Tuesday, October 20, 2015

City and Colour Discogrpahy on 05 Mindboggling Covers

This 9th December 2015 City and Colour released it's fifth album titled 'If I Should Go Before'. City and Colour is a one man band consisting of Mr. Dallas Green. Green started his musical career with a band named Helicon Blue. Later he joined a post-hardcore band named Alexisonfire. After that Green started releasing his songs on Internet and later he compiled almost all of these songs to release as his first audio album. Songs of City and Colour are highly motivated by it's lyrics and stylist acoustic approach.

The Poster World (TPW) looks into all the album covers by City and Colour, and tried to give ratings for those album.

1. Sometimes (2005-07)
Copyright- Dine Alone Records

The album cover looks more like a logo of an insurance company. But the sparrow like bird looking towards the skyline and all those arrangements around it on the cover, make it colorful and charming. Faded Grey-greenish background helps the bird in front to truly lighten up itself.

TPW Rating: 4/5   

2. Bring Me Your Love (2008-09)
Copyright- Dine Alone Records, Vagrant, Shock
This second album by Color and City was more of a folk oriented album. Instruments like bass, harmonica and banjo were used on the songs. This album art has similarities with another album cover art by Iron & Wine. This cover actually depicts the central figure behind the band- Dallas Green. Somehow this peaceful imagery blends with the songs of the album.

TPW Rating: 3.5/5   


3. Little Hell (2010-12)
Copyright- Dine Alone Records, Vagrant

Yes this looks like a surreal imagery but believe me it is not. It's nothing but a tulip field situated outside of Alkmaar, Holland. But this art is actually taken from an Allard Schager's photo named 'Fields of Gold'. Not sure if anyone ever used this kind of album cover ever. But it is really glorious and enchanting!

TPW Rating: 5/5  

4. The Hurry and the Harm (2013)
Copyright- Dine Alone Records, Cooking Vinyl 
Again on a cover we can see Mr. Dallas Green. This time he is facing the audience straight. It looks like a vintage album cover with the black and white tone of it. It seems like the band gone totally opposite of it's previous work.  Not as classy as previous covers.

TPW Rating: 2.5/5

5. If I Should Go Before You (2015)
Copyright- Dine Alone Records
This time Mr. Dallas (hope it's him) is showing his back in front of listeners. A certain subtleness is present on the picture with suited booted Mr. Dallas and a house from 17th Century I guess. The whole idea almost repeat it's black and white tone of previous album. Little fonts are catchy and simple.

TPW Rating: 4.5/5  

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

04 Best Posters from Danny Boyle Filmography

Danny Boyle is one of the most prominent British film directors of recent times. Popular films like Trainspotting (1996), The Beach (2000), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), 127 Hours (2010), and very recent Steve Jobs (2015), all are directed by this great maker. Though Boyle was meant to become a priest on his childhood, he ended up becoming a successful film maker.

Posters used on Danny Boyle films are always subjective and meaningful. The Poster World chose 04 most amazing posters from Danny Boyle's illustrious filmography.

1. Trainspotting (1996)

This Ewan McGregor starred cult hit was a trend setter of a film for last two decades. The poster design for this film was really catchy and modern. Look at the characters, look at that yellow background behind the film title. It gives us an introduction towards the film already.

TPW Rating: 3.5/5
 

2. 28 Days Later (2002)
On 2002, this film reassured all Hollywood studios that if the storytelling is correct then even a zombie horror can look good. Yes, this film has changed the mood of seriousness about zombies. The poster background is deep red, obviously same as the color of blood. In front of that bold white fonts are really creating a frightening experience.

TPW Rating: 4/5


3. Sunshine (2007)
First of a kind science fiction by Danny Boyle was commercially a failure but was critically praised by many critics. This psychological thriller's poster is showing that someone is very close to the sun and is on the verge of getting burnt. Poster is meaningful and depicting the nearness of a character to the sun. Fonts and background are above average.

TPW Rating: 3.5/5


4. 127 Hours (2010)
This film was one of the most anticipated films of last decade and as a poster the best from Danny Boyle. It's about a person who lose his hand during tracking. Look at the poster! It's an unbelievable thing. It gives us an overall idea on the film. That's why it's an intelligent poster with great use of colors and fonts.

TPW Rating: 5/5 

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Top 03 Covers from Ransom Riggs Books

Ransom Riggs is an American fantasy writer and also a film maker. He has earned reputation writing the famous book series named Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. The book made The New York Times Best Sellers. Later two other sequels were added to the series named Hollow City and Library of Souls. These books have some amazing covers and all of them looks like real photographs with the weirdest possible idea. All of these book covers are featured on The Poster World's latest post.   

1. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
'The Gravity Winning Cover'
Fascinatingly innocent and weird! A cover to cherish! Nothing else to say. Really!

TPW Rating: 5/5

2. Hollow City: The Second Novel of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children
'Hollow or Hole'
She looks like a girl from Tim Burton movie I guess! No, guess what Tim Burton really is making a movie on this series. This cover is bizarre and interest growing.

TPW Rating: 4/5

3. Library of Souls: Third Novel of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children
'Wings'
This boy looks like one of the smaller angel from the great German movie by Wim Wenders 'Wings of Desire'. Cover of the third version of the series is less uncanny than the previous ones. This is a bit common but still offbeat than many other covers of recent times.

TPW Rating: 3/5 

Saturday, October 3, 2015

03 Great Album Covers from Mumford & Sons Discography

Critically and commercially acclaimed Mumford & Sons is a British band concentrates their music on alternative rock and folk rock genre. Four members of this band have very good hand on different types of musical instruments and it reflects on their music also. With the first album Sigh No More (2009), Mumford & Sons achieved Brit Award for Best British Album in 2011. Their next album Babel (2012), won prestigious Album of the Year on Grammy Awards. As a band Mumford & Sons have made their name with exquisite lyrics and soothing use of instruments and music.

The Poster World would bring to you album covers from 03 released albums by Mumford & Sons.

1. Sigh No More (2009)
Debut album by Mumford & Sons. Cover was taken from the front side of a furniture store on famous King's Road, London. Few of the mad followers of the band are always present at this particular shop. Four of the members are present there on the window and if you take a close close look you would see there is someone on the left window on the first floor. OK. Do they want to mean something we don't know? Who knows? Whatever, the cover is cool and should say 'simplicity at it's best'.

TPW Rating: 5/5
  

2. Babel (2012)
What is this babel thing? It means a confused kind of noise, which is typically made by few voices. Few voices? I guess it could be a band. Previous cover of the band had a mysterious face into it; the same goes on with this poster. Look at the background. All the human face are blurring but look closely to the left window. Yes, a face is looking straight at the camera like the band. It could be the face of the producer Markus Dravs or may be someone else. As a whole the poster is puzzling and composed.

TPW Rating: 5/5 

3. Wilder Mind (2015)
 
This is a minimalist approach on the cover by the band. An empty bench. It is an album where they wanted to get free from the traditional acoustics and from folk genre they were used to play. They left their long term producer Markus Dravs on the way. Does this cover (with the bench) represent the idea that they are actually leaving their roots and staring towards cityscapes? May be, may be not. Cover is refreshing and says a lot by not saying. 

TPW Rating: 5/5

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Darren Aronofsky Filmography on 06 Marvelous Posters

Darren Aronofsky is one the most prominent American film directors alive. Along with direction he also does his duty of being a screenwriter and film producer. Aronofsky's films are disturbing and surreal in some sense, but visually they are very striking. After successful first film Pi (1998), Requiem for A Dream (2000) and films like The Wrestler (2008) and Black Swan (2010) have been really out of formula and depicted a new kind of story telling. For his works Aronofsky achieved many recolonizations such as a nomination for Best Director on Academy Awards.

The posters of Aronofsky films are weired and minimalist. On his posters he focuses on certain things like use of one single eye or a single face, which is very risky if the commercial angle is thought thoroughly. Let's see how Aronofsky executed his posters for the 06 films he directed.

1. Pi (1998)
The first film by Darren Aronofsky got Best Direction award on Sundance Film Festival, which is really very appreciable achievement. As the film title refers to the math symbol of pi, Aronofsky wanted to show that symbol on the poster. On another poster one facial expression was given as background with the symbol in front. With a petty budget of $68,000, this film gained more than it expected. Poster of the film is showing the symbol of pi with a back light projection. Cool and composite!   

TPW Rating: 3/5

2. Requiem for A Dream (2000)
The film is all about drugs. Drugs have different dimensions and we all are deeply affected by them- that's the basic theme of the film. So when it came to the point to design the poster for the film, first thing should have appeared on the mind of Aronofsky is how easily the eyes change. On the film the change of eyes were shown on different scenes while taking drugs. The poster is on average OK, but with that single eye this poster becomes something more than alright.

TPW Rating: 4/5   

3. The Fountain (2006)

The Fountain was a dream project by Darren Aronofsky, but for the budget reason the film was on the risk of getting the light. After cutting the budget to half he got the nod to do the film. Film looks great though it was poorly received on box office. Poster of the film gives us a science based impression but it is hard to understand it properly if you haven't watch the movie first. There are two characters and a strange tree. But they don't actually mean anything or tell us to watch the film.

TPW Rating: 2/5 


4. The Wrestler (2008)
Micky Rourke gave an extraordinary performance on this film and blew everyone's mind apart. Again a minimalist film poster, not showing Rourke's character's face properly to general people. But what the poster surely deliver is it introduce us to someone who is standing tired in front of darkened arena of Wrestling. It gives us an idea of the story intelligently.

TPW Rating: 4/5

5. Black Swan (2010)
This critically and commercially successful psychological thriller is one of the best films by Aronofosky. The film told the story of a ballet dancer, who faces extreme pressure on taking the role of a protagonist on the ballet Swan Lake. The poster definitely depicts the idea of the film story with the face of the character of Natalie Portman. No it doesn't quite explains the tension and psychological tide of the character but it gives an uncanny feeling, gives an impression that something is not right with that expression. Bold and otherworldly! 

TPW Rating: 5/5      

6. Noah (2014)
The biggest budget for a film Aronofsky ever got and for that studio had a lot of influence on the film. But Aronofsky dreamed of this project from his childhood, so this thing had to be true. Poster of the film is not like Aronofsky's previous ones, but the poster had to deal with a bigger scenario as it had to depict that the World is near to the end. Again we don't see the face of Russel Crowe as Noah himself. It has an ancient as well as larger than life feel to it.

TPW Rating: 3.5/5