Beowulf on Poster

Why on earth are we not using this version for the release of Beowulf!? It is a much striking image than the ones currently all over the streets of NYC. Granted, the Grendel version and the Angelina one are very cool; but the ones depicting Beowulf are a bit lacking. I saw the film the other day and it is in one word - awesome. People that liked 300 would totally enjoy this film so if you didn't, stay away. To my surprise, the entire film is animated (wonderfully, by the way). I expected a mix of live-action and CGI but the film is a sight to behold. The 3D effects (you will be provided glasses at the theater) are FANTASTIC, this could be the best 3D film I've ever seen. And I saw Jaws 3D and Friday the 13th 3D in theaters!

MoZ in NYC

So last week Morrissey ended a five-night stand at Hammerstein. My buddy Steve got lucky and got a five-day pass but I wasn't so and I only got tix for two of the five nights. Moz was in great shape and treated the crowd with an amazing "greatest hits" set. Sprinkled throughout were some Smiths classics.. It almost felt like a Strangeways... tour that never happened. If he passes by your town, do not miss! Here are some pics I took.

Bjork - 9.24 MSG

Bjork played a fantastic show last monday night. I didn't know she was going to able to do it. But she really pulled it through, being that MSG is such a huge venue for her... in any case, I'm convinced that MSG has terrible acoustics when it comes to a "rock" band. Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode and now Bjork proves that electronic-based rock sounds REALLY GOOD! I was in the general admission area and the sound was much better than the muddled Radio City show back in June. Still wondering if I should trek to Randall's Island for Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem/Blonde Redhead...

Blade Runner Final Cut

Will it be released in theaters or what!? This was one of the films I was looking forward to at this year's New York Film Festival but sold out before my very eyes. Now the poster for the Final Cut is making the rounds on the internet but with NO release date! Would be great to see this film once again on the big screen. Luckily I have managed to catch every incarnation of this gem. Think i'll try and get this poster too. :D

SISTERS

Surprise! Can't believe this poster has been released. Seems a bit different from the original... We'll have to wait and see how this remake turns out.

Eastern Promises

Holy Shit! I think I just witnessed the first oscar-worthy performance of the season. I FUCKING LOVE this time of the year.. So many movies, so little time. I practically left the screening room about an hour ago and I saw Eastern Promises, David Cronenberg's latest film. Viggo Mortensen (last seen in another Cronenberg masterpiece, A History of Violence) delivers a rock-solid performance as Nikolai, the driver for a London-based Russian crime family. When by circumstance he comes across Anna (Naomi Watts,) a midwife who stumbles upon damming evidence against the crime family, a violent chain of events is set in motion.

The big boss, played charmingly by Armin Mueller-Stahl and his son, France's totally random man Vincent Cassel also deliver great performances (when doesn't Cassel?).

Now onto the film poster. Can't say i'm wild about it. I love most of Cronenberg poster designs, ever since Shivers and up to History of Violence but this one... I wanted more. Maybe a body shot of Viggo's tattoos which mean a lot in the film...? Dunno. I may not get this one. But by all means, do see the movie!

El Orfanato

Finally found some great poster images for Picturehouse's The Orphanage.
Everyone that knows me know I love spooky children films. I hope this one does not disapppoint. I'll scour the web some more to see if I can find a place that has these for sale. Not too keen on the one featuring the female character. The spooky orphanage one is a MUST!!

Control Poster Now Ready

In anticipation for t's October release date, the British quad poster for Control is now appearing on the net. While I wouldn't classifly the film as "cool". the image displayed is cool, showing once again how much Sam Riley does resemble Ian Curtis. Can't wait for the US one-sheet as I am not fond of the size of Quad posters.

New York Film Festival

So tickets went on sale for the 45th annual NYFF today. I've always considered this festival a bit too high brow for my tastes but every year the selection includes one or two movies I want to see. This year there were like four or five, including the Coen Brothers' latest, No Country For Old Men, Secret Sunshine, Blade Runner (recut version), and I forget what else. The ticket ordeal was like nothing I've ever experieced before - not even during the old camping overnight for concert tickets ordeals in the 1980s. Once again, I'll have to become a Film Society of Lincoln Center member in order to get in the early ticket sales program they run. I waited FIVE hours for tickets. One film after another was selling out before I reached the box office window and I ended up buying tickets for one film: The Orphanage. Oh - that's the one film I forgot! So far no poster yet for the festival;otherwise I would have posted it.

Control

I Caught an advance screening of Control -- prolific rock photographer Anton Corbijn's directorial debut feature about the rise and fall of Ian Curtis, vocalist for Joy Division, perhaps modern rock's most influential band. It's a great film and I eagerly await whatever Corbjin follows this up with.

I had read Touching From a Distance, the book which the film is based and Deborah Curtis' heartbreaking and downright depressing account of life with Ian long ago and while not all made it to the movie, I felt that film captured the essence of the book.

Control begins documenting Curtis' early life; idolizing musical heroes such as David Bowie and Iggy Pop (look for visual hints of Todd Hayne's Velvet Goldmine!). Musical ambitions drive him to join a local band in the thriving Manchester scene but soon everyday fears and strong emotions that fuel his passion music begin to eat away his psyche. He marries young and with a newborn daughter in tow he is distracted by infidelity and inability to handle the pressures of touring. When Ian is diagnosed with epilepsy, guilt and depression kick in the strain, and ultimately desperation -- literally -- take hold. Ian surrenders to these pressures and is in the end, consumed by them.

Corbijn's approach in directing spoken scenes is kept subtle, recreating a drab and dreary mid-70's era England. It is during the musical numbers that Control takes hold of the viewer. Sam Riley's interpretation of Ian Curtis in performance is spot on while the rest of the band cast as Joy Division must be given credit for having learned to play the songs and sounding (and looking) just like the real thing. The sound mix explodes out of the screen with intensity as the band play early gigs on screen. Surprisingly Corbjin didn't serve as cinematographer but his visual style is present throughout the film and is perhaps it's best asset.

Since this blog is about movie posters I have to mention that no studio-issued images (that I know of) have surfaced on this film yet. The attached visual comes from the movie's underdeveloped website but I do think it captures the mood of the film. Hopefully something will be issued soon. I am specially looking forward to see if any additional images surface from Corbjin's initial Joy Division shoot, which happened the day after the band's London debut. We'll have to wait and see. Control opens in limited release on October 10.

Pixar Posters

I must admit, I didn't grow up watching Disney. So, while I understand the historical importance for films such as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Bambi," and the like, I honestly couldn't care less. I do admit I have a soft spot for Peter Pan and Sleeping Beauty but mostly in part because of the amazing artwork; specially Beauty's expressionistic layout and backgrounds really stand out, for an animated film from 1959. That being said, I have not missed a Pixar film yet in the theater (still must catch Ratatouille before it vanishes). Toy Story 1 and 2, to me are their weakest films. These two - Finding Nemo and The Incredibles - to me, are works of art. Nemo goes to infinity and beyond when it comes to storytelling. Artwise, CGI-produced water never looked better. I could go into how well done the sealife has been recreated, but I will assume all of you have seen this film already. Artwise, The Incredibles reminds me of Sleeping Beauty mostly due to the film's intentional retro/futuristic look that like Sleeping Beauty, I am sure will stand the test of time 30 years from now. So, these one sheets. Got them pretty cheap on ebay. They will certainly go up in price as the films age... Both seem to be printed on vynil base/stock since they are both double sided, clearly designed to be displayed in a lightbox frame. Nemo's image is way too busy for my tastes, reducing the main characters a great deal but I guess they had to fit the characters in the image to sell the title of the film. What can I say about The Incredibles that hasn't been said already? Not a thing. The image is perfectly created to sell the film as well as its title. I think there was an advance created for this film.. I can't remember if it was an "I" in a circle..? Does anyone remember?

Your suffering will be legendary...even in HELL!!

... that was my favorite line from this film. During the summer of 88, an even BETTER image of Pinhead was plastered in most subway stations with less text than the image you see here. That was my favorite poster for this film. Alas, any subway poster from that time is really difficult to come by so this one sheet, in so-so condition will have to do for now. Lots of posters came in this week. Hopefully I'll be able to share soon.

Lone Wolf & Cub

I wasn't lucky enough to see Lone Wolf & Cub in its truncated form, known as "Shogun Assassin" in the states. During the 80s, I faithfully read the comic, and quickly fell in love with it. It was one of the first tastes of manga that I had; soon to be followed up with Mai: The Psychic Girl, also by the same writer, Kazuo Koike. Well, now I've read and SEEN the Lone Wolf and Cub movies so I could not pass up the original Japanese theatrical for the first (of six) films. Cost a pretty penny, but it was worth it.

Jaws 2

There are a few movie images from my childhood that can bring me back to a specific point in time.
This Jaws 2 advance/teaser poster is one of those images. I remember the setting sun... the shark fin that previously gave me the chills during the first Jaws... but the sheer terror this one sheet made me feel as a kid has yet to be equaled. Finally, it is part of my collection, as is the final theatrical version. Dunno about you, but I think Jaws 2 is more fun than the first. :) Just remember that girl water skiing? LOL

Transformation

I took in an advance screening of Transformers yesterday.. I wasn't too crazy about the original teaser poster, you know, the one with that mechanical eye staring down at earth? Then came these two pictured here, "Protect" and "Destroy," with the main non-human characters from the film. I love them both but I could not find a double sided version of "Protect". Was it even produced? Paramount/Dreamworks then hastily put together a final version of the poster adding the main human and robot characters. I saw that at the Ziegfeld lobby tonight and I wasn't too thrilled. I'll stay with "Protect" and "Destoy" for now. I wonder what the Japanese posters are like...

Super Fuzz Busy!!

I know it's been ages since I've posted.. since then I've been travelling for work.. and pleasure. More on that later. I am planning on starting to post some images again in the next few days.. some really cool stuff I've gotten in the last month or two. Let's begin with Hostel 2. I've seen this film twice... I have to admit the first time I sat through it, I really didn't enjoy it... I kinda missed the comedic elements of the first film and then the first kill doesn't happen until maybe 45 mins in... and on top of that, one death left me really... disturbed. Yes, me, mr. horror fan found something disturbing!

Then on weds, thanks to my good old LGF rep, I was invited to the NYC premiere of the film, with most of the cast in attendance. Anyhoo, sitting through the film a second time gave me the opportunity to really grasp the film's subtext behind all the extreme tortures being shown on screen. Eli Roth and co did provide some insight as far as the narrative and the themes explored in this sequel and I was pleasantly surprised that I agreed with mostly everything. I still think the end is stolen right out of Takashi Miike's FUDOH, but, that's another story...

After the lengthy Q&A some of the cast stayed behind to sign stuff and of course I brought along two of the four available posters for Hostel 2 (see pics).

This screening was sponsored by the Museum of the Moving Image and unbeknownst to me Hostel 2 is just the first film in the IT'S ONLY A MOVIE: HORROR FILMS FROM THE 1970s AND TODAY program that's running from June 16-July 22, 2007. The selection is slim but still worthwhile catching if you haven't seen some of these on the big screen. I'll probably be at a couple for sure.

Neon Bible

So I managed to get on a guest list for last Thursday's Arcade Fire show at Judson Church.
I have the leaked record so I was pretty familiar with the songs.. It was fantastic, actually much better than the record. Only problem.. the sound set up was kinda weak for the cavernous church, so when the band started their set the sound was muddled and swampy... that was fixed by the third song in. I can't wait for the band's return to the city in May.

The set list was:

"Black Mirror"
"Antichrist Television Blues"
"No Cars Go"
"Haiti"
"Black Wave/Bad Vibrations"
"My Body is a Cage"
"Windowsill"
"The Well and the Lighthouse"
"Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)"
"Rebellion (Lies)"
"Intervention"
------------------
"Neon Bible"
"Wake Up" (performed in the middle of the crowd)

Call it off!

It's been a dry spell for posters.. between work and taking in a new puppy, I've had no time to go in search for my old cinema treasures. I am on the hunt for anything to do with Grindhouse so if you see anything, do lemme know.

Last Monday I went to see Peter Bjorn & John. Boy that was a great show... and I'm really getting into going to Mercury Lounge to catch shows. Yes, nowadays with NYC music blogs dominating the scene it makes getting tickets for shows the like of Peter Bjorn & John, The Fratellis and other up and coming rockers extremely annoying. But it's something we have to live with by being here in NYC.