Well yesterday it was Australia and today we have another poster for an historic epic. This time it’s The Argentine, the second part of Steven Soderbergh Che biopic.

The resemblances and differences between the posters for the two films are interesting. All of them sell the films as being filled with beautiful imagery and lots of actions. Two of the posters of Australia and this one for The Argentine put one of the characters in the center. They all fill the rest of the poster with various exciting images.

As for the differences, the posters for Australia seem to indicate a world that is a little bit surreal and maybe almost magical. The poster for The Argentine is trying to go for a much more real seeming and grittier style. But here is the thing: it’s not so much grittier. The poster is still surprisingly glossy, and although the way the images in the poster are overlaid is quite creative it still feels like a good mainstream poster. Honestly I was expecting something the screamed “ART!” and it’s sort of refreshing to be wrong.

The poster is in Spanish, so we don’t know if the will get similar posters in the US. I look forward to finding out what the domestic campaign will be like, and now I’m wondering how broad an audience they intend to reach with the film.

(Via IMPAwards and RopeOfSilicon)

Well, since I complained about the lack of originality of the last blood drive poster I guess I should commend them for trying something a little different. Not really different enough to be striking, but I appreciate he effort.

Can you say brooding? Can you say it while constantly looking down? Mister Payne looks like he feels the weight of the world in his shoulders. Or maybe he just has a sore neck.

I wonder if he looks up long enough in order to shoot the bad guys or if he has developed some sort of mirrors in the feet gadget.

Seems to be more clearly going for the funny.

Bold historic epic filled with stunning imagery, heart pumping action and melting hot romance. This is both what these posters transmit and what I’m expecting from the Baz Luhrmann epic. But the imagery is also very close to being over the top in its boldness.

This line between amazing and ridiculous is one Baz is familiar with and has successfully walked in the past. Let’s see if he can make magic happen again.

(Via IMPAwards, Movie City News, The Moving Picture)

…but posting will probably be sparse for the next week or so.

But do not feel lonely because MPA is not around. Remember, Wall-E still loves you.

(Thanks to Casty for the poster)

I kind of thought that the French and other international posters for W. were going to use something a little more provocative, since the subject matter shouldn’t be quite as sensitive and controversial in international markets. But I guess they think the film is provocative enough by itself and are playing it cool with the posters. At least for now.

Cthulhu! With Tori Spelling! Foreboding has never been this appropriate.

I feel like I have to mention that the girls is not actually cut in two. The are also no large knife or chainsaws in sight. I’m starting to think the title might be misleading.

It’s another (here is the first) four in one Star Trek poster (pretty cool concept by the way). So now you can see even more of your favorite characters looking way too young.

(Via Casty the Clown, Slashfilm, Cinematical and IMPAwards)

I would have thought that a supernatural thriller involving mirrors could make for some pretty great weird/creepy posters, but that hasn’t been the case so far for this Kiefer Sutherland starer. We are now four posters in and none of them manages to come up with a catchy and compelling image.

And this is despite the fact the the four posters try different things. We had one poster showing a girl screaming, one poster showing a broken mirror (and ending up reminiscent of certain other poster), one poster playing with the reflection aspect and finally one poster that showcases the family/inside the house aspect of the film and playing with water as a type of mirror. Very different posters.

I think each of the posters is meant for a different country, so it’s not such a big deal that they don’t have a consistent brand identity. But it also shows a certain struggle to come with a good pitch.

(Via IMPAwards, JoBlo and Empire)

You know, I like the fact that there is a SAW blood drive. From a social good sense it’s a terrific thing.

But I can only see so many posters for sexy nurses and still be interested. We’ve been there. It was interesting. It was fresh. It was exciting. Now all of it is just really old.

The first poster for SAW V still managed to have some life in it. But I get the feeling the rest of the campaign will struggle. SAW IV managed a strong box-office performance, but I think accomplishing something similar this year might turn out to be much harder.

What gets me is the look in the guy’s face.

(Via IMPAwards)

I have to admit I’m somewhat fascinated by this movie. On paper it sounds like a terrible, terrible idea. But there is a certain weirdness about it that makes me think it might not be good movie, but still just might be an interesting movie watching experience.

Also interesting is the choice of image for the poster. It both works as a shot at W. (or, if you are feeling more charitable, as a deconstruction of his public image) and fits well with being a teaser poster. Get ready can both mean get ready for the film and get ready for playing a president.

Of course, this is not an image that is exactly gonna assuage the fear of the people who think this will be a one-sided hit job. But it is also not a big enough or fresh enough slam to get the people who have a problem with Bush’s presidency excited. It sits at an uneasy middle that seems like it won’t be very satisfying for anybody. Much like the film, actually.

And then again, there is some fascinating weirdness in there, making me curious. Much like the film.

(Via AICN)

The Spirit has one the most interesting poster campiagns of this year, and they apparently plan on keeping it interesting. The latest gambit is is a parternership with nine art schools for the creation of nine student-designed campaigns, which will, I assume, include posters. The first poster resulting from this partnership can be seen above, and it come from the students at the The Art Institute of California - San Diego.

It’s a cool concept, although the style clashes a bit with the general style being used in the film’s advertisement and with the design of the title. But that’s the good thing about all these posters and campaigns: you can afford to have some oddballs and to try some different approaches.

I wonder if we will be seeing more of this type of thing.

In unrelated non-news I’m reminded of the poster for Hello, Dolly featuring Richard Amsel’s work, which he created as a student and which won a national competition.

The students coming up with campaigns for The Spirit are excused if they can’t come up with something quite as great as this.

The Friday the 13th series has a special place in my heart. The very first real horror movie I ever saw, back when I was a tender and innocent child, was a Friday. Not entirely sure which. I would afterwards be scared time and time again by the other installments of this great series.

As I’ve grown older I have tended to avoid seeing the films again because, as it turns out, they are mostly really bad. Something that my easily impressionable child self didn’t quite notice. But I still love the idea of the movies, and the mask still sends chills down my spine.

So, I was probably somewhat excited about this new poster, right? As it turns out, not really. Somethings work best as memories, and I apparently have no interest whatsoever in a re-imagining of Jason.

Which is not to say that there is a problem with the poster. This is a Comic Con poster and the film is still far from being released. So they are just trying to build a little bit of excitement, and the mask, which is THE symbol of the franchise, probably works as fine as anything.

I think Terminator lacks such a clear iconic image. The machine face we see in the teaser is probably as close to that as you are ever going to get, but those films were actually good, and had several memorable elements, instead of just one. Going forward that is probably going to help the campaign as they will have more to work with.

Of course, something they won’t have is Arnold, which is a bit of a problem since he is so closely associated with the series. And Salvation has much loftier goals, Box-office wise, than the Friday remake. Part of reaching those goals will have to be creating some iconography that is particular to the new movie and that shows what about it is new and exciting.

But there is plenty of time for that in the future. For now it’s more than fine to wallow in the past.

(Via IMPAwards)