10. “If Beale Street Could Talk”
The intimacy, swirling romance and possibility writer/director Barry Jenkins invites us into with the characters of “If Beale Street Can Talks” can’t be better captured than in the InSync Plus-designed one-sheet for the film. You can practically hear the Nicholas Britell-penned jazz score begin to waft in and see the joyous faces of Kiki Layne and Stephen James yelling into the sky in excitement of where their lives are going in the trailer. Of course, things do go awry, as the malevolence of the era’s society begins to creep in on the proceedings. The film itself is a duel between hope and despair, and the blue and red duality of the poster shows two characters trapped between two different realities that dominate the film. It’s exciting to see Jenkins name so prominently featured at the top of the poster, considering he’s one of the decade’s great auteurs, as it is to see legendary author James Baldwin recognized for his trailblazing book the film is adapted from. Everything that flows through ‘Beale Street’ has been aesthetically gorgeous; the poster no different. It’s a wonderful ambassador for a wonderful film. – CW
9. “Godzilla: King of the Monsters”
With his striking size, imposing figure, hunger for chaos and disruption and, of course, his loud, deafening roar, Godzilla is a pop culture fixture best seen on the biggest screen you can find. The reptilian monster, who has remained at the center of his own movies for generations, was recently brought back to American audiences with 2014’s “Godzilla.” While the film didn’t earn universal acclaim, it did make a tidy profit — and then some — and it paved the way for its sequel-of-sorts, “Godzilla: King of the Monsters.” Though still a good while out (summer 2019), Warner Bros. was evidently hyped as hell to promote the blockbuster, displayed a gorgeous renaissance painting of a poster during this year’s Comic-Con festivities back in July; a full year in advance. In the heart of ferocious battle with its fellow cinema-filling deities of destruction, this beautifully-composed poster is a wonderful sight to see, and it promises the renewed hope of seeing big baddie Godzilla in its full glory and greatness in theaters again. Indeed, long live the king. – Will Ashton
8. “The Sisters Brothers”
The haunting poster of “The Sisters Brothers” promises a beautifully shot Western journey with the titular Sisters Brothers (Joaquin Phoenix & John C. Reilly) and their intrinsic relationship with mortality and lack thereof. The poster is ingenious in its use of perspective, with an ominous skull, the specter of death, appearing as if its following and riding with them. The brothers begin the tale as assassins, working for a third party, but unforeseen circumstances arise. Soon their goals change and the brothers must survive, and hopefully thrive, in a new status quo. All throughout their trek, their paths cross with others either chasing their own legacies or running from their past. The tagline “Make a killing. Make a living.” provides a double-meaning based on their former profession as killers juxtaposed with their new goal of rushing for gold, with characters played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed, and perhaps aspiring for a life less driven by cruelty and malice. Ultimately, their hope is to make a living through their desired riches while also being able to live in their constant dodging of the ever-present possibility of death. -Karl Schleider
7. “You Were Never Really Here”
With “You Were Never Really Here,” director Lynne Ramsay created a sparse, economical masterpiece in a daring 80-minute run time, possessing the confidence in her ability to tell a fully-formed trauma and redemption without feeling the need to pad it with unnecessary dialogue or exposition. Her lead played by Joaquin Phoenix is not a man of many words and some of the most touching and beautiful moments of the film come backed by silence or, more often, the stunning score by Johnny Greenwood. It makes sense then, that the poster by P + A would need to tell us as much as it could about the film while keeping it shrouded with mystery. A poster that’s both touched by rain and sunbeams, suggesting past hardship (hammer in hand) while, with hindsight in mind, post-film, the promise of a new day. It’s a gorgeous rendering of the main relationship; Phoenix’s character and his will— or lack thereof— to survive, and the main inciting goal of the film. Shout out to several other of the movie’s poster including the French “A Beautiful Day” version, and two striking iterations by Empire Design, it was hard to choose just one. – AJ
6. “Gemini”
It’s nice to see a poster that’s aesthetically pleasing, but gets it too. All City likes to work with tastemakers and tastemaking studios like to work with them. Some of their recent campaigns are for MUBI, BFI London Film Festival and the projects of Nicolas Winding Refn including his next show and the NWR cineaste website. “Gemini,” indie filmmaker Aaron Katz‘s ambitious leap past the trappings of the mumblecore genre, is a captivating murder mystery, but it’s also endlessly stylish. Moreover, on top of being funny and entertaining, the meat of the movie is it’s psychological gaslighting, but one done in a fresh, somewhat unfamiliar setting: via best friends forever, or at least what one thinks is bffs. Examining duality and what we perceive, versus the truth, “Gemini” forces you to contemplate your reality: was Zoe Kravtiz‘s A-list actor character really best friends with her assistant Lola Kirke, was that genuine, a ploy or was that working relationship/friendship always just a doomed illusion from both their perspectives given the hierarchy of employee and employer. Slap on top of it, the gauzy, hypnotic allure and superficiality of Los Angeles, the city of dreams and the notion that everything you believe you see in front of you—including the palm trees on the streets—is simply upside down and untrustworthy and not only do you have a mysterious, captivating movie, but a hell of a simple, but effective poster that’s put in the work to express a mood. – RP
