Compare and Contrast: Get Smart Posters

(click on the images to enlarge)

My major problem with the first poster for Get Smart was that it covered the movie’s greatest asset: Steve Carrell’s face. Apparently someone in the marketing team thought “Oh Shit, We Can’t do That!” So in the final poster they decided to cover Anne Hathaway’s face instead.

Oh come on.

Look people, you don’t have to cover up anybody’s face. Carrell is funny and Hathaway is beautiful, so show both faces!

If this was done in the service of a great joke I could understand. But this? Oh, the tie is in front of her face, so funny. LOL.

I sure hope the film is more amusing than this.

(Via Rotten Tomatoes)

Standard Operating Procedure Posters

And here are two posters for the new movie from legendary documentarian Errol Morris, which deals with the Abu Ghraib incidents.

I really like the first poster, which creates a memorable and easily understandable image. Simple but powerful. We don’t actually need to see the photos to be reminded of them. And in fact just hinting at them using the camera is probably more effective and ominous than just showing the actual pictures, and it helps to make the film seem like it is more than just about the photos, but also about what surrounds them.

Which is perhaps why I like the second poster a lot less. It’s a more obvious way to present the movie. These are not the most shocking images we saw, but they more directly remind us of those photos that most of us are well aware of. But because of that I think it doesn’t really make the movie seem interesting. By relaying on the power of the photos the poster fails to make the case for the movie being more than a rehash of stuff we already know. Is there going to be some new insight in this are is it just going to be a cheap exploitation of the incident? And the tagline fails to assuage any of those fears.

I guess one out of two isn’t bad. And this is a tough subject to tackle, especially in a poster.

(Thanks to Kurt from Row Three for passing those along.)

Mamma Mia! Posters: Domestic x German

(click for larger versions)

The German poster for Mamma Mia! ups the testosterone level by about a thousand percent. Not only do we get to see the three possible fathers of the character played by Amanda Seyfried, we also get random young groovy dude (Dominic Cooper, I think).

And yes, in this one we get to see Meryl Streep in her full overalls glory. And that is… something. Still not sure if it’s something good or not yet.

The first domestic poster was very focused on the mother/daughter thing and gave little space to the rest of the story. It was very sweet but also very narrow and it seemed mostly concerned with making this attractive to women.

The German poster tries to have a much broader appeal by letting the larger story in and by showcasing all the talented actors involved in the film. It also has a more humorous feel to it. And that is all good, by I find myself missing the simplicity and clear focus of the earlier poster. This one tries to pack a little too much in and we end up with an image that is not confusing, but also is not very harmonious.

It’s not awful either, but I think it loses some of the effectiveness of the original, which wasn’t that great to begin with. And it does seem a lot less confident on the ability of the source material, the musical itself and ABBA, to make the movie an easy sell.

(Via IMPAwards)

War, Inc. Poster

– Oh, look! A cool new poster for War, Inc.
– Nice looking poster. What is the movie about?
– Hmm, I think it’s about war.
– Could you be a little more specific?
– Sure. Let me see here. I think it’s about the intersection of money with war. You know, about how greed can fuel war and stuff like that.
– Oh. So it’s a documentary?
– I don’t think so, look at all the actors that are involved.
– But maybe they all do narration or give interviews?
– No, look at this quote that’s in the poster: “One of those rare satires with the danger left in.” It must be some kind of political satire.
– Yeah, that makes more sense. But wait a minute. Look at the tagline: “An incendiary political cartoon”. So it’s an animated political satire?
– I don’t think that is what they mean by cartoon. Again, look at all the actors.
– Voice over? I know! This must be some sort animation/satire/documentary hybrid.
– That’s not very likely.
– Yeah. But it’s sort of a confusing poster. It’s a drama/satire of some sort, but I don’t know anything about the story, just about the themes, and those seem like they belong in something more educational, like a documentary or a book.
– You also know that it stars John Cusack.
– I guess there is that.
– And it is sort of an intriguing poster.
– Yeah, but not in a very good way.

(Via Cinematical)

Korean Speed Racer Character Posters

It has become something of a common practice to fill blockbuster movies with foreign stars in bit roles in order to make selling these movies in international markets easier. I guess it’s the inevitable effect of the rising importance of the foreign box office.

These Korean posters are a good example of how that strategy works. They are very similar to the posters from last week, but feature Asian stars Rain and Hiroyuki Sanada. We are not likely to see an occidental version of these new posters because neither of the actors is well known around here, and the actual characters are too minor to warrant that kind of treatment. And even if we do get an English version it will not be a core part of the marketing in the way that the previous posters will.

But in Korea these names mean something (I think, certainly Rain). And, beyond being happy that local stars are included in the movie, the audience there will probably also be pleased to see that the studio has taken the time to cater to them specifically.

Actually seeing the film might be a disappointment if the roles for these actors are really small. But I guess that is not considered much of a problem.

(Via IMPAwards and MaxMovie)

The Weekly Round-Up: Chapter 27, Meet Dave, The Babysitters, Gunnin’ for that #1 Spot, Passchendaele and Flashbacks of a Fool

Nothing better to start the week than a palate cleansing poster round-up.

Chapter 27

I know what I’m supposed to think when I see this poster. I’m supposed to think about Mark Chapman. About the creepy expression in his eyes. And about the terrible crime he is about to commit. But instead all I’m thinking is “Wow, Jared Leto is fat!”

The problem for me is that he simply doesn’t disappear into the role enough. I still see Jared clearly in the picture. And ultimately that just distracts me from anything of substance related to the movie. It’s quite possible that I wouldn’t have the same problem with the actual performance, since the movement, sound and time will give Leto a better chance of making me believe him as Chapman. But in here? I just can’t get over it.

The Babysitters

Sex sells, but in these Internet days it tends to be cheap. They are going to have to come up with more than titillation to convince people to pay to see this.

Gunnin’ for that #1 Spot

A hard to miss and strong image that gets across clearly the general idea of what the movie is about. I like it. The title leaves me a little cold tough.

Passchendaele

A beautiful and ominous image. But perhaps a little to reminiscent of the famous image used in the promotion of Band of Brothers?

Flashbacks of a Fool

Hmm, a reflection used to show the character’s younger self. Where have I seen that before?

Meet Dave

Before this poster I was only kind of aware that Eddie Murphy had another movie coming out soon. Now, thanks to this poster and to the Eddie Murphy in Edie Murphy concept I’m not only aware of the film and it’s name, I’m also mildly interested in perhaps reading a few reviews in order to find out if this is worth seeing if it ever stumble across it on the TV. Success!

Honestly, the concept sound unpromising. But we’ll see.

(Via IMPAwards, IONCINEMA, Empire and Oscilloscope)

The Weekly Round-Up: Chapter 27, Meet Dave, The Babysitters, Gunnin' for that #1 Spot, Passchendaele and Flashbacks of a Fool

Nothing better to start the week than a palate cleansing poster round-up.

Chapter 27

I know what I’m supposed to think when I see this poster. I’m supposed to think about Mark Chapman. About the creepy expression in his eyes. And about the terrible crime he is about to commit. But instead all I’m thinking is “Wow, Jared Leto is fat!”

The problem for me is that he simply doesn’t disappear into the role enough. I still see Jared clearly in the picture. And ultimately that just distracts me from anything of substance related to the movie. It’s quite possible that I wouldn’t have the same problem with the actual performance, since the movement, sound and time will give Leto a better chance of making me believe him as Chapman. But in here? I just can’t get over it.

The Babysitters

Sex sells, but in these Internet days it tends to be cheap. They are going to have to come up with more than titillation to convince people to pay to see this.

Gunnin’ for that #1 Spot

A hard to miss and strong image that gets across clearly the general idea of what the movie is about. I like it. The title leaves me a little cold tough.

Passchendaele

A beautiful and ominous image. But perhaps a little to reminiscent of the famous image used in the promotion of Band of Brothers?

Flashbacks of a Fool

Hmm, a reflection used to show the character’s younger self. Where have I seen that before?

Meet Dave

Before this poster I was only kind of aware that Eddie Murphy had another movie coming out soon. Now, thanks to this poster and to the Eddie Murphy in Edie Murphy concept I’m not only aware of the film and it’s name, I’m also mildly interested in perhaps reading a few reviews in order to find out if this is worth seeing if it ever stumble across it on the TV. Success!

Honestly, the concept sound unpromising. But we’ll see.

(Via IMPAwards, IONCINEMA, Empire and Oscilloscope)

The Facts in the Case of Mr. Hollow Poster

I don’t normally feature posters for short films. Not that I have anything against them, I just don’t generally stumble across posters for shorts. But thanks to twitch that changed today, and so I bring you the poster for the The Facts in the Case of Mr. Hollow.

And it’s a very good poster. It asks us to look closely and I do. Such a weird image, the lone camera between the trees, no one around to operate it, just the crow to see it. It’s bursting with an unsettling mood. It’s hard not to think of Poe when looking at it, something that is only strengthened by the fact that the film comes from Rue Morgue Cinema.

I can’t say for sure, but I imagine that the wonderful style we see in the poster’s illustration comes from visual artist and co-director Vincent Marcone. It works great.

Beyond looking good the poster also makes me curious. What is the camera photographing? What is on the other side, just behind our backs where we can’t see it? I would love to know, but I guess I’ll have to watch the film for that.

The film’s description is worth a read:

The visually stunning film centers on an unusual photograph dating back to the 1930s. An investigation of its particulars reveals a tapestry of secrets hidden in the details, and a tale of kidnapping and murder captured in a haunting moment.

And as you can see, the poster ties into the films description in a way that make both more interesting.

A job well done all around.

Unused Alternative Ideas for the Jumper Posters

Artist Chuck Anderson has posted to his site several images for possible Jumper posters that he made on commission from Concept Arts. In the end Concept went with something different, but it’s still enlightening to look at these other possibilities.

I’m stricken by how much these diverge from the concept they ultimately used. All these images focus on the jumping itself, showing the characters in an empty space in the middle of the teleportation, which is represented by all kinds of bright lights. On the other hand the actual posters focused much more on the possibilities that the teleportation offered by showing different parts of the world where the character could be in an instant. The tagline “Anywhere is Possible” also matched that focus.

I think these images offer very cool visuals, more so than the final poster, but I understand the change in approach. Although the actual jump is interesting, in the end the ability of being anywhere you want is just more fascinating.

Also I think that the image below might have posed some problems due to the character’s pose and due to the accumulation of light around, hmmm, the crotch area. That might have proven to be distracting, especially since teenage boys were a target audience for the film.

(Via Slashfilm. Thanks to John Allison for pointing them out to me.)

New Speed Racer Posters

You may like it or you may hate it, but there is no denying that Speed Racer has a a clear aesthetic. It’s bright, it’s colorful, it’s purposefully cartoonish and it’s busy. And these posters do a great job of maintaining and using well that aesthetic.

I mean, look at the colors of the character posters. Each character has a color clearly associated with him/her and the color permeates the whole poster for that character. For Speed we have an light blue. For Trixie a bright bubblegum pink. Racer X is the height of seriousness and sobriety, so he gets a dark blue. This are the types of colors that most animations aimed at children would use with a caution. And yet here are the posters for the “live action” Speed Racer, assaulting us with them full on.

It’s like a hyper version of the Cars posters. And I have to say, I just love it. I totally understand the people that don’t and that are turned off by it, but I just love it.

And I also love that the character posters show us much more than the characters. We get a look at the character’s main vehicle and an eyeful of background. This keeps with the general busyness that that we can see in many frames of the trailers. It also maintains a certain focus on the machines themselves, something that I feel the trailers do too.

And that is very understandable. These are some cool vehicles and they apparently do some very impressive things in the movie. And I feel that, at least in part, the film is about that connection between man and machine, about the adoration the Speed feels for his Mach 5 and for the things it allows him to do.

When it comes to this movie I’m a total fanboy, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. But I think this new posters are, much like everything we have see from the film so far, awesome.

And by the way, I saw the lenticular poster live recently, and it is much more impressive than you could ever imagine by looking at it’s picture on the web.

(Via Yahoo! Movies)