My Favorite Posters of 2012

Hoping to catch a couple more films before I post my year-end film lists and nominations, but until then I wanted to start it all of by talking about some of my favorite film posters from last year. I had about 50 posters in my longlist, but I managed to narrow it down to the ones below...

1. Cabin in the Woods - This homage to Escher delights me to no end especially with the twists and turns the narrative of the film takes. I also love its woodsy-vintage-comic-book hybrid feel with a touch of horror the perfectly encapsulates the movie.

2. Zero Dark Thirty - No doubt in my mind that this was the best teaser poster for a film that was both highly anticipated and highly guarded. It's bold, stark and really demands a double take.

3. ParaNorman - I actually love all of the posters done for this film so it was difficult to choose my favorite, but the one I ultimately picked is at both simple in its design as well as being visually interesting. The horrified looks of the characters are bonus.

4. The Paperboy - Like the film, this poster really sells the humidity ever present within. The color palette is warm and sensuous and the poster is able to have its main stars on the poster without making them feel like floating heads.

5. The Loneliest Planet - Just beautifully designed with the greenery of the surroundings dominating the poster as it does so in the film. The placement of the actors forces you to take a second look.

6. Safety Not Guaranteed - Not only is this poster hilarious, but it pretty much lays out what the movie is about in such a creative way that should've made more people seek it out to learn more.

7. John Carter - Say what you will about the film (which wasn't as awful as I had expected), but this poster is damn gorgeous. I love showing off the planet as well as the space above and I definitely love how everything feels epic especially with the lead roughly shown to scale.

8. Chronicle - This did its job as a teaser poster making me very curious as to what the film could be about. It even works retroactively after you've seen the film and realized how clever this poster really was.

9. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Just think about to before everyone complained about how long the movie is and how unnecessary a third film would be. Didn't your heart just jump with joy as did mine when this poster came out? I instantly heard Howard Shore's score in my head and I wanted to cry.

10. Beasts of the Southern Wild - I love how confident this feels especially for a smaller film. It's like they knew they needed a poster that demanded attention and I think they succeeded. Just wished they did more posters featuring other equally visually arresting moments in the movie.

Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order):

• Ai Weiwei - Appropriately cheeky and strong.
• The Amazing Spider-man - Love the play on imagery and shadow.
• Django Unchained - Visually bold and striking in its simplicity.
• Gayby - Highlights the drama and the comedy within.
• The House I Live In - Love the interplay between text and image.

• The Hunger Games - Instantly iconic and feels alive.
• Life of Pi - Collage technique done beautifully.
• Magic Mike - Already used cheeky, but perfect adjective to use here, no?
• The Master - Unexpected, but executed perfectly.
• Prometheus - Foreboding; love the use of darkness and light.

What about you? What were some of your favorite posters of the past year? Do you think I overlooked a particularly awesome poster? Feel free to share!