POSTERS

Looking Back: The Top 10 Best Official Movie Posters from 2010

by Ethan Anderton
December 31, 2010

I absolutely love movie posters. Starting from my first job at the local movie theater to my online scouring tactics to get ahold of all my favorite prints, I can't seem to stop hoarding glorious posters despite the lack of open wall space at my own home. While they're most easily described as just another form of marketing for a studio trying to get an audience into a theater, there are some posters that are just as beautiful as art. Hell, certain movie posters are even better than some of the art that's been making its way to museums lately. But anyway, this isn't an art blog, so let's get down to my choices for the 10 Best Movie Posters from 2010.

Just so we're clear, I've only decided to consider posters that were officially released by a studio. They can be foreign films, and may be a little bigger than your standard 27×40 movie poster size, but you won't find any unofficial posters here. While I love Olly Moss' work for Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows and Eric Tan's Mondo posters for Tron Legacy, it just didn't seem fair to include their work without being able to consider the plethora of fan created prints out there. So without further adieu, here's my picks best posters of 2010.

#10 - Toy Story 3

Colorful, vibrant and combining all our favorite toys of the past with characters from Sunnyside Day Care, this poster doesn't even need a title for audiences to know exactly what movie this poster is hyping.

#9 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Despite the fact that his poster is for both parts of the epic finale, the dark imagery of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is simultaneously beautiful and haunting. Since we didn't see this tragedy unfold in Part I of the epic franchise finale, you can be sure plenty of action is right around for corner with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II.

#8 - Devil

Though the appearance of M. Night Shyamalan's name in the trailer garnered snickers from audiences, this poster is more subtle and impressive than the filmmaker's career as of late. Focusing on the isolated location for the film's primary spooky happenings, the light behind these elevator doors creates an alternate, foreboding version of a certain religious symbol and literally turns it on its head to represent the evil that lurks within.

#7 - Predators

Though many posters simply featured the cast wandering around the jungle, this poster takes the viewpoint of the Predators in the film and goes the extra mile by showing its victims in the trademark heat vision that was so masterfully used in the original film. Though it's simple, and obscures Adrien Brody's face, this was definitely my favorite poster for the film.

#6 - Tron Legacy

We've featured more than a few Tron Legacy posters, but it was this awesome throwback to the original Tron poster that struck me as the most stunning. Fortunately, those who attended the Tron Night preview in October got a small version of this theatrical poster, but I think I need to get my hands on a full size version.

#5 - The Next Three Days

An overlooked thriller from earlier this year, Paul Haggis' loses the melodrama with The Next Three Days and delivers a decent thriller. And while the mosaic of notes, maps and more making up Russell Crowe's face is cool on its own, once you've seen the film, this poster becomes all the more relevant.

#4 - Black Swan

I liked the art-deco promo posters for Black Swan as much as everyone else, but this poster for Darren Aronofsky's dark masterpiece is my favorite. The imagery is subtly haunting by taking Natalie Portman's pristine face and putting a porcelain crack right down the side of it. A great image for Portman's dark turn towards becoming the Black Swan.

#3 - Inception

This M.C. Escher-inspired (see here) poster is just the surface of all the twisted dream levels that make up the mind-boggling story of Inception. Your mind is the scene of the crime, but it might also be the scene of some hard-hitting headaches if you ever got lost in the twisted city on this poster.

#2 - Let Me In

The stark imagery of a near-perfect snow angel tainted by blood nearly sums up the conflicted character of Abby in Matt Reeves' Let Me In. It's the difficulty that comes with looking like a child, but having to act like a monster just to live that's ever-present and using something as childish as a snow angel with the haunting image of blood around it just gives me goosebumps.

#1 - Buried

It's the bold simplicity of this poster that makes it my absolutely #1 top favorite of the year. No names, no title, and you can't tell that Ryan Reynolds is even inside that box, buried by darkness of this beautiful teaser poster. While the Saul Bass inspired poster for this same film was also very impressive, it was this poster alone that got me absolutely pumped to see this flick.

Well those are my choices for the best posters of 2010. Surely many of you have some different ideas and favorite posters, so feel free to sound off in the comments below. Thanks to our friends at IMPAwards for the inspiration and images! As for finishing the year, stay tuned for a few more lists looking back at film in 2010 as the end of the year looms nearer. Thoughts on the best posters of 2010? Did we miss any?

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