Saturday, January 7, 2012

My Top Ten Favorite Posters of 2011

Still trying to catch up on a few 2011 films so my year-end film lists and nominations are on hold, but I did want to share with you guys some of my favorite posters from the past year. My longlist was about 36 posters, but I narrowed it down below to my top ten, five honorable mentions, and a poster that should've been in my top 10 but I forgot.


1. Martha Marcy May Marlene
- This is just such a beautifully composed poster. From the colors to the overlapping images, it creates a sense of ethereal beauty as well as a sense of chaos and danger. Positioning her lips in the center right next to her "names" is an inspired choice.


2. Tree of Life
- For a teaser poster of a most anticipated film that no one knew anything about, this was tops them all. And it really was the best way to advertise Malick's visually arresting film seemingly showing us everything and yet telling us nothing. My favorite part is of course the dinosaur.


3. One Day
- It seems fitting that this poster for a love story was love at first sight for me. While the movie itself was less than I expected, this poster is just perfect in its romanticism. The color treatment is gorgeous and the image used just lovely.


4. Shame
- The unkempt and empty bed is such an interesting and bold image and yet it really is such a fitting image for the film hinting at the sexually charge nature of the film, but being subtle about it. There's also a sense of lonliness that is conveyed here.


5. Ides of March
- Not gonna lie, I think this poster was particularly creative. It's a wholly imaginative way to have your two stars on the poster without doing the tired designs of floating heads. The TIME Magazine motif as well as the tagline tells you a lot about the film.


6. Jane Eyre
- Reminds me a bit of my #1 choice though this came out first. It's simultaneously romantic and haunting. Plus this poster is multipurpose--can work as a Criterion DVD cover or a book cover!


7. Drive
- Yes, I questioned this poster a few months back saying it wasn't particularly doing a good job marketing the film. With that said, I want to own it so badly. Basically how can you go wrong with Ryan Gosling wearing a henley? The white space and bold pink font are icing.


8. Cowboys & Aliens
- The movie may have disappointed, but this teaser poster was well done. It was really the only poster in their marketing campaign that adequately mixed the brown earthy tones of Western films with the blue cool colors in sci-fi films. Plus it highlighted the best feature of the film: Daniel Craig's leather-chaps framed backside.


9. The Iron Lady
- I love this poster, I'm not even kidding. It's grotesque, bold, hilarious, ridiculous, and eye catching. It's also very polarizing. Sounds like Margaret Thatcher herself, doesn't it? The tagline for the film is "Never Compromise" and they certainly didn't at least with this poster. Also love Streep's Giaconda-like smile.


10. In the Land of Blood and Honey
- Haven't seen the film, but this poster is able to highlight the love story and the violence contained in the film. The font is a bit curious, but the map graphic background is a nice touch.

Honorable Mentions
  • Carnage - Goofy, brash, memorable, and eye-catching.
  • The Girl with Dragon Tattoo - Elegant and appropriately chilly.
  • MI4: Ghost Protocol - Wonderful and exciting perspective.
  • Moneyball - Great use of color, text, and space.
  • Submarine - Confident, fresh, and quirky concept.


I forgot to include this poster from Weekend in my original post so instead of changing my list above and figuring out where it'll rank, I'll just mention it here to end the post. So romantic. So mysterious. The font/text design is just so pretty. And with that said, what were some of your favorite posters of the past year?

1 comment:

  1. I really loved the Ides of March one. When it was hanging in the theatre lobby, people did stop and do a double take on it. To me, that's a good poster. (This is Meltha, btw. Blogspot apparently hates me.)

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