Most Striking Film Posters of January 2016

Only three posters made the mark for The Poster World's January choice list. We had big releases (including biggies like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Joy, The Hateful Eight, Point Break and many more) on December 2015 and January also wasn't quite remarkable like past years. There were many releases but the posters from those were not quite mentionable. Let's get into business and get to know about the list of posters that made the mark.

1. Band of Robbers (2016)

Copyright- Gravitas Ventures

This comedy thriller doesn't even have Wikipedia page, but still managed to make our top list. From January releases, we chose this bright red backgrounded poster. This poster's placing of characters is really cool. But there are uncertainties about the fonts. Title name looks average but the tag line's font looks really poor.

TPW Rating- 3.5/5

2. Aferim! (2016)

Copyright- Parada Film, Micro Film

Aferim! is a Romanian film releasing mid-January on USA. With the dusky look of the poster we can guess that there could be some Western element on the film. The simplicity of the poster is really striking and fonts are also blending with the poster design work. Cool and innovative thinking! Suggestion also exists to understand the storyline.

TPW Rating- 4/5
  
3. Jane Got A Gun (2016)

Copyright- The Weinstein Company

Another Western on our list! This Natalie Portman starrer film poster is really a very good composition of ideas. Gaze of the character, cloudy background behind, her holding of the gun, 19th Century dress-up and amazing use of fat fonts really mingle with each other and gives us a fascinating yet not spectacular poster. Grey and gloomy at it's best!

TPW Rating- 4.5/5

07 Surreal Album Covers from Coldplay

Top British rock band Coldplay was formed in 1996 with it's lead vocalist Chris Martin and guitarist Jonny Buckland. Through the University years, both of them been busy organizing the band. Name of the band changed twice. At the very beginning the band's name was Pectoralz. Later it became Starfish and finally named as Coldplay.   

Coldplay is a commercially and critically successful band. They have topped charts from their launching album. The band achieved many music awards including Brit Awards and MTV Video Music Awards. They are also engaged in many social organizations like Oxfam and Amnesty.    

1. Parachutes (2000)

Copyright- Parlophone

This commercially successful debut album by Coldplay had a photograph of globe as cover. Globe that was bought from retailer shop WHSmith. The picture was taken on a disposable Kodak camera. With a dark background this lighting globe looks weirdly beautiful.

TPW Rating- 4/5

2. A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)

Copyright- Parlophone

If you haven't seen it before you should know that this cover art got a cult fame. The whole idea was arranged by Sølve Sundsbø, a Norwegian photographer. Vocal Chris Martin saw a photograph by Sundsbø on a music based magazine named Dazed & Confused at first. Then Martin wanted the permission of Sundsbø to use the photograph for using it as cover of this album. Sundsbø gave the permission and had a rework with the cover as all band members' head were scanned. The cover was chosen by Royal Mail for postage stamp, for set of the 'Classic Album Cover'.   

TPW Rating- 5/5
     
3. X&Y (2005)

Copyright- Capitol, Parlophone

Mark Tappin and Simon Gofton, the celebrated graphic designers done the artwork for X&Y. The image we see as cover of the album is nothing but a graphical interpretation of Baudot Code, which is a form of telegraphic communication using 1 and 0. Cool colors were used on fonts and image.

TPW Rating- 4/5  


4. Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008)

Copyright- Capitol, Parlophone

Again a surprising artwork by Coldplay. This piece of cover was designed by one of the ex-collaborators, Tappin Gofton and Coldplay. It took a long time to finish the cover as it was developed from different sketches and paintings. The title itself looks like part of the painting and really creates a rebellious scenario.

TPW Rating- 4.5/5

5. Mylo Xyloto (2011)

Copyright- Capitol, Parlophone

Another exotic design from Coldplay! The cover was highly inspired by graffiti works. The bad had an extensive research and homework on graffiti design, and they even were in search for a graffiti teacher who could teach them about this specific art medium. There is a sharp contrast in color between this cover and the previous one of Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. This cover uses more of a raw and exciting colors. Fonts are great too!

TPW Rating- 4.5/5   

6. Ghost Stories (2014)

Copyright- Atlantic, Parlophone

This cover by Coldplay is bit simplistic than the previous ones. Subject of the cover is extraordinary! A pair of wings (of angel's most probably) were used in front of the widespread sea and sky full of stars. Artwork was well executed by Czeck artist Mila Furstova. This album is full of arts and sketches by this great artist.

TPW Rating- 5/5 

7. A Head Full of Dreams (2015)

Copyright- Atlantic, Parlophone

The marketing for this album was really creative as the central geometric pattern of the cover (named as Flower of life) was all where on the London Underground. It had a tiny note- December 4. You get it right. It's the release date of the album. Cover has a surreal feel and used rich colors.

TPW Rating- 4.5/5  

Poster Review - The Hateful Eight

Quentin Tarantino's 8th film is variedly named as The Hateful Eight/The H8ful Eight/The Hateful 8. It is a dream project by Tarantino, but that dream turned into a nightmare when the film's script leaked and became public. Tarantino immediately decided not to make this a movie, rather change the script to a novel. But after a public reading arrangement of the leaked script this visionary director decided to make feature film again. The film would be ready for a release on the Christmas Day, 2015.

So, how are the posters of one of the most awaited movies of this year have been? Different types of posters are used on different time and occasion for The Hateful Eight. Tarantino released two teaser poster long ago with some gory atmosphere all around. Here are those two posters.

#01

'Obviously bloody'

This first teaser poster is quite simple, as only fonts are speaking and speaking a lot. Look at the 8 of the 'h8ful'. No poster of Tarantino is actually complete without blood. Come on!

#02

'Yes, it's God damn Western!'

Second one is about a revolver or a boot, but both of which actually would explain it as an Western film, obviously with a blood red background. Great one as a teaser poster. 

After these 'above reviewed' posters the production began and Tarantino took some time to release two more posters dedicated to give hints of the storyline and also to show the gory affection of himself.

#03

'Red and white contrast'

Here the first poster is showing a stagecoach running through icy trail and leaving blood behind. White background is actually depicting ice and for that redness of the blood is getting more prominent. Idea is obviously Tarantino styled and it is definitely lovable.

#04

'Storyteller'

This second one is actually telling more than any previous ones. We can see a hilly road, where the blood is abruptly shattered here and there. There is a hut up on the hill and two characters are heading towards the top as some are waiting. This one is really more descriptive and thoughtful.

Two recent posters were also released days ago. So how these posters have been. Let's check.

#05

'Mexican it is'

Here on this package of posters we would meet new characters of the film. This one here is - The Mexican. One by one we would know all the characters as we see eight marks on the background. One Grey one (out of other seven red) actually suggesting that 'look this is the one we are mentioning'. The posters seems bit average to me.    
                
#06

'Promising but...'

Similar to the previous one but it actually looks better. The same formula as here as two of the marks are Grey out of eight. So we are talking about two characters here. One is 'The Hangman' and the other is 'The Prisoner'. With the background of hillside the poster looks promising but bit stereotypical same as one we mentioned earlier.   

(Last update is that there are more posters on the web on the serialization of last two posters)   

Best Film Posters of 2015 - Part 2

This year anticipated few very good movies already. Few became box office winners, few Indie hits and also few of the films were sheer disappointments. But posters of almost all of these films have been really cool and classy. It is really a hard job to find out the best ones among them.

The Poster World previously given you the first installment of our search for the best posters of 2015 (Best Film Posters of 2015 - Part 1). Now on this installment we are showing you 05 more exciting film posters of 2015. Let's do it.

1. Me and Earl and The Dying Girl 
Director- Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Cast- Thomas Mann, Olivia Cook, Jon Bernthal

'Minimalist One'

This teenage Rom-com was based on a book by Jesse Andrews. The film won several awards including few on 2015 Sundance Film Festival and it earned a standing ovation there too. Story consists of a boy named Greg, his friend Earl and the girl Rachel. The film is quite different from other teenage Rom-com films. This poster of the film is quite minimalist, as the main characters are shown beside there names. Fonts are catchy and overall background expressing a light mood. Simple and soft!    

2. Paper Towns
Director- Jack Shereier
Cast- Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne

'Fonts are too cool'

Another Rom-com on our list of great posters is based on a novel by John Green (who brought us acclaimed 'The Fault in Our Stars'). Tag line of this teenage venture is 'Get lost, get found'. Yes one character goes missing here on the film, and by the effect of which one character finds himself. OK, I probably have given some spoilers. But let's see the poster. The girl here is bit covered by her hair, yes it seems she is hiding something and obviously behind her there is the boy. May be he wants to know what she is hiding. Fonts are very good and gives a teen impression. Liked it!      


3. The Walk
Director- Robert Zemeckis
Cast- Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Kingsley, Ben Schwartz 

'A high angle shot'

Robert Zemeckis brought us great films like Forrest Gump, Cast Away and many more. This time Zemeckis is making a film on the life and events of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit. The poster of the film is really interesting as it gives an impression of watching a 3D movie. We can bird-eye view our main character from a top angle position and look at the buildings on the ground. The poster is brave and chilling!
  

4. By The Sea
Director- Angelina Jolie Pitt
Cast- Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie Pitt

'With two hats it tells a story'

Another film by Angelina Jolie Pitt after Unbroken (2014). This time she appears as one of the main characters of the film along with his real life husband Brad Pitt. The poster of the film is really good. It has a yellowish flavor all around and in between a male hat and a female hat, one beside another. In front of those hats, a sea or ocean or something like this. The theme is minimal and exotic.   


5. Point Break
Director- Ericson Core
Cast- Edgar Ramirez, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer 

Our only action film from this installment has a tag line like 'the only law that matters is gravity'. Yes, the poster is all about gravity. It actually gives bit spoiler. Two 'robin hoodesque' characters, do not have any affection for money, and they have jumped from a god damn plane! The poster is crazy and really really innovative. This one would single handedly provide the producers few millions for sure. 

Best Film Posters of 2015 - Part 1

This year has been a rocking year for cinema, though we haven't seen week and week out box-office successes but it is a good year for independent cinemas as 2014 was like a golden year for Indies. New films are coming with new ideas, and obviously with some genuinely creative and artistic posters.

The Poster World would provide you a monthly update on best cinema posters of the year 2015 from now. When the year ends, we will be judging top 10 cinema posters of this year. So, let's have a bright start.

1. Trainwreck (2015)
Director- Judd Apatow
Cast- Tilda Swinton, Bill Hader, Brie Larson

'Trainwreck'

Yes, this is from the guy who brought you the super cool 'Bridesmaids'. Of course you know it by the upper text of the poster. You can also see the drunk girl who doesn't want her picture should be taken. The guy behind her is wondering what is he doing with her. Haven't seen the movie, but can have an idea about the story already by this colorful and meaningful poster. As I mentioned color, the use of yellow is just awesome. It blends well with the character wearing the same color by obviously not a coincidence.   



2. Unfriended (2015)
Director- Levan Gabriadze
Cast- Shelley Hennig, Renee Olstead 

'Unfriended'

This film has been one of the most successful films of 2015. It was made on a tiny budget of 1 Million $ and had a gross business of 50 Million. The posters of this film are quite simple and not over done anyway. Here, on the given poster we see a Skype like window where including calling and video chat option there is another one of a Revolver sign and it's blood red. Simply it tells the story. Yes, good posters are those who tell the the story by not saying much. Few of the other posters of this film including this one went viral on Internet and you can understand now it helped the marketing purpose.     



3. The Hundred Year-old Man Who Climbed Out of The Window & Disappeared (Swedish- Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann) (2015)
Director- Felix Herngren
Cast- Robert Gustafsson

'The Hundred Year-old Man Who Climbed Out of The Window & Disappeared'

This Swedish film was also made in a small budget and became a global hit like 'Unfreinded'. We can not quite question the success as the posters are good and humble. There is a certain simplicity on the poster. Colors, fonts, signs, the regular background, wooden floor and the character wearing an elephant mask, handling a bomb-like thing are all expressing one thing I mentioned on previous line- simplicity.      


4.  Welcome to Me (2015)
Director- Shira Piven
Cast- Kristen Wiig, James Marsden, Linda Cardellini

'Welcome to Me'

The poster of this film is quite simple, the lady in sunglass is with an umbrella on a shiny day, a boom is trying to reach her, as a swan is going somewhere in front of her by the lake. The white swan is more significant than the character! That's a bit weired, but it actually tells a lot. Is it trying to tell us something about being posh or rich? You have to watch the film to be sure.    

5.  Ex Machina (2015)
Director- Alex Garland
Cast- Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac 

'Ex Machina'

'Ex Machina' has been one of the best movies of 2015. The film is really haunting and wonderfully made as a low tone sci-fie. The posters used for this movie is well made and emphasized mainly on the protagonist- the robot with a female body and probably with emotions too. Poster of the movie above is the teaser poster came out long before the release of the movie. The skeleton gives us an impression about what we are up to. Yes, by the upper portion of the machine, we can be sure it's all about a female robot. 

06 Strange Album Covers by Iron & Wine

Iron & Wine is not a band as we understand bands. It's a one man band like many others on Western music arena. Samuel 'Sam' Beam is an American singer-song writer who came to fame with his debut album 'The Creek Drank The Cradle'. His composition and voice are different compared to many contemporary artists and greatly influenced by the legendary artists like 'Simon & Garfunkel' and 'Nick Drake'. Till now Iron & Wine has 6 studio albums, 2 compilations, 3 live albums and many singles.

Iron & Wine album covers are weired and has a sheer expressionist touch. They don't want to say much and give a deep inside image of artist's mind and manner. The Poster World presents to you 'really really strange' album covers of 06 studio albums by Iron & Wine.       

01. The Creek Drank The Cradle - 2002

'The Creek Drank The Cradle'

This acclaimed debut album of Iron & Wine was released on a cardboard sleeve, where a reddish tree was painted at the left corner and beside the tree the artist and album name was printed. The whole composition is bit nihilist and also gives an impression of low-tone country-like folk music album.   

02. Our Endless Numbered Days - 2004

'Our Endless Numbered Days'

There is a song in the Album named 'Passing Afternoon', where the lyrics is something like- "There are things that drift away like our endless, numbered days." OK! A certain duality on the album named inspired by a beautiful soothing song from the album. On the album cover, we can see a Mr. Beam look-alike person is sleeping (or maybe only his eyes are closed) on a bed of grass. There are indications of a calm and serene philosophy behind the album design. To me it's a very good match with the music Iron & Wine generates.   

03. The Shepherd's Dog - 2007

'The Shepherd's Dog'

The third album cover by Iron & Wine is more simplistic compared to two of the previous albums. A dog is painted with a purple reddish tone in front of yellow background and it seems like the dog is looking at something or someone with eagerness. One of the track of this album was used on the Hollywood film 'Twilight'. No, I still can't get a reason behind using a dog on the cover.  

04. Kiss Each Other Clean - 2011

'Kiss Each Other Clean'

Yes, Mr. Beam is sinking (or up to his knee only) on the water, standing in front of large unearthly peacocks and hills. It is enough to make this cover a good one. But what makes the cover of the album unique is it's ghost like look and dream like subtleness. Album songs have similar characteristics. 

05. Ghost on Ghost - 2013

'Ghost on Ghost'

The fifth album of Iron & Wine by the name of 'Ghost on Ghost' probably has the most realistic cover of all other albums by them. Obviously we can see a close enough couple hanging out to some corner. But the whole incident (or only the significant portion) is locked on a larger than life frame. On a tiny space the names were printed. The whole composition seems like an Epitaph. OK... now we can relate it with ghost. Yes!     

06. Sing into My Mouth - 2015

'Sing into My Mouth'

The album is a cooperation of Iron & Wine with rock singer Ben Bridwell, who is famous for his band 'Band of Horses'. Again, this cover is a painting. I guess the guy on right is Bridwell, as he looks the same these days and he is comment clouding something. Let me think, it's 'Cheers!'. The album is releasing on 17th July, 2015.