Wednesday, July 28, 2010

How Movie Posters Recreate Magic

I must have spent the last hour reading, more like scanning through the pages Philippine Star's anniversary issue. Twenty-four years is the age of the major broadsheet, and very thick is what it is to me today. A very thick serving of news, famous people profiles, and of course, ads - fashion ads, travel ads, classified, lifestyle, and movie ads, among others.

So I'm thinking let's talk about movie ads. How do we know when a particular movie is upcoming or showing when we are strolling inside the mall for instance?

Yes, those movie posters! Since I'll be more inclined to talk about movies in this blog, here is an attempt to define a number of graphically appealing, enticing movie print teasers, at least de mon point de vue.



This movie poster of Alice in Wonderland very well communicates with its audience with the use of vibrant colors, and strangely captivating characters. The others in the cast may appear all too scary, but the way they invite the movie going public is incomparable, my son even likens it to The Chronicles of Narnia, which may be pertaining to a different world or realm.



The Bounty Hunter, meanwhile, projects an elementary pose: a man and woman, obviously the main characters in the flick, and the give-away tool is the handcuffs. It should be quite hinting of what the plot is all about, albeit no spoilers have been given. The story may be bordering between a mild War of the Roses, and a Bonnie and Clyde adventure. And then that big twist in the end happens, a good big twist.



From graphic soft hues comes the dark, rusty, abyss-like colors of the Clash of the Titans poster. "Release the Kraken!" And the picture does exactly that, to ignite a shrill and a thrill in your bone, to lure you into seeing and knowing what the underworld of Poseidon is like, and the story of that gorgeous demigod Perseus.



And then there's Iron Man. Tony Stark with the newly built, palladium, corrosion resistant heart. The movie poster is all about force, strength, and just as the movie tells of an iron-powered hero faced with a Russian challenger Ivan Vanko, he luckily receives the much needed help from his friend Rhodes. So it's all shiny red and silver suit, dark blue clouds, and loads of light.



Merely looking at this movie poster connotes everything oriental to me, land of the rising sun kind of thing. The mixture of japanese red and yellow absolutely defines a Jacky Chan movie.



If you talk about red, nothing beats the "Martin Scorsese" red. I got that line from "The Holiday" and it just got stuck in my head. Maybe it means really, bloody red that can say it's hardcore action. And Knight and Day is that! The names of Cruise and Diaz boldly and solidly written on top. What a perfectly good poster.



And as always, when it comes to romantic comedies, pastels and dainty things surround the movie poster. Not that it's trivial stuff, but because the themes of love, life, soul searching, journey, and happiness should be taken with a grain of salt. Nothing extra, just light like that.



This poster really is the simplest I've ever seen but full of wit and cuteness. Again, the man and woman pose, with a cute tagline that says it all.



Saving my best for last. Simple yet stylish. Aesthetically balanced, the sand dune and pale blue tones suggest the desert and sky making the real backdrop of the movie. Costume designer Patricia Field showcases her fashion genius once more as seen in SJP's sexy, beautiful ensemble.


What is your favorite movie poster?

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