Posterized: The Wachowski Siblings

Lana and Andy WachowskiWe have an early contender for movie that's most fun to read about this year. Andy and Lana Wachowski's latest, their lucky (?) number seven,  Jupiter Ascending has arrived. It is apparently a doozy and your definition of that word will vary. Between insane costumes, insaner plot, insanest characters including Channing Tatum as a some sort of wolfish alien, and Eddie Redmayne as Glenn Close (?) with gigantic mouth and abs for days it promises to be memorable at least. Even if the memories are mostly of "What is Happening To My Eyes?"

But then the Wachowskis have been doing that since their blockbuster breakthrough The Matrix (1999). Indeed the only film of theirs that seems "controlled" in the classic sense of 'this movie is perfectly constructed, awesome, and insanely watchable without being actually insane' was their very first: the lesbian noir Bound  (1996). For my money it's still their very best and still criminally underappreciated possibly because it's so atypical in that the only visual effects are how impossibly sexy and clever Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly are.

How many of their seven oddities have you seen?

I've seen them all -- or rather I will since I'm hitting Jupiter tomorrow or Saturday. The Wachowskis have the singular dinstinction of being the only directors in history to earn both an "A" (Bound) and an "F" (Cloud Atlas) grade within their filmography from yours truly.

I'm kind of hoping that Jupiter Ascending earns both.

147 Days Until... MAGIC MIKE XXL

The teaser for Magic Mike XXL ends with "You're Welcome" which is so presumptuous but also correct. Make that two You're Welcomes since the first poster has also arrived. Let's chat both after the image. Take it all in.

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Poster Madness! The Best of 2014

Glenn here with my now annual list of the best movie posters of the year. I should apologize for being so tardy with this, but I've been working on a big non-movie-related project that took precedent. Never mind that though because we're back. Last year logged the first time that I dragged my lil ol' list of the year's best movie posters over from my own blog onto The Film Experience we're back to see what'll win this year. Last year the honor went to Spring Breakers and this year was no less fierce. I have once more assembled an... eclectic list of films ranging from French orgy dramas and Christian religious flicks to British sci-fi and obscure horror titles.

I have tried to keep the posters featured within down to American 2014 theatrical/VOD releases only. That means designs that emerged online as much as 18 months ago can be on here if the film was only released this year (hi Nymphomaniac!). Likewise, designs for 2015 releases that are already hanging in cinema foyers do not feature - I'm going to spend the next year tossing and turning over whether this hilariously unsubtle phallic poster for Fifty Shades of Grey is actually good or completely terrible. Having said that, being an Australian means I have snuck few Aussie films on the list because, I guess, my list my rules. I should also point out that, just like last year, the lack of many big budget blockbusters on the list isn't my contrariness popping up (my lonely passions are now a thing), rather it's just proves that so many working for Hollywood studios would be absolutely lost without the billions of dollars that they take for granted and the audiences that flock to their movies like sheep.

Follow me as I count down the best posters of 2014!

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Curio: Under Their Skin

Alexa here with your weekly film art and craft. Nathaniel is not alone in the way Under The Skin (his pick for the top film of 2014) slid into his consciousness: every day there are more and more indie posters cropping up celebrating the the film's special hypnosis.  It is second only to The Grand Budapest Hotel as the most posterized film of 2014 (but Wes takes that prize every year). Here are my favorite visual celebrations of the film so far; I'll be streaming it for the umpteenth time today to continue the mood (thanks to Margaret's Amazon Prime tip).

fan posters after the jump 

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Thoughts I Had... The "Big Eyes" Poster

We finally have a poster for Tim Burton's Big Eyes. Herewith some thoughts as they came to me.

• "Visionary Director" would be so much more impressive as a description if it weren't so overused.
• "Big Eyes" could well describe lots of celebrities: Emma Stone, Amanda Seyfried, Marty Feldman*, Heather Graham, Jake Gyllenhaal, Susan Sarandon, Anne Hathaway, Sailor Moon.
• Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams have Normal-Sized Eyes but that will never be a film title. The only person in this cast with gargantuan eyeballs is Krysten Ritter
• The tag line is basic but it does cleverly have a double meaning with the last bit "... and everyone bought it" 
• A lot of people seem to be sure that this one won't be a major Oscar player but apart from test screenings (a notoriously unreliable source of info) no one has seen it so it's one of our mystery movies when it comes to the competition this year.
• The Big Eyes team, cast and crew, has been nominated for 37 Oscars and won 7 (most of those for Waltz & Colleen Atwood). 
• Why do they always make ginger movie stars blondes when the movies take place in the 1950s? There were actually more gingers back then statistically. (And I don't want any "Amy Adams isn't a natural ginger!" backtalk in the comments -don't be literal!)
• It's fun that the screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski get such prominent yellow billing at the bottom. We'll pretend it's a retroactive thank you for Ed Wood (1994) rather than a contractual negotiation! 

*Just wanted to see if you were paying attention