Sexy Beast Movie Poster

As a fan of British gangster movies I got to see a great one created by the Film on 4 company, which was a perfect combination of edginess and comedy like the kind you’d find in Snatch. The movie I am referring to is Sexy Beast, which is brought to life with the terrific performances of Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley (otherwise known for roles such as Ghandi and soon to be in Iron Man 3).

The Storyline

The storyline of this movie is a classic heist plot where Don Logan (Kingsley) is sent by the mob to convince an old-time gang member, Gal (Winstone), out of retirement for a job that he is reluctant to take part in. The comedy comes from various angles but none more memorable than Don’s methods of persuasion that only make you laugh but also strike moments of fear from his unpredictability.

Without giving too much of the story away I’d have to recommend this classic film to lovers of this genre but if you take great offence to the C word you might need to re-consider it – you have been warned.

Sexy Beast movie poster created by Empire Design

Movie Poster Critique

The movie poster for Sexy Beast is totally reflective of the opening scene where Gal is living the high life. The image of Winstone lounging back on a floating armchair inside of a cocktail glass is one that contradicts the film title itself and additionally after watching the film I’ve noticed the subtle connection of the red fluid at the bottom of the cocktail glass and the by-line “it’s hard to say no”. Its down to you to watch it to notice the giveaways in the poster too.

I’m torn between deciding whether or not the cocktail glass image is artist’s representation of the film or pieced together from images in Photoshop. Whichever it is, I’m drawn to the smooth appearance of the whole image like film posters from the 80s.

Summary

Overall the poster for Sexy Beast is a great piece of work that perfectly reflects the themes inside of the film without giving too much of the storyline away. I wish more movie posters were this clever these days rather than just taking a scene from the film with no subtleties like those I’ve explained. I know it goes against my stance on posters that don’t give away the film clearly enough but this one is composed with such finesse that I would have to admit more like this could sway my overarching opinion on the matter.

The movie gets a 10/10 from me. It ticked all the right boxes that a British gangster film should and the poster is impressive in its portrayal of the film. If you haven’t seen Sexy Beast before, here’s a trailer:

The Boxer Movie Poster

It’s been while since we’ve had a Tuesday movie poster review (TuVie Day) so let’s kickstart the habit with a film I recently caught on Sky Movies called The Fighter. Staring Mark Wahlberg (famously known for performances in flicks such as Ted), Amy Adams, and the best Batman in history Christian Bale; this film is one for you aspiring boxers out there who love to see inspiring true life stories reach the big lights of Hollywood.

Image courtesy of BLT Communications, LLC

The Storyline

The film follows the story of Micky Ward – a junior welterweight professional boxer, and the journey that lead to his professional career as a boxing superstar. What captured my attention most was the relationship between Micky and his brother Dicky, who was said to have trained Micky all the way through to his professional status. With family problems being a persistent theme throughout the movie, the reality of the story and performance of the actors makes you feel closer to the characters rather than the rose-tinted nostalgia of the Rocky series, which fails to captivate you on the same emotional level but is set around the same time period.

Movie Poster Critique

The Boxer’s poster is a personal favourite due to the fact that I am a gigantic photography geek and a fan of monochrome imagery. The artist’s choice of presenting the lead character in the boxing ring at the moment he has been awarded the win from a bought with one of his challengers gives a simple, clear pre-cursor of what to expect from this movie – as you can tell from previous articles I’m not a huge fan of mystery. The typical display of main characters by using angled headshots is nothing new at the head of the poster, although the contrast between the clear typography and the grainy effects of noise added to the images creates an old vintage feel mixed with modern day style – an excellent way to show that the storyline is of historical content.

Summary

Overall I’d give the film a 4 out of 5 as the quality of the actual boxing scenes disappointed me. It’s possibly because I am used to the edginess of fighting scenes such as those in Warrior and The Bourne series. Just in case you haven’t seen the film before here’s the trailer:

What is the Purpose of a Mini Business Card?

I was having a read through Squidoo this afternoon and came across an article that specified the standard sizes of business cards (http://www.squidoo.com/standard-business-card-size), as I’m thinking of getting some printed soon now that I’ve become more competent at designing in Photoshop – mini project visuals to follow soon.

After reading through it I got thinking about the mini business cards that printing companies provide and wondered what is the purpose of them? To me it says that all that extra margin around your copy isn’t needed from a standard-sized business card, however, fitting a mini card into your wallet could lead to it getting lost amongst the receipts and more.

If you are carrying a business card then these mini ones are easier to have on you at all times without occupying too much pocket space but other than that I’d like to know what the real benefits of them are?

Leave me your thoughts in the comments below and explain the purpose of a mini business card from your point of view.