Posterized Propaganda June 2014: ‘Snowpiercer,’ ‘The Rover,’ ‘Venus in Fur’ & More

“Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover” is a proverb whose simple existence proves the fact impressionable souls will do so without fail. This monthly column focuses on the film industry’s willingness to capitalize on this truth, releasing one-sheets to serve as not representations of what audiences are to expect, but as propaganda to fill seats. Oftentimes they fail miserably. It’s no surprise a month like June doesn’t possess the best posters for blockbuster releases. No one readying to visit a theater for summer popcorn carnage cares if the advertisement…

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REVIEW: Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues [2013]

“You knocked him back to the fifth grade” When you couple my dislike of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy with my obvious indifference to the announcement of its long-awaited sequel, watching Harrison Ford on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in August proved a hilariously spot-on validation of my sheer inability to understand what everyone sees in Adam McKay and Will Ferrell‘s comedy classic. Brought on to shoot a yet-unknown cameo despite never having seen the original, Ford said, “I got down there; I had no idea who those guys were. And…

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REVIEW: Think Like a Man [2012]

“Sorry, sir. Take that out of my tip.” In 2009, comedian and television personality Steve Harvey gave women the keys to the castle. His best-selling book, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, flew off the shelves after day-time talk show appearances allowed him the forum to explain how men simply don’t ‘love’ the same way ladies do. With insight on archetypes like “The Momma’s Boy”, “The Player”, and “The Non-Committer”, Harvey had declared open season for the manipulation of y-chromosomes everywhere on behalf of the fairer sex. Whether…

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REVIEW: Jumping the Broom [2011]

“Do they even let black folk in China?” A tradition held by many different cultures throughout the world, ‘jumping the broom’ has very specific roots in the African American community. Used often by Welsh Gypsies as the customary way to show who will rule the household—the person jumping the highest winning—Salim Akil’s film’s purposes are quite different. Since marriage between slaves wasn’t acknowledged in the 1800s, those wishing to devote their lives to one another did so with a broom. Witnessed by their friends, jumping was akin to saying “I…

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REVIEW: The Unborn [2009]

“Keep looking” Does David S. Goyer not read the scripts he writes before choosing to direct them? This guy has been in the horror genre for almost two decades and has had names like Del Toro, Nolan, and Proyas direct his words. Why then does he pick the worst of his lot to put in front of the camera himself? If everyone else is passing, maybe he should take that as a sign to scrap it and start anew. Instead, the world is given drivel like The Unborn, which I…

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