Well BAD is a harsh word. Let’s put another way – let’s say the movie did not live up to the coolness of the poster. Critical derision and/or poor box office receipts proved that all the effort was time and money not well spent by the respective Marketing departments.
To start, here are a few of my personal picks:
I love the simplicity and the messaging that these teaser posters have. Unfortunately, the films did not live up to the hype for me.
So what are some of your picks?
Look out in the coming days for a follow up to this post.
Jack Deth says
September 23, 2011 at 3:25 pmHi, iluv and company:
Great looking posters!… The films?.. Not so much.
Was really looking forward to ‘The Spirit’. Which has Frank Miller’s and his mentor/Comic God, Will Eisner’s heart and soul all over Central City’s crowded, dirty look and feel. Plus its femmes fatale were never more femme or fatale.
The problem was casting Samuel Jackson as the Spirit’s nemesis, The Octopus. Who tried to do his best with a script that started out well. Then quickly went to Camp and over the top ridiculousness.
Though Gabriel Macht, The Spirit/Denny Colt; seems to be redeeming himself as super lawyer, Harvey Specter on USA’s ‘Suits’.
My choice(s) for an ironic poster would be for ‘Cloverfield’ and/or ‘Battle: Los Angeles’. Both looked very intriguing. With just enough left out to lure you into watching. Yet both films fail to deliver due to miscasting, too little action and extensive use of ‘Shaky-Cam’.
iluvcinema says
September 23, 2011 at 3:59 pmThanks for your feedback Jack. AT LAST I have found someone else who was not as taken with Cloverfield. I went with a couple of my brothers and they loved it. I was slumped in the chair and frankly a bit bored by it all. As for Battle Los Angeles, I could not must the energy to post a review or reaction I just entered a one line tweet about it.
RE: Shaky cam, a film critic whose opinions I respect said “innovations” such as the shaky cam/lost footage now found (Blair Witch, Cloverfield, REC, etc) which are almost always initially presented in quality movies, after time become derivative and eventually make their way down the cinematic hierarchy and end up in not-so-good films.
Jack Deth says
September 23, 2011 at 7:48 pmHi, iluv:
Excellent point regarding Shaky Cam.
Shaky Cam, when used sparingly is a valuable tool. I liked it much better when it was known as ‘Cinema Verite’ and used by Stanley Kubrick in the Army assault on Burpleson AFB in ‘Doctor Strangelove…’. Or in the alley ways of The Casbah in ‘Battle Of Algiers’.
A little bit goes a long way. Having Shaky Cam front and center very quickly denigrates the film into a novelty.
Ja Dawson says
September 24, 2011 at 7:56 amOh man. Excellent post. The Episode 1 poster brings back memories of euphoria as well as nightmares. That poster was so harrowing and had me hyped. But then I got Jar-Jar binxed. lol
iluvcinema says
September 24, 2011 at 1:36 pmI think the Phantom Menace ruined the whole Star Wars experience for me. It has not been the same ever since 1999.