Must Have Sounded Good When High: Marmaduke Edition

I have basically been very disconnected from movie news for the last few months, but I still try to at least keep up with the posters coming out whenever I can. This leads to some interesting moments when I find out a certain movie is being made by seeing its poster. Not having any other information regarding said motion picture, I’m able to experience it clean and form an opinion on the movie based only on the poster.

In this particular case my reaction to the movie, based on the poster is: “What the f@$#, they are doing a Marmaduke movie? Really?”. Upon further inquiry it seems they indeed are making a Marmaduke movie. One in which he surfs, apparently.

Maybe if I see a trailer it will all make sense too me. But right now this seems like a classic example of taking a somewhat beloved property that is not cinematic in the least and trying to shoehorn it into a movie. Which will cost way more than it should.

Could the poster have done a better job of selling the idea to me (or to someone more likely to enjoy this type of movie)? Maybe. But honestly, I’m not sure how. I think the rot in this case comes from the core idea of the film itself.

(Via IMPAWards)

Separated at Birth: Inkheart and Bedtime Stories

(click on the images to make them larger)

Two films about fantastic stories that come to life? Oh, it’s on. Although since one film has Adam Sandler and the backing of Disney and the other has Brendan Fraser I’m guessing it won’t be much of a fight.

I do think the design in general and the fantastic images in particular of the Inkheart poster are more interesting than those of the Bedtime Stories poster. But Bedtime is more clearly focused on appealing to kids, they are obviously chasing the young kids/families demographic. The target demographic for Inkheart is a bit less clear, but I think they might be trying to reach more teenagers. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I don’t think it will be very successful at that.

(Via Yahoo! Movies and IMPAwards)

City of Ember Poster

I find the experience of seeing a poster for a film I know nothing about very interesting. It doesn’t happen very often, which is too bad, because it’s nice to see a poster like someone who is not as aware of movie news might see it. It also allows me to experience the poster purely for the poster, without all the baggage that comes from knowing the story, the cast, the director, etc.

All that is a long way of saying that I hadn’t heard of City of Ember before I saw this poster. And now that I have seen it … I still know nothing about City of Ember. And I’m in no rush to find anything more about it.

As a matter of fact, if I hadn’t decided to write this post I probably wouldn’t have looked Ember’s story up. Now that I know that the movie is set on an underground city that seems doomed since the huge generator that provides its lights is failing I think I understand the poster a little better. A little.

I know that this is an early teaser poster. But still, unless we are talking about a huge property even teaser posters should tell something about the movie. Not much, but enough to get people interested. And they definitely should try to have a striking image or two that people can connect to. This poster has none of that.

And it’s also very brown, which is turning out to be my least favorite poster color.

(Via Cinematical)

The Semi-Weekly Round Up: Russian Speed Racer, The Promotion, Familiar Strangers, Final You Don't mess With Zohan Poster, High School Musical 3

Russian Speed Racer Poster

CTAPT! That’s a pretty long way to say Go. Of course, I have no idea how it’s pronounced so maybe it’s really brief when people actually speak it.

As for the poster, it’s not as good as most of the Speed Racer poster, but it’s still kind of cool in the way it embraces the wackiness of the visuals and the action and creates a surreal image out of it.

The Promotion

Hey look, it’s two actors who are great supporting players but don’t generally quite cut it as leading men! Also, there is the title being incorporated into the image in a way that makes it seem like the actors are holding it. Which, much like the rest of the poster, is sort of funny. I guess.

Familiar Strangers

So obviously trying to position the movie as a quirky family comedy (It’s like Little Miss Sunshine! And Juno!). And yet, I still find it sort of adorable. Interesting wallpaper too.

Final You Don’t mess With the Zohan Poster

Once again a poster that makes us notice Sandler’s crocth. Less so than the last one, but still way too much.

High School Musical 3

If I hadn’t been told that this was going to play in theaters I would have though that this was a very nice TV poster.

The idea of making the third movie in this series a theatrical experience befuddles me. But then again the success of HSM was already pretty shocking to me, so I guess I just don’t get it.

The Last Mistress

I don’t know why exactly, but I find myself really liking this poster. Feels very intriguing somehow.

What Happens in Vegas

This poster actually has a nice, clear image that makes WHiV look like it might be a sweet romantic comedy involving gambling. But it fails to have the faces of Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz splashed all over it, which probably means we won’t be seeing much of it around. Too bad.

Posters via IMPAwards, Cinematical, WildAboutMovies and moviesoonhk.com

The Semi-Weekly Round Up: Russian Speed Racer, The Promotion, Familiar Strangers, Final You Don’t mess With Zohan Poster, High School Musical 3

Russian Speed Racer Poster

CTAPT! That’s a pretty long way to say Go. Of course, I have no idea how it’s pronounced so maybe it’s really brief when people actually speak it.

As for the poster, it’s not as good as most of the Speed Racer poster, but it’s still kind of cool in the way it embraces the wackiness of the visuals and the action and creates a surreal image out of it.

The Promotion

Hey look, it’s two actors who are great supporting players but don’t generally quite cut it as leading men! Also, there is the title being incorporated into the image in a way that makes it seem like the actors are holding it. Which, much like the rest of the poster, is sort of funny. I guess.

Familiar Strangers

So obviously trying to position the movie as a quirky family comedy (It’s like Little Miss Sunshine! And Juno!). And yet, I still find it sort of adorable. Interesting wallpaper too.

Final You Don’t mess With the Zohan Poster

Once again a poster that makes us notice Sandler’s crocth. Less so than the last one, but still way too much.

High School Musical 3

If I hadn’t been told that this was going to play in theaters I would have though that this was a very nice TV poster.

The idea of making the third movie in this series a theatrical experience befuddles me. But then again the success of HSM was already pretty shocking to me, so I guess I just don’t get it.

The Last Mistress

I don’t know why exactly, but I find myself really liking this poster. Feels very intriguing somehow.

What Happens in Vegas

This poster actually has a nice, clear image that makes WHiV look like it might be a sweet romantic comedy involving gambling. But it fails to have the faces of Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz splashed all over it, which probably means we won’t be seeing much of it around. Too bad.

Posters via IMPAwards, Cinematical, WildAboutMovies and moviesoonhk.com

New International Posters for Prince Caspian

We had already seen two posters for Prince Caspian, both of them compositions that gave us a general sense of all the stuff that goes on in the epic. Today we have three new posters that focus on particular characters and settings. We have the prince against a forest, the kids in some sort of ruins and some dude in a mask leading and army.

I guess the posters are nice. Each allows us to focus more clearly on the characters and settings than the previous posters did. And in conjunction they still give a good idea that this is a big story that goes through some cool looking places and features lots of players, both new and old. The posters are also generally sunny and bright enough to be attractive to the kids, even tough the characters all have very serious expressions.

But is just me or does Caspian, played by Ben Barnes, looks like the most dull thing ever in the posters? His expression is so stilted. The funny thing is that he didn’t seem nearly as bad in the footage I have seen so far. Perhaps he just doesn’t do still photographs well.

Or maybe it’s just me.

(Via BadTaste.it)

New The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Poster

So here we have the second poster for Prince Caspian, and it’s very consistent with the first poster. We have essentially the same colors and they are similarly distributed in the poster in a way that by itself would make the connection to the first poster obvious. Quite a strong unique visual identity they achieve just with that. We also have Caspian front and center once again.

What is different about this poster is that it packs a lot more in the background and around the edges, and as a whole is a lot more action oriented. Instead of Caspian with his arms crossed we have Caspian pointing his sword towards us. Instead of an army calmly marching in a corner we have a few soldiers trapped in a bridge that is being destroyed by ferocious and apparently magically controlled waves. Instead of Aslan quietly looking towards infinity we have …. well, Aslan quietly looking towards infinity. Man, nothing fazes that dude.

I like this poster for many of the same reasons that I liked the first poster. It reminds people of the first movie but also make this seem like a progression from that, especially by making it look like the action will be more intense and satisfying. And that is exactly what this film, which will already have a pretty huge built-in audience, needs. But I also feel that this poster is similar to the first to the point of making the earlier one pointless. This is not so much a different poster as it is a better version of that one.

(Via Ain’t It Cool News)

Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D Poster

Even tough some recent films have had very good success with it in limited releases, I think that the whole 3D movie experience still faces some resistance, especially among the slightly older movie going set. This has a lot to do with what happened the last time we were seeing a tide of 3D movies. Let’s just say that the technology and the movie’s themselves weren’t quite up to the task (remember Friday the 13th 3D?).

Considering that troubling history you would imagine that new 3D movies would stay away from any type of cheesiness that could remind people of the 3D movies of yore. And yet, here is the poster for Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D, it it is riddled with all types dairy products. We have the very splashy, very bright, very unrealistic colors. The not at all lifelike dinosaurs and monster plants. The from inside the jaws perspective. The title with the fake 3D letters. Brendan Fraser. And above all, the prominent placement that ‘3D’ gets in the image and in the title.

And yet, it’s a fun type of cheesy. The colors are fun, all the crazy creatures and visuals are fun and even Brendan Fraser looking all Indiana Jones like is kind of fun. And the film is obviously aimed at very young movie goers, who perhaps don’t have the prejudices that I and their parents have.

Still, I think this film will hit a little too early in this 3D renascence we are going through. If it’s release was a couple years from now when 3D films might be more mainstream it could be a monster hit. But in 2008? I don’t think so.

I wouldn’t be shocked if I was wrong tough. And I’m myself a little interested in seeing what the film will be like.

(Via Cinematical)

New Spiderwick Chronicles Posters

This new Spiderwick Chronicles poster uses much of the image of the first poster, but adds some darker colors, a few little monsters and a beware sign. So, it basically turns what was a teaser poster that hinted at the possibility of magic and danger into a poster that shows us those things. It also does something else very important: it clearly places the movie as being for children.

Unlike The Golden Compass, I don’t think that Spiderwick wants to be a broad hit like Narnia or LotR which appeals to children, teenagers and adults. I’m sure that they would be happy if that was to happen, but they seem to be aiming for something much narrower: a movie that appeals to kids and that doesn’t scare the parents away. This is, after all, a Nickelodeon production.

With that goal in mind I think that the poster work just fine. The new elements, the beware sign, the monsters, are just the right amount of scary. Which is to say they aren’t scary enough to make the kids run away or to make the parents cautious about taking the little ones to the movie theater. I’m sure that at the same time they are likely to alienate older teens and childless adults, but like I said, I don’t think the marketing is really trying to get that crowd anyway.

The other new poster is below, and it showcases one of the creatures. It’s not bad, but it also doesn’t add much.

(Via Coming Soon, 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)