Hello everyone! Well, it is time for a new article and one that I am really excited about because it involves my favorite company out there for movie related posters and Mondo is their name. If you aren’t familiar with their work or what they even do, good cause that means I have less competition to acquire their monthly poster releases for a serious buyer like myself. So what better way to appreciate this fine company and the artists that tirelessly work to create some of the most amazing poster art for movies than to highlight my favorite ten posters that came out in 2012. I also managed to get additional bloggers to add their list of picks and they will get their own post. For now, here is my top ten list of Mondo posters. Some I own, some I want, but all are amazing.
If you are interested in submitting your favorite Mondo poster of 2012, please message me and send your picks in. I am excited to see what people pick as their favorite posters. Now in no particular order:
Boy, my hat is off to Joss Whedon, the maestro behind this summers biggest blockbuster. Yes, it is bigger than The Dark Knight Rises and pretty much everything else that came out at that time. It was a giant collaboration and gamble on the part of Marvel Studios to inundate the movie going audience a myriad of of super hero movies that could have started to fatigue the public. Spanned over 5 different movies from the Marvel Universe, the pieces were coming together and and stories were set in motion in each of the proceeding movies to build up to the team-up of the summer. Marvel’s The Avengers was the epitome of the summer popcorn flick and it delivered everything I could have wanted in a super hero movie.
The Avengers is the culmination of years of work, numerous movies, lots of merchandise and advertising and ultimately, the collaboration of many actors to put aside their love of screen time to assemble together for a movie that is the grandest summer movie spectacle. I have stated in past posts and review about the Marvel movies that were sacrificed at the altar for the greater good of getting us to The Avengers and it wasn’t wasted. Thor was a weak movie with characterization just being there in order to fill the Thor role. Captain America was a solid movie from the origin aspect to the pathos that makes up the Captain. Iron Man and it’s sequel was the catalyst for The Avengers, laying ground work in the first and then shoehorned all the elements into the second film, weakening it sadly. Then there was The Incredible Hulk, a film that was left unscathed, but still tied in nicely to the idea of The Avengers. So with all these films being used to set us up for largest superhero ensemble film of the summer, does it really come together?
Keeping the Marvel Comic train running, while I have already covered both Thor, Captain America and The Incredible Hulk in past reviews or posts, Iron Man needs to get some post time. For me, the first film is the superior film of the series and while the second one dashed because of the need to tie everything together for the upcoming Avengers film, I have high hopes for the upcoming third film. The first Iron Man was incredibly entertaining, not only because it’s fucking Iron Man kicking ass, but they managed to cast the perfect version of Tony Stark with Robert Downey Jr. Smarmy, charismatic and brilliant, Downey made the film for me and he also had the dubious honor of setting up what would be the groundwork for The Avengers film.
With The Avengers slowly coming closer to release, one day actually, I decided to go back through some of the Marvel films of past. While Iron Man 2, Captain America and Thor were alright films in their own right, I think they suffered the tragic fate of being the vehicle to introduce the concept and underlying story of The Avengers. I mean all three of those films felt rushed and the main story of the characters was lost in the madness of cramming everything Avengers related into the films so that they were all tied to one another. While The Incredible Hulk is also part of that Avengers timeline, I actually enjoyed the reboot and continuation of story that was left off from the previous outing of the Hulk. For what it’s worth, The Incredible Hulk is one of the better comic book movies, one that cuts right to the chase of the story, even without the necessary setup of an origin story.
Let’s be honest, summer movie season starts earlier every year much like Christmas shit is put up in stores in September. Now I think it is because there is some sort of secret society that is forcing Christmas, X-Mas, Holiday whatever to start earlier and earlier as a consumer plot to rid of us our money. Whatever, but Hollywood is taking a page out of their books and starting to release big budget flicks in May to start the foaming of the rabid fanboy mouth early. So I am here to give you the rundown what will be the good stuff you should come May, June, July and August. And by good stuff, I mean the shit I think is worth seeing, also some picks that you should avoid.
This first go around, is the May flicks. So prep your wallet for some movie watching.
This past summer, you couldn’t even swing your mighty hammer of Mjolnir without hitting a superhero movie. I mean you had X-Men, Thor, Green Lantern and Captain America all coming out during the summer months. It was a bit of a sensory overload with four movies all going for the origin story boot and franchise beginnings. Wading through these movies was a joy, except for Green Lantern, and while some people didn’t like Captain America, I personally found a lot of enjoyment from the films even with the shortcomings of the story. To be fair, this is one of the best origin story films to have come out in the past year.
Well I missed last weeks post and now I am behind a few days on this post. Damn my movie watching! Anyways the wait is worth it since I can post the newly released Avengers trailer on here and you know, that will be the first trailer of this post. ONWARD!
The Avengers:
FUCK YES! This is what we have been waiting as comic book fans since Marvel Studios came into being. It was well known that once Marvel Studios formed, they would start working on an overarching series of movies that tie the Marvel universe together. Seeing all these stars and comic book characters in one trailer is practically euphoric. Sure there will be a lot of quick retorts from Downey, a lot of hair flipping from Johansson, and on screen camera hogs, but shit does it look awesome. Also the best thing about it, Loki is the villain. I always loved his character from the Thor comics and felt he got the short end of the stick with character development thanks to Marvel and their rush to get these movies out in a timely matter for The Avengers.
We Bought A Zoo:
Good lord is that not an emotional trailer? They got me with the inclusion of a Sigur Ros song in the trailer. Thanks a lot Cameron Crowe. Aside from the trailer, this looks absolutely beautiful. A story about a family that buys up a Zoo and brings it back to life all while maintaining the family bond is touching and sure to get a lot of notice. While it’s a Cameron Crowe movie, you be certain of one thing and that it’s going to have a stellar soundtrack. As a matter of fact, Jonsi from Sigur Ros is going to produce the soundtrack. Wins all around.
Young Adult:
While the fact that this movie is written by Diablo Cody, I was a bit hesitant to really want to give this a chance. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Juno “pork swords” and “swear to blog” aside, this actually looks like a very well developed movie and having Jason Rietman (director of Up In The Air) doesn’t hurt your chances. Having Patton Oswalt in the movie also improves your credibility since he is a geek god.
The Grey:
The only thing I got of this trailer is this: LIAM NESSON BARE KNUCKLE BOXES WOLVES! Just take my money for fucks sake!
AMERICA! That is what this movie is about. Not really though, but considering the history of the character, this is the embodiment of America. Captain America is the first and last piece to the over arching movie connection with Marvel’s grand endeavor in making an Avengers movie. Captain is the lynchpin that brings all the superheroes together and is a vital role in the development of the team. But while Captain is an incredible strategist and team player, he has been fighting evil and upholding the ideal pillars of America’s philosophy decades before those kids were lacing up their boots.
One of my more highly anticipated comic book movies, there was a couple of apprehensions before seeing this movie. We have already had a summer of comic book movies, so would I be fatigued after having sat through the earlier comic book movies? Would Captain America be refreshing and interesting enough to standout from the rest? Well this is America and we don’t go down without a fight. So let’s see if Captain America is the pinnacle of super hero movies or just another quick cash grab to move us toward something bigger?
