Monday 29 April 2013

Pacific Rim - New poster released

A new theatrical poster has been unveiled for visionary director, Guillermo del Toro's (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) latest movie, Pacific Rim.

The poster for this big-budget sci-fi flick is quite visually stunning and depicts a giant robot seemingly terrorising a busy city street. The image is chaotic and evidently extremely reliant on the aesthetic impact of CGI, which will impress some and bore others. The image is bleak and full of menace, which indicates that humanity has no chance against such an unstoppable foe.

The cars appear to all be abandoned and a devastating explosion looks to be on the verge of engulfing the entire street. This robot is causing mass destruction so it's little wonder that the civilians have abandoned their cars and fled.

But wait... these robots are on our side!

Saturday 27 April 2013

Iron Man 3 (Post-Viewing)

Ok, so I've seen Iron Man 3 and in terms of the poster quality it is damn near spot on as discussed in my previous article. The one-sheet (seen right) is respectful of the movie, offering an insight into the narrative while raising enough questions to warrant an enjoyable cinematic experience.

The strongest aspect of the poster is undoubtedly Tony Stark/Iron Man in the front centre. A prospective cinema-goer will be able to establish the overall theme and tone of the movie through his character positioning and facial expression.

When Stark is coupled with the rich visual aesthetics of the background, it is evident that an initial interpretation of the poster will be generally accurate, though not entirely.

Wednesday 24 April 2013

Iron Man 3 (Pre-Viewing)

Good ol' fashioned revenge!
The marketing campaign for Iron Man 3 has been exemplary, which is a sure sign of the threequel's potential to exceed all expectations (aside from The Avengers connection of course).

The theatrical posters have been informative, exciting and each has had a clear focus on a different aspect of the film.

On the right is my pick of the posters and here is why...

The image shows Tony Stark/Iron Man floating on a piece of debris from his recently destroyed mansion (visible in the background). Stark is only partly suited up but he has a serious look of intent.

Monday 22 April 2013

The Wolverine

WHERE IS MY CAR?!!!!!
The marketing campaign for The Wolverine has finally gained some momentum and so it seems only right to analyse the primary theatrical posters for the movie.

The Wolverine is the (sort-of) follow-up to the 2009 disappointment X-Men Origins: Wolverine and follows Logan to Japan where he attempts to master his demons and train with the Samurai. The film is actually set after the events of X-Men: The Last Stand, and for the first time, we apparently see a more vulnerable side to Wolverine/Logan.

The film's marketing campaign has so far proved to be somewhat inconsistent, with some promotional images focusing on the character's disciplined new approach, and others being more frantic. Many of the pics simply showed him standing around, dressed in black, which is all well and good, but it all seems a bit bland.

Thursday 18 April 2013

Trance (Post-Viewing)

Disclaimer - This article was written after seeing the movie, Trance, and is in reaction to my previous poster analysis article for the film. I have done my very best to avoid spoilers but i cannot guarantee that there aren't any.


Ok, so yesterday I had the pleasure of seeing Danny Boyle's latest movie, Trance, and although I felt that the film was slightly too self-indulgent at times, I generally enjoyed it. However, it does give itself far too much credit for trying to deceive the audience, which then requires the audience to suspend all logic and disbelief.

One aspect that is truly commendable though, is the movie poster. A few days ago I wrote an article that critically analysed the poster (seen on the right), attempting to determine potential character traits and basic plot developments using only the image provided.

Wednesday 17 April 2013

World War Z

The problems surrounding the entire production of World War Z have been very well documented over the last year. The expensive adaptation of Max Brooks' best-selling novel has been hampered by lengthy re-writes, on-set feuds, re-shoots and a reported budget in excess of $400 million. All of which have contributed to audience expectations becoming virtually non-existent.

It also appears as though the marketing campaign for the movie is just as muddled, which is evident from the two one-sheets currently doing the rounds:

The first one is arguably the main theatrical poster and focuses on the film's leading man, Brad Pitt, as he surveys the apocalyptic carnage from the safety of a helicopter.

Monday 15 April 2013

Trance (Pre-viewing)

Disclaimer - At the time of writing this article I have not seen Trance, therefore this analysis will be written with only a basic knowledge of the premise. Once I have seen the movie, I will write a further article that will critique the overall effectiveness of the poster.




UK Theatrical Poster
Trance is the latest movie from Oscar-winning director, Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, 28 Days Later) and stars James McAvoy as Simon, a fine-art auctioneer who becomes embroiled with Frank (Vincent Cassell) in an elaborate plot to steal a valued Goya painting. When Simon betrays Frank, he is knocked unconscious and consequently suffers from amnesia, which prevents him from revealing the location of the painting. Frank ultimately turns to hypnotherapist, Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) in a desperate attempt to unlock the whereabouts of the painting, but all may not be as it seems.

Here is the UK theatrical poster, and at a first glance it is clearly very rich in substance with a sense of intrigue. The image depicts the film's three main stars (McAvoy, Cassell, and Dawson) in very individual poses that seem to reflect major character personality traits.

Wednesday 10 April 2013

X-Men: First Class (Part 2 of 2)


Following on from Part 1, this article will focus on two further sets of posters from the X-Men: First Class marketing campaign. Both focus on Professor X and Magneto with the first set taking a slightly more ambiguous silhouetted approach, while the second set is slightly more conventional.

SET ONE

These posters focus on the link between past and present in terms of Professor X and Magneto. In doing so, they highlight to the film's prospective audience which of the actors from the main poster (discussed in Part 1) will be portraying the two iconic mutants.

The posters are largely minimalist, opting for a simple style of black silhouette, representing the older versions of both characters from the original trilogy, on a white background. To make the link between old and new, floating heads of a young Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) have been superimposed onto the silhouettes of the respective characters. This is all well and good... but what about all of the other characters?

Monday 8 April 2013

X-Men: First Class (Part 1 of 2)


Disclaimer – This article will be split into two parts and will focus on several movie posters into order to provide a detailed analysis…

X-Men: First Class was the sort-of franchise reboot that many hoped would re-ignite the flailing movie franchise. It introduced new characters, and younger versions of iconic characters such as Professor X, Magneto and Beast. However, the purpose of a reboot is generally to reintroduce an entirely new audience to the characters, but when the characters are unfamiliar or, in the case of the iconic ones, look completely different, the marketing strategy must always start from scratch to achieve this.

In the case of this movie poster… Who exactly are these people?