POSTERS

Alex's Top 10 Favorite Posters from 2007

by Alex Billington
January 5, 2008

Although we've already moved on into 2008, as we sludge through a couple of slow weeks in January, I thought what better time than now to look back at a few of my favorites from 2007. I'm not calling this the Best Posters of 2007 because poster design is considerably subjective, instead it's just my Favorite Posters of 2007. I can easily prefer one poster while someone else can hate the same one, but of course, the more well-designed posters are more universally recognizable and will probably end up as everyone else's favorites as well. With that said, let's take a look at my own top 10 personal favorite movie posters from 2007!

10. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
It's simple and minimalistic and those two aspects alone combined with some good design are all a poster needs to make it onto my favorites list. I also love the muted and natural colors of the pale blue sky and yellowish plains across the bottom. Although I'm not fond of Casey Affleck's pose in the back, Brad Pitt's pose and his off-set location top off what is definitely one of my favorite simpler posters of last year.

9. The Invasion
Disregard how bad the movie actually was, because this teaser poster is pretty awesome. It's fairly powerful and brings out some emotions all while still maintaining a simplicity. No need for actors or faces or anything like that, because all they need to sell this movie is some mystery and intrigue that sets the thrilling tone. I love what they did here and it was a good setup that failed terribly from that point forward (the last poster for the film sucked).

8. 28 Weeks Later
Another one like The Invasion where there are no actors or scenes from the movie, but rather an idea that was used to setup the film. I love the look of this, like it's an actual poster from quarantined London that was up on the street corner. And the gas mask profile and red colors are all awesome. The logo is the only oddly placed element, but that's because the design without out is an actual quarantine poster, and then they had to identify the movie. This one definitely deserves a spot on my wall.

7. Grindhouse
What's not to like about this? Sure, it's crowded and confusing, but the designers were going for a look that copied the original grindhouse poster designs. You've got the two mini-posters in the middle for the "double feature" movies, both of which are great in their own right, and then you've got some more funny tag lines thrown about. I love the "See!" bar near the bottom with all of the actors headshots. No one would EVER do that on a real poster nowadays, but that's why this is so classic and unforgettable.

6. King of California
This movie never really went anywhere and for most people this is probably the first time you are even looking at this poster. Again, I love the simplicity. Michael Douglas looks like an absolute goof staring right back at you with the glow and clouds behind him. And I also love the well-designed logo that looks like a crown and that it's nicely centered and "floating" above him. And the yellow color, too. There's just so much I like about this poster and it's been one of my favorites all year long.

5. Paris Je T'aime
For those that can't tell, the heart in the middle is made up of a bunch of Eiffel Towers and other Paris-based structures (check it out full-size). It's hard to describe all of the finer points of why this is my favorite, but it obviously has to do with the heart in the middle, the colors, and the placement of the names in a border around it all. This is one of my all-time favorites, right down to the font and intricate designs lightly drawn on the background. It's a poster that I could see still up on display years from now because it's so damn good.

4. The Bourne Ultimatum
This never showed up in America, but damn does it kick ass! First off, the stark black and white contrasty look is absolute brilliant. It accentuates Matt Damon as Jason Bourne making him look even more badass than he is in the movies. I prefer this one over the other one of just his face because it has part of that and also the iconic "gun-in-hand-low-angle" stance on the other side. Whoever designed this knew how to crop the images perfectly and combine them yet still make it look intense.

3. My Blueberry Nights
The colors! Oh the colors! This is an international poster for a film that's not even out yet, but it's oh so beautiful. Sure, the kiss is great and they've really upped the saturation of the photo (I don't think her hat is that green), but that's not why I love it. It's the fluorescent-like blue and pink light swirls that then bounce all over the poster that just make my spine tingle with joy. Just gorgeous, I can't get enough of it!

2. 3:10 to Yuma
I remember when this came out, I was saying how great it was, but at the time I still hated westerns. Now, after becoming a huge fan of both 3:10 to Yuma and The Assassination of Jesse James this year, I have even more appreciation for it. Screw including actors faces, all you need is a badass cowboy with some guns and an incredibly detailed, rough western look. The dusty brown color and overall look of this has easily pushed it to the top of my favorites list.

1. Transformers
Who the f**k made this?! They captured the intensity and awesome-ness of the entire last 30-minute battle in Transformers into one poster - and that's impossible. When this came out, everything else in the world paled in comparison. Do I even need to explain my fascination? It's the fact that Optimus Prime is facing to the right, ready for battle and protecting Sam and Mikaela, who are embraced in passion, and then the explosions and smoke flying off of him all set above a gorgeous cityscape. The colors look great, it's very detailed, and the positioning of all the elements are perfect. This is my absolute favorite poster of 2007 hands down. Bravo BLT & Associates.

There's already a couple of wonderful posters for 2008, including Indiana Jones 4, Iron Man, and Wall-E. I truly love movie posters almost as much as I love movies and it shows by how much I talk about them when they're designed well. And I really can't wait to see what other great posters are in the works for 2008!

Filed under Editorial, Posters

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