Category: Posters/Artwork

  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1

    It’s begun. The beginning of the end. After the 7th book came out, and left me unsatisfied — a feeling carried over the 6th book and the 5th film — I swore to never see Harry Potter at the cinema ever again. A promise easy to keep with the 6th film, but then… it was hard to keep it when the first promotional materials for HP7 were released.

    Well played, Warner. Well played.

    Deathly Hallows is perhaps Yates’ best attempt at a Harry Potter adaption, but considering the other two – it isn’t saying that much. In the greater scale of things, it might follow on Azkaban’s footsteps as an interesting film filled with anguish and desperation… of I guess, the teenage sort. If the book didn’t work for you, the film seems to improve on action and characters. It’s also of great comfort to say that The WB’s decision of splitting the film in two parts was hardly a bad commercial or creative choice… at least for the fans of the books, who will savor each an every detail.

    But then again, considering how many chapters were crammed into this first part, one has to wonder what’s left for part two if not only the “last battle” which, in the book, happened off-page… and that epilogue that’s ripped out of the most poorly written fanfiction.

    For the non-readers or those who haven’t seen HP6… well, you’re screwed. It really doesn’t work without the background, and you’re better without watching it, if you’re going to start complaining. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows feels like made for the fans of the series only.

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  • Pink’s Greatest Hits… So Far Album + Raise Your Glass

    I don’t exactly do singles and/or greatest hits albums… but I’m tempted of getting the greatest hits in Deluxe edition… keep the DVD, and give the greatest hits to someone else — after ripping Raise Your Glass new track. LOL

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  • My Top5 Scary Films that I Own

    Ahh, Halloween — everyone’s doing lists about their fave scary movies… their fave scary moments, and the reviews of many scary movies. Now, horror isn’t exactly my favorite genre, so I’m not well-versed. xD This is why I’m just ranking the scary films that I own… based on scale of how scared I got. LOL

    First bonus first!

    The Others

    Thought that it was scary, but IMDb is not marking it as horror. However, it is one of my favorite Kidman films/performances — and that old lady in the closet! BAM!

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  • Peruvian Posters 2010 – Part II

    Continuing with our talks on Peruvian posters of 2010, we’ll continue with the smaller productions of 2, 3, Kasa Okupada, El Niño del Cusco, El Ultimo Piso and Vivir. If you’ve missed the first part of our discussion, head over here.

    Obviously, because we are talking about more independent flare, instead of suggesting fonts for buying, we’ll be suggesting -if we’re suggesting any- free download fonts. Now, because these are completely independent, I have no idea where to watch them or have no idea what these films are about.

    Also in Espanol at Cinencuentro~

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  • Anomalous Material Potluck: Hard Eight

    Ah, it’s been a busy weekend, but finally found the time to watch Hard Eight. Here goes to the Potluck! Why do I think about Chinese Hot Pot when I say Potluck? Makes me hungry~~~

    First, I must admit that aside from There Will Be Blood and Punch-Drunk Love, I’m not familiar with Paul Thomas Anderson’s work. I mean, Magnolia and Boogie Nights do belong to my “to watch” list — the properly watch, not caught on TV when it was already on one — but it’s not like that list is getting any shorter.

    Hard Eight beings with a very young John C. Reilly playing… Well, John being a bum outside one of those American diners, when Philip Baker Hall playing Sydney — which apparently was the original P.T. Anderson title… even though Hard Eight seems like a better title — picking him up, and offering a cigarette. Sydney asks John what’s up with him, and he says he’s broken even from the  casino trying to get some money to bury his mom. Sydney asks him what he would do if he gave him $50. Simple John just tells him he’d buy a meal, but Sydney seems to have other plans… he’s going to teach him how to survive with just $50 and head over to Las Vegas for some trick gambling.

    However, this is not a film about how John learns the craft, and lives happily ever after. First there’s a two-year jump, and we see John well-dressed, as Sydney plays Keno — isn’t that Bingo? Why the name-change? — They are living the life, but what were Sydney’s motivations for picking John up? It certainly wasn’t for cheap tricks, or taking advantage of him… as John responds “I will f*ck you up if you f*ck with me, ok? I know three kinds of Karate: Jujitsu, Aikido, and regular Karate.”

    Oh, yeah~ Three kinds of Karate~

    Thought Hard Eight is a bit “okay, I did not see that one coming” as much as it could be predictable, it’s pretty much worth it. I mean, not only because almost 15 years after — feeling old again — Gwyneth is being addressed as Gwyneth (and won an Oscar), and Philip Seymour Hoffman is an Oscar winner, and John C. Reilly is an Oscar nominee while P.T. Anderson is like a what – five-time Oscar nominee?

    Hard Eight is the movie for Sydney, you want to know about him, why he does what he does, and in the end – you know, it’s worth it. The acting is convincing, but it just made me realize John C. Reilly pretty much plays that same role over and over again. And… must all actresses play a version of a hooker before they turn to serious acting? It’s Gwyneth… with, it must be some kind of neurosis! She just loved to get in trouble. That incident with the motel and the handcuffs… you must admit it came out of nowhere. LOL

    I guess this might be the perfect time to get Magnolia and Boogie Nights~~~

    3.5/5

  • Peruvian Posters 2010 – Part I

    Welcome to our second edition of Peruvian posters, if you’ve missed the first post on 2009 posters, you can check it out here — sorry, only in Spanish. There’s been an increase on Peruvian releases in the local film market that includes properly-Peruvian independent productions, as well as international co-productions.

    Thanks to this, there has also been an increase in interest for marketing campaigns that include websites, social networking sites, and yes – posters, to make your film stand out from the bunch. The film poster culture in Peru hasn’t really exploded — in quantity or quality — , as marketing people and CEOs are still too scared of too much blank spaces or much too abstract concepts that may or may not confuse its audience.

    We are still far from the less-is-more concept seen many-a-time in European or Japanese posters, and we are even farther from the mass-production of poster design that exists in the United States, but we’re taking baby steps as young people show more interest in design, and new designers get into the market.

    Due to the number of posters this year, I’ve decided to split them into two groups – the first one with the “bigger” productions, and the second one with the independent productions. All will be listed in alphabetical order.

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  • Black Swan Limited Edition Posters

    These are gorgeousity~~~ xD

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  • The Town is Exciting Fun

    … but the Spanish title sucks balls. Atracción Peligrosa – meaning: Dangerous Attraction. Pure cheese. First, a couple of fun pop culture differences. When the credits rolled, and the people began discussing the film. They started talking about “the prostitute” – “the junkie.” Then came another guy that said, “that Rebecca Hall is good, huh. She’s something.” And then we talked politics. LOL

    -note: the paragraph was edited to not spoil the film-

    So anyway, while people refer to Rebecca Hall – who’s only been on Vicky Cristina Barcelona in films here, people talk about Blake Lively’s character as “the prostitute” or “the junkie” while her show Gossip Girl plays on TV every single day of the week. Not even a “the Gossip Girl girl is something.” Just saying. It was interesting to see.

    Adapted from the novel Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan, The Town tells the story of a group of bank robbers from the city of Charlestown in Boston. Passed from father to son as if it were traditional work, there’s Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck), and his fellows Jim (Jeremy Renner), “Gloansy” and “Dez” – they’re about to rob a bank, and successfully take the money without leaving any evidence, except for the bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall). They take her hostage, only to set her free and to keep an eye for anything she might know.

    As Doug befriends Claire and gets info on what she knows and is or not telling FBI agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm), Doug and his “buddies” get going on their next targets, because the money is never enough… not for Fergie (Pete Postlethwaite) anyway.

    Actually, I’m making it sound so very complicated, when it’s not. The Town is a very straightforward film, that gets you going from the minute the film begins. It seems Ben Affleck’s talent for directing wasn’t mere luck when Gone Baby Gone was done. If you had any doubt, The Town just proved he’s good for real. In here, he does it bigger, faster and better – it’s a bigger production, it’s a faster-paced film, and it turns out better. The film’s engaging in terms of action for those who need adrenaline in what they watch, and it terms of performances for those who need “more than a mindless action flick”. It also has drama, romance… and even humor. My mom watches a lot of CSI, too.

    Best, and craziest, performance goes to Jeremy Renner who, after this and The Hurt Locker, might be turning into an adrenaline junkie for real. The highest moment of tension, for me, it’s possibly the scene in which Renner’s Jim runs into Affleck’s Doug while he’s having a lunch date with Hall’s Claire. You don’t really know what’s going to happen, but it grips you in a way none of the car chasing and shooting got to you. Maybe it’s because we’re Claire… or we’re Doug. We think she knows, but we don’t want her to know?

    The frailty of Claire’s character – she’s new in town… a yuppie? No friends in town, no family. She was just kidnapped, it’s easy to understand why she might have befriended Doug – her friends said so, kidnap rebound. Did I want the bad guys to succeed? I think many in the theater did. Maybe that’s why no one liked Blake Lively’s character. She’s a junkie prostitute with a kid… in the end, she’s still a junkie prostitute with a kid. Did not love or hate her.

    Anyway, film’s good fun. Very exciting, and very recommended. Women and men, FYI. xD

    4/5

  • New Harry Potter Character Teaser Posters

    Not like I’m any taller, but if Radcliffe were taller, he’d be hotter.
    His high-contrast Harry Potter stubble is totally quiveration. LOL

    The posters don’t seem like regular character posters, though. More like teaser character posters, even if it seems late to be releasing teasers now~~~ I can’t remember if the WB has ever released teaser character posters.

    Is this being referred as HP 7 Part 1, instead of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1? Maybe it was a typographical decision more than a branding one?

    More posters over at MovieMobsters!

  • The Remake and Adaptation Roles Reversed: Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac

    Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, adaptation of the novel by Gabrielle Zevin of the same name, or Dareka ga Watashi ni KISU o Shita (literally translated to I Kissed Someone) is the Japanese adaptation of said American book starring popular Japanese actors/idols Horikita Maki as the lead Naomi Sukuse (in the book Naomi Porter) who falls down the stairs, hits her head and loses the memories she’s recollected for the past 4 years, including her best friend Mirai Hasegawa (in the book Will) played by idol Yuya Tegoshi from boy band NEWS, and her American boyfriend Ace Zuckerman played by Anton Yelchin.

    Gasp! Say what? Americans and Japanese young actors together in a Japanese film of an American book? Yes, that’s right. Because Teenage Amnesiac also includes actor Kenichi Matsuyama (recently seen in Norwegian Wood), and none other than the young Emma Roberts. So yeah, the roles have inverted. And how do American fans of the book feel about their beloved book being made in Japanese? Well, a lot of them aren’t happy about it… or at least, they weren’t happy about it. Talks about how “pointless” it is to change the setting, or how not “into Japanese” they could be. Even though the one involved in the making of this was the book’s author herself, and it was probably done because the book was such a hit in the country.

    Sure, it’s just internet talk. However, it reflects the sentiment of *insert nationality* whose film/books of their home country get remade/adapted in America/etc. not-a-language it’s supposed to be. So we do understand your sentiments, and here’s to hoping you guys understand when it happens the other way round again and again… and again.

    As for the film… well, suffice to say that I feel too old to be watching this. Kenichi Matsuyama should feel too old for this too. Maybe if I were 10 years younger – OMG, I’m that old – I could have maybe connected more. No scratch that, I felt like the characters were Mary Sue’s or Marty Stus… or whatever the male form of a Mary Sue is. Surprisingly, in a bad way, Anton Yelchin is a bit of a jerk in here. He’s literally your typical American jock… only he plays tennis. LOL Poor Naomi’s lost her memory, and all he can think of is getting laid for Prom?

    Naomi’s other suitors are the Martys Stus, one playing the best friend from the yearbook commission. Mirai is dorky, well-natured, cares for Naomi… and well, that’s just telling you straight in your face that he’s the one. Then there’s the dark brooding opponent Yuji (Matsuyama) who rides a motorbike, works at a projection house where he watches foreign art house films, photographs Naomi for a play, and actively pursues her as she ends her relationship with Yelchin’s character. Yuji is what you know it’s bad but you still want to see what’s going on with him. In a dark indie film, Naomi would have pursued Yuji and ended up badly. In a fairly mainstream drama, she’d pursued Yuji and ended up fixing him. This is a romantic drama for teenagers, so you’d do the math.

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen Horikita Maki in anything else, but she seems like an average lead in here. And Emma Roberts is terribly underused in this.

    2.5/5

    Also can you believe Yelchin is the youngest in the cast? Gosh these Asians genes. Wait till we turn 60~