It’s been another slow week for new posters, made up mostly of foreign versions of existing domestic market one sheets. Although, there were some choice items that caught my eye (and several more lackluster character poster sets, but I won’t dwell), so I’m going to focus on those this time around, and then of course, a little something I cooked up to close out this week’s GOOD, BAD, + UGLY.

DEAR LORD – posters for LEGION

Let’s get the group entry out of the way first. There were a handful of new character posters, all the rage these days, and like I said last week, I’m sick of them. This is mostly due to their typical lack of concept, or at times, the absence of thoughtful design. The set of players I chose to spotlight this week are the winged marauders of LEGION (and their flightless co-stars as well). I’ve always been a sucker for iconic totems like angels and demons, especially when they’re so steeped in such intense lore which makes for such rich imagery.

One expression of the topic of angels is that they are also warriors. The juxtaposition of antithetic symbols (a peaceful, pure image of the Christian-based angel, sometimes even portrayed as cherub children, versus a hulking, brooding agent of war and death) can result in some interesting and, at times, beautiful renditions. Let’s take a look at the latest stab at the notion of angels of death:

And the subsequent character posters:

Well, my knee-jerk reaction: “Is the band Creed releasing a new album?” But really, the first one sheet just has that aesthetic feeling to something of the “spiritual hardcore” variety. Perhaps that’s exactly the tune trying to be sung here (or hymn), and I’m of the other camp that thinks it’s just too damn cliché. Are you with me, folks? In fairness, the color palette is quite nice, allowing the darkness and shadows to dominate, leaving only a limited gamut of hues to accent the armed/winged subject. It’s sophisticated enough to not look like a low-budget church newsletter (no offense), but yet the pose, the styling, and, well, the automatic weapon, just grounds this bird in my opinion. (Why do God’s winged-warriors need Uzis to smite thee? I’m sure it’s explained in the film…and yes, I know it’s not an actual Uzi. Someone ID that weapon!)

As for the rest of the legion, these actually seem to be the result of having more time to massage the color and composition. On an individual comparison to the first poster, these guys have better composition in pose (some more than others, and I fear the the part of the “token female” is also taking the prize for “token eye-candy” yet her pose is nearly the least dynamic and certainly the most awkward – I believe this is due to trying too hard to make her look “hot” and downplay the fact that the character is with child), and the color scheme has actually matured a bit, and holds pretty consistently across the board.

Although, I have to hand it to LEGION’s character posters for doing what I haven’t seen in the slew of character posters that have come out over the last 6 months or so. It’s the message that follows:

“So it will be… at the end of an age… the angels will come forth… to take out the wicked…and throw them into… the furnace of fire.”

This passage (very roughly translated, and not quite sure how this edit was determined) is from the Bible (Matthew, chapter 13, verses 40 through 42) – and, well, it’s pretty self-explanatory. Kudos for literally spreading this message over the set of posters, therefore insisting that the viewer seek out the next one if they’re not already familiar with the sentiment. What I don’t think is self-explanatory is the other common thread through the whole line up. Notice the little rooftop in the lower left corners of all six. It can also be seen in better detail in the first poster: Paradise Falls. If I didn’t already know the significance of this detail (watch the trailer), I don’t know if it’s something that is really that important to include in the poster. Maybe it does hold some superlative significance and will be revealed upon the viewing of the movie itself, but strictly speaking on a graphic level, it almost feels like it was a mandatory inclusion. And speaking strictly as a designer, mandatory inclusions (especially when made mandatory after the conception of the piece) are the worst. All one can do is try to make what ever the addition is play nice with the rest of the design, and hope no one notices. Sorry.

IMAGINE ALL THE PEOPLE - poster for THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS

I breathe a longing sigh every time I look at this beautiful UK market one sheet, the latest one to be released for Terry Gilliam’s upcoming opus. This poster is visual balance beyond logic. There are so many delicious components to this incredible piece, but how to have them all occupy the same space? Think outside the box, and even deeper within at the same time. The third dimension of this poster allows for all the wonderful little nuances, characters, settings, scenes, moments, and details to live together in a world only Terry Gilliam can craft. All these items don’t feel so overwhelming, but actually inviting, thanks to the perfect placement within the frame around the central figure. We’re looking at a fantastic diorama portrayal of what we’re to expect from this film (watch the trailer if you haven’t yet, you really should), quite the fantastic world of Dr. Parnassus. This poster genuinely promises this.

Borrowing from his Pythonic roots (as Gilliam was the visual master behind the look of the Monty crew’s creativity) and  quintessentially continuing in his own tradition of filmmaking, all the lovely little elements and details are so deserving of attention. Thanks to the entrancing gaze of nymphette Lily Cole, being enveloped by the contents of this frame, the viewer is drawn inward to explore this odd little menagerie. Closer inspection reveals an exercise in the use of rustic fonts that run the perimeter of the frame, a very nice touch, adding to the living-breathing quality of this tableaux. Not to mention, the inclusion of all the other actors that came into the project upon the loss of Heath Ledger tragically adds to the dazzling aspect of the troupe of players, places, and things. If there’s a poster out there that consummately captures Gilliam’s creativity and genius as well as this piece does, please, please show me. (Or you could just send me a copy of this one and we’ll call it even.)

A DARKNESS SO LOUD - poster for COLLAPSE

This poster was just released, and I debated on whether or not I was going to include it in my article this week. The more I studied it, the more I appreciated the simplicity. Yet, with great simplicity comes great responsibility. Personally, I’m a big fan of simple design, but there are pieces that are so beautifully handled despite being what some would consider chaotic (Dr. Parnassus, I presume?) which I adore as much as the boldest, most spartanly designed piece.

Let’s look at this one for the mysterious COLLAPSE. I say mysterious because, well, honestly, as far as this film goes, I’m about as Joe Public as I could be. I know nothing of this movie other than what the pull-quotes are heralding in their unassuming san-serif type. Meager white messages floating on the surface of a bottomless sea of black, even though they’re saying things like, “Terrifying!” and “pulverizing,” the thin type nearly exudes a feeling of vulnerability and delicacy, which is also why you probably don’t mind that over half of this very stark poster is occupied with type. Yet still, there’s a delicate stack of words balancing right over this fleeting image of a man. Barely visible, a simple man, facing into the darkness, unidentifiable, what is this all about? One thing is for sure: this is our guy. Is he sitting? Is he standing? Is he smoking? And what’s that glint of an object to the left? Oh, the agony of the unknown: all we see is just enough to know we see nothing. I want to see the fall. I want to see this film.

Mission accomplished.

As an afterthought, if only the bottom 10% of the poster was treated with a little more consideration to the top 90% of this poster (which is still awfully powerful in its sparse aesthetic), but the clunkiness of the credits and logos just competes with the rest of the work. I feel like there must be a better way, but nevertheless, this piece still does the job, and quite modestly.

DOES AGENT SMITH DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? - poster for DAYBREAKERS

The Matrix. The Matrix. The Matrix. The Matrix. Whoa. The Matrix.

Okay, I just had to get that out of my system so I could speak to the less obvious qualities about this poster, like how it’s quite the mind-blowing image, and so well-executed… If we didn’t already mop our brains off the sticky theater floor back in the summer of 1999…when we all saw THE MATRIX.

Sorry. It’s just so hard for my science-fiction-soaked psyche to get past the footnote that says, “Hey look, it’s the power plant with all the human batteries, like in The Matrix. NEO!” But, thanks to the same said psyche, I can compare this poster to other seemingly epic (and actually epic) sci-fi film posters (and books, other visual print media, etc.) and it stands to be something pretty epic itself, batteries be damned.

The attention to detail is astounding, (just about every dangling limb is uniquely positioned, subtlety adding to the underlying notion that these are still unique human beings) as is the style chosen to portray this epic scene, keeping it cold and foreboding, almost clinical. The same can be said about the text treatment, for it is also quite clinical and unobtrusive to the overall image, letting the intending “awe factor” to sink in.

Again, even pointing out the excellence of this poster, there’s still a part of me that’s waiting for Keanu to wake up and be flushed down the toilet. At the very least, the styles are quite different, while both fantastic, each to their own, but I do want to see more from this film. This would be one film for which I’d actually like to see a set of character posters. Maybe not even characters, but scenes like this, beautifully rendered vignettes of this apparent future-imperfect. I can only hope for a BLADE RUNNER-esque level of vision and detail, as I get a sliver of that out of this poster, yet with an obvious contemporary handling. I sincerely hope for the film to follow suit and not be a Mr. Anderson in electric sheep’s clothing.

HIT ME – poster redux for 21

Well we’ve come to the new part of the show where I provide something fun and original (at least, that’s the idea anyway). I happened to stumble upon the movie 21 on television recently, and as soon as I identified the film unfolding in front of me, I immediately recalled the poster for it.

I recalled back to when I first learned about this film prior to its release, the story it’s based on, and the general plot. I was intrigued for sure, but when I saw the poster for it displayed at my local theater back in 2008, I was immediately turned off. I was actually surprised to see an actor of the caliber of Kevin Spacey to be attached to a film that appeared more like some vapid teen drama cable television series. I love movies where a card game is the story vehicle, and I love Mr. Spacey, but that poster just made me continue walking past it.

Fast-forward to just a few days ago and there’s the movie on cable television. I watched most of it (but the revelation of the balloon boy hoax press conference via Twitter forced me to change channels), and what I saw was actually more like what I was hoping for. A decent plot with some dubious characters, all centered around the game of Black Jack and the lonely mastermind who goes through quite a tumultuous journey with only his wits to guide and protect him. Of course, there was a fair amount of cheese to chew on here and there, but, you have to remember it’s also really just a movie about a bunch of nerds who are really good at math. So, it is what it is.

Math + Nerds + Gambling + Winning Big = Conflict (Vegas Style)

So by that formula, I give you my version of a teaser poster for the movie 21:

Upon initial viewing, I’ll admit, it hits the eye a little crooked. It is indeed nontraditional with the type handling, but that’s what hooks the viewer, if not for the enormous winning hand. The cards, torn in half, uh-oh, that’s not good, not at all. Conflict perhaps? Probably. Do we need to see those actors faces? Not really, no, except to maybe give Sturgess some face-time, but he’s not going to carry the film (but it is good to put Spacey close to the title of the film, for sheer marketability. I think his name is more powerful than his face, though, no offense, Mr. Spacey). So if you notice the cards first, you’re then drawn to the words: the who, the what. If you’re drawn by the blocky text at the bottom, the actor names, or the big gold felt 21, you then inspect the cards. And if you know when to hold ‘em and fold ‘em, you might notice the differences in this particular Jack of Spades. This Jack is one of our students (if not the main character), clean-shaven, pencil-wielding, and lightly decorated with a few symbols of arithmetic. But by the looks of the condition of this Jack and his pal Ace, he’d better check his math one more time.

So there you have it. Kept pure to the material, simple, and touching on the unique aspects of the story, it almost feels like a poster for a documentary the more I absorb it. In fact, the movie even opens and interludes with a slight documentary narrative, not to mention the real story probably isn’t as “sexy” as this movie portrays it, but even then, the movie isn’t even as “sexy” as I thought it was going to be, as portrayed by the actual poster, hence, my version.

Let me know what you think. See you next week.