground. The city of Ember is to last for 200 years after which its inhabitants are to retrieve from a strong box instructions to return to the surface. Over time however, the message is lost and life in Ember is rapidly deteriorating. Their power supply is failing and food is being rationed. It's left to two young adults to unearth the secret of Ember and to lead the way out.

Keywords: answering-machine, apocalypse, architect, arrest, assignment, band, based-on-novel, beating-a-rug, beetle, blackout
Genres: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi,
Taglines: Discover The Secret Escape Is The Only Option Lights out.

Quotes:

Loris Harrow: [narrating] On the day the world ended, the fate of mankind was carried in a small metal box. In a secret location, architects, scientists and engineers met and concluded that there was only one hope for our future: to build an underground city designed to keep its citizens protected for generations to come. The box was entrusted to the first mayor, who was to pass it on to her successor. As the years counted down, the box passed from mayor to mayor. None knew what secrets it held, only that it would open when it was needed most. But fate ran another course, and the chain was broken. The box was tucked away and forgotten, and as the city grew old and began to crumble, the box quietly clicked open.

Loris Harrow: [narrating] Lina and Doon tied their hope to a rock and tossed it down toward the city. The rock could've ended up on a roof. Or kicked into a gutter. But fate ran another course. And the message found its way. Now the path was clear for all. All of us who kept the flame of Ember burning, through the darkness, so that we could live again on the earth, in the air and the light.

Loris Harrow: [to Doon] Builders were wise when they said, "If you have proof, you have to pursue it!" There's more to a bottle cap than keeping liquid from leaking out of glass!

Doon Harrow: The Builders left instructions.::Loris Harrow: The Builders abandoned us.::Doon Harrow: No, they didn't. They didn't, Dad. I have proof.::Loris Harrow: Show me.

Doon Harrow: Sul, what are you doing up here?::Sul: This thing is jammed stuck. I've gotta free it.::Doon Harrow: How do you know that's what you should do?::Sul: [pause] It's my job!

Doon Harrow: My dad made this.::Lina Mayfleet: It doesn't look very safe.::Doon Harrow: That's my dad.

Loris Harrow: The main thing is, pay attention. Pay close attention to everything, everything you see. Notice what no one else notices, and you'll know what no one else knows. What you get is what you get. What you do with what you get, that's more the point.

Doon Harrow: [Doon is showing his father the oversized insect claw from the Unknown Regions and comparing it with a picture in a book] How do you explain that this used to be so small?::Loris Harrow: [Loris lives in denial] You're gonna give yourself a headache.

Doon Harrow: The Generator's our only source of power. If it goes, we all go.::Loris Harrow: That's dramatic.::Doon Harrow: Dad, this place is falling apart. I will not sit around while Ember collapses. I am getting in to that generator, whatever it takes.

[Lina has just seen a man, who ventured into the wilderness, captured by the authorities]::Lina Mayfleet: Why would he risk being thrown in jail, when everyone knows it's against the law to go out there?