The Savages Poster

Having watched the trailer, I already knew that The Savages was a live action movie before seeing the poster. I wonder if I would have thought it was an animated film from the poster alone. I think I might, although the style of the drawing and the people involved would have made me think it was an animation geared towards adults.

Now, that doesn’t necessarily make this a bad poster. But I am wondering what the purpose of using a drawing was. Just trying the differentiate the appearance of the image? The movie deals with two siblings that have to deal with an ailing father, so perhaps the concept is playing with how even as adults we sometimes still feel like children when we have to deal with our parents, or with the idea of the children having to take care of the father in his old age in a a certain role reversal. Or perhaps it’s some reference I’m not quite getting?

Anyway, I still kind of like the look of the poster, but I was already interested in seeing The Savages. I worry that the poster might be a little confusing for people that don’t know what the movie is about and might not really indicate why the film might be compelling.

(Via IMPAwards)

The Bucket List

You know, for two old guy who are apparently stranded in the middle of a desert Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman look quite happy.

I’m not quite as happy tough. In fact, as I look at the poster, I’m mostly bored. I’m sure that something great is going on somewhere nearby, or maybe Jack just told a really funny joke, but there is nothing interesting in the poster itself. Just the two guys, and I don’t think that is enough.

Some recent films have been sold on the meeting of two or more famous stars that don’t generally work together. Meet The Fockers is probably the most successful example of that, but there are others. However, I don’t think the meeting of Nicholson and Freeman is likely to, by itself, get that many people interested, and since the poster gives no more context that is all we have.

(Via ComingSoon)

Juno Poster

Last year the Little Miss Sunshine marketing team made great use of the yellow VW bus. Not only was the vehicle prominently displayed in most of the advertising material, the color itself was splashed in anything Little Miss Sunshine related.

This poster for Juno seems to be trying to do something similar, but using the striped shirt of the title character. Not only has the shirt (and the belly it covers, of course) appeared in everything related to the movie, the stripes themselves are used here as the background for the image. It’s an interesting concept, and it does lend the poster with an unique visual identity that they can use in other marketing materials.

However, it isn’t as good as the yellow VW Bus. And the poster isn’t as good as the ones for Little Miss Sunshine.

One other interesting thing about the poster is the presence of Michael Cera, using the already memorable gym outfit. I’m guessing Cera’s star is a lot brighter since Superbad and that is why he got a spot in the poster. A deserved spot, it should be said.

(Via Slashfilm)

Round-Up of Recent Posters

There weren’t many interesting new posters being released this week, so here is a round-up of recent posters that didn’t quite inspire me to write a full post about them.

Christmas in Wonderland

The most remarkable thing about this poster is how drab the colors are. They don’t exactly spell holiday cheer, do they?

The Pixar Story

Simple, and clean, but still manages to get the point across. I like it.

Sharkwater

At first I wasn’t sure if this was a poster for a documentary or for a fictional story. I decided it was not for a documentary. I was wrong.

Death Defying Acts

This is a very safe poster design for a movie with such a bold title.

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly

I’m fascinated by the two images in this poster. The last picture from director Julian Schnabel, Before Night Falls, was a pleasure to look at, and I’m wondering if Diving Bell will be the same.

(Via IMPAwards)

International Hitman Poster

This international poster for Hitman is just very, very bad. It looks like the poster for a cheap direct to video actioner, right down to the women with a backless dress that gets thrown in there to add sex appeal. And the lighting on Olyphant’s head? I really did not need to get such a good look at his pores.

The funny thing is that none of the previous Hitman posters indicated anything like this. I had my problems with them, but they were well done and had some style. This? Not so much.

I’m honestly surprised. Am I missing something here?

(Via IESB)

Second There Will Be Blood Poster

Recently the posters for Knocked Up and for 40 year Old Virgin showed just how effective a close up of the main character can be. It’s a simple design, but one that, if done right, can communicate a lot about the movie and about why it is interesting.

In theory I think this type of poster would be excellent for There Will Be Blood, since the film is centered around the character of Daniel Day-Lewis, who supposedly gives a great performance. But this particular poster isn’t a very good execution of the concept. Too dark, and too much black space, which probably matches the movie’s serious tone, but also ends up obscuring the character’s face too much. And not the right facial expression. It just doesn’t leave a strong enough impression.

With some tweaking, this could become a great poster, but right now it’s very so-so. And not quite as appealing as the even simpler teaser poster, at least not to me.

I’m still madly looking forward to seeing the movie though.

(Via IMPAwards)

The Perfect Holiday Poster

Well, the holidays must be getting closer, because here is another crappy poster for a Christmas themed movie.

Maybe the problem is me. Maybe I’m getting old and cynical and can no longer appreciate the simple naive joys of Christmas. But this poster just screams bad Christmas movie to me. Everything about it annoys me, from the title (not just good, it’s perfect!) to the whimsical use of the snow globe and the Christmas balls.

Like I said, maybe it’s just me.

(Via Cinematical)

John Rambo Poster

And here it is, the first official poster for John Rambo. Or is it just Rambo now? They keep changing the damned title.

This really surprises me, but I quite like the poster. It showcases a certain amount of class, style and restraint that I doubt the actual film will have. And yes, there is part of me that still has fond memories of watching Rambo as a kid and the image manages to tingle those parts.

And you know what is another good thing about the poster? It’s use of shadow, the positioning of Rambo and the rain hide the fact the Stallone is way too old to play Rambo again.

Via Empire, where they do the obligatory “Rambo is back” joke so I don’t have too.

27 Dresses Poster

Often the poster designers seem not to know what to do with all the credits they have to place in the poster, and they end up just cramming all that text in a corner where it doesn’t get on the way too much. So I think that what they have done here, incorporating the credits (and title) fully into the poster’s image is quite clever. And it ties well into the film’s title.

That said, the poster doesn’t offer much besides that bit of cleverness and Katherine Heigl looking pretty. One can probably tell from the poster that this is some sort of romantic comedy, but nothing more specific about the film’s plot.

My guess is that they are counting on Heigl being enough of a star right now to sell the film pretty much all by herself. And although her star seems to be rising fast, I’m not sure that is such a great idea.

(Via IMPAwards)

New The Water Horse Poster

This new poster for The Water Horse is less cutesy than the last one, and in part because of that I think it does a better job of appealing to the young ones without repelling the adults that will have to take them to see the film. The poster also more clearly positions the movie as a magical adventure, making it seem closer to the mold of Narnia and less like a cute animals film.

Of course, there are trade-offs with every decision. The last poster was quite endearing and it probably struck a chord with a certain audience. The new one strives to reach a broader audience, but it might end up not really connecting with anybody. I think this is a good way to go with the marketing, but it’s certainly not without risks.

All that said, I have to ask: what happened to the creatures eyes? More specifically, why aren’t they there? Is it blinking or something? Looks very odd, doesn’t it?

(Via IMPAwards)