Posterized Propaganda April 2013: Sleight of Hand With ‘Trance’, ‘42,’ ‘Upstream Color’ & 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. There aren’t many films coming out in April that scream “You have to see me on the big screen!” The ones that do, however, are high on my list of…

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REVIEW: The Box [2009]

“You have blood on your hands” Does anyone not push the button? What can I say about Richard Kelly’s supposed turn to mainstream cinema? Three things, and they are as follows: One, the marketing for The Box has to be some of the worst in the history of film. Warner Brothers is selling a completely different movie than what is shown on screen. This isn’t a thriller against the clock for a yuppie couple; it’s a fight for the salvation of the human race. Hell, it takes place in 1976…

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REVIEW: I Am Legend [2007]

“Daddy look, a butterfly” Here we are, the middle of December, with Oscar-bait films being released left and right. Has my trifecta of must-sees, There Will Be Blood, The Kite Runner, and Atonement, showed face here in the sleepy town of Buffalo? No, of course not, they are too afraid to leave their big cities for the threat of blizzard conditions. What is there to do then? Oh, yeah, go see I Am Legend at the local multiplex. At first glance, I thought it was kind of weird to be…

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