The CW Supergirl & Superman
Tag: supergirl
The Best Movie and TV Posters of 2015
2015 was a so-so year when it came to movie and TV posters. There were several strong poster designs in 2015, but in a year when dozens of movie and TV posters were released — there were only a few strong poster designs among the masses.
The best poster of 2015 was for the WGN TV series Salem.
Honestly, I don’t watch Salem. I tried but it’s not a series I could get into. However, after having seen one of the posters for the second season of the series it was an image that I couldn’t get out of my head and made me want to check out the show again.
The image features one of the witches of Salem perched atop the cross of a church. Except the poster is upside down and she’s not so much “perched” as she’s really hanging off the cross defying gravity. And with the image being rotated, off balance and the use of an inverted cross and all that connotes, I’m surprised the designers of this poster were allowed to execute this design at all. But they were/did and it’s one of the more striking images I’ve ever seen on a movie or TV poster in quite some time.
I can’t decide if I LOVE or HATE the poster campaign for the movie Ant-Man, but since I’m still thinking about it months after it was released I decided it needed to be on this list. The early posters for Ant-Man featured the title character who has the power to shrink atop Avengers things like Captain America’s shield, Thor’s hammer and Iron Man’s shoulder. It’s a neat way to both introduce the character to an audience who’s probably unaware as to who the character is, to show that he fits in with the other Marvel movies and even bring in some of the comedy elements to the film too since the photos feature a teeny-tiny man who has some large shoes to fill.
There’s a few things that I don’t like about the poster for the TV show Supergirl but there’s a lot more that I do like. The poster is simple, with just the title character swooping down between skyscrapers with a blue sky in the background. But it’s what this poster does so well that many other movie and TV posters fail to do; it sets tone and expectations for the series.
Another poster that I think sets expectations well is the one for Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. Pulled straight from the movie trailer, the poster has lead character Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) holding onto the side of an airplane for life as it lifts into the sky. Where the tendency of most movie posters these days is to cram as much onto the poster as possible, from actor’s names to movie title to tagline to who the director is… the poster for Rogue Nation is one of the more simpler ones out there with just the movie title, release date and other minor legalese on it.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. flopped at the box office, but that doesn’t mean that the poster promoting this film was a flop. Much like with the poster for Rogue Nation, the poster for U.N.C.L.E. takes the simpler is better approach, though not to the extreme that the poster for Rogue Nation did. Here, we get a shot of the two leads along with the title on a yellow background. And while the poster might not have a lot to it, the contrast between the two figures on a simple background makes this one catch the eye.
I really liked the poster campaign for the movie Mad Max Fury Road. Not only does it feature some nice images, but the contrasting warm/cool color combination and off-balanced layouts make these posters very appealing.
The posters for Fury Road are the question to the answer of how exactly do you sell a movie that’s a continuation of a series that’s been going on since the ‘70s? What the designers did here was rather than try and copy what was used in the past, to instead come up with something new that borrows from the look and feel from the film while at the same time showcasing the new actors in the Mad Max universe as well.
2015/16 Fall TV Preview
New series
There’s quite a few new series to look forward to on TV this fall. In fact there are FIVE series/mini-series based on influential novels set to premiere later this year on cable and streaming services and a few other interesting shows to boot!
Unfortunately, the outlook for new series set to debut on network TV doesn’t look good. There’s only a few show there that I’m interested in, and that’s only because they’re a genera series that, truthfully, I don’t have very high hopes for.
Those two network shows are Supergirl on CBS and Minority Report on FOX. Supergirl follows the Man of Steel’s cousin who must balance her life and the fact that she has the same superpowers as the Man of Tomorrow while Minority Report is a sequel of sorts to the 2002 movie where one of the twins from the film who could see crimes in the future goes off with a cop to try and stop more crimes.
I’d have more faith with Supergirl if it were on ANY network other than CBS while Minority Report sounds a lot like another FOX show from a few years ago, Almost Human from 2013, that also took place in the future but partnered a robot with a cop in order to solve crimes. Almost Human only lasted a single season which with how FOX tends to treat its sci-fi series is also probably in store for Minority Report too.
On cable things are a lot more interesting.
On The CW is the superhero Legends of Tomorrow show that takes place in the same universe as their already popular DC Arrow/The Flash series. In Legends, a whole group of superheroes/supervillains from Firestorm, the Atom, Hawkgirl and Captain Cold to name a few team up to try and stop some future world ending event. Legends sounds a bit like Justice League meets Suicide Squad which could be interesting.
A TV version of the Evil Dead film franchise Ash vs Evil Dead is set to take on the Deadites starting Halloween on Starz. The trailer for this one looks to be a crazed blood-spattered gore-filled continuation of the story from the movies with Bruce Campbell returning as Ash in the title role.
What’s got me REALLY excited this fall are those five sci-fi series based on books; Westworld, Childhood’s End, The Expanse and, what I’m looking forward to most next season, The Man in the High Castle.
Based in the Philip K. Dick novel, The Man in the High Castle is produced by Ridley Scott and will stream November 20. The first episode of this alt-history series has already debuted where a post WWII victorious Japan and Germany occupies the United States. Their response to any rebellion is a fiery death and even owning alt-history material in High Castle that tells of a victorious US in WWII is a crime punishable by death.
The first episode of High Castle was so good after watching the first free episode I went out and immediately subscribed to Amazon Prime in order to be able to see the rest.
A mini-series based on the Arthur C. Clarke novel Childhood’s End (1953) premieres on SyFy Monday, December 14. The Childhood’s End story has colossal alien spacecraft arriving at the earth ala V (1983) and the inhabits within, who just so happen to look the stereotypical version of the devil, promising to bring peace and tranquility to the planet. But their gift comes with a very large caveat.
Another Syfy series based on a novel is The Expanse which also debuts December 14. The Expanse takes place several hundred years in the future when mankind has spread out from the Earth, is living all around the solar system and is mining the asteroid belt for resources when a deadly secret is uncovered that puts the future of humanity in doubt.
A TV version of the Michael Crichton novel/film Westworld is set for HBO sometime after the new year. The original Westworld story followed guests at lavish themed resorts staffed by robots that turn on them who have to fight for their lives. Reportedly, in this updated version the robots/beings of Westworld don’t know that they’re living in a simulated reality and think what they’re experiencing is real.
Returning series
Though it doesn’t always seem that way during slow months, but at times modern TV is an embarrassment of riches. Nowadays there are quality series not only during the fall and winter but spring and summer months too both on television and the various streaming services too. So many so that even though I watched a lot of TV last season there simply wasn’t enough hours and I couldn’t keep up with everything so I was forced to skip quite a few shows I’d normally check out.
There are so many riches that I’ve come to the realization that some series that I think are just alright are really very good. It’s just that when an “alright” show is being judged against future-classics they come off more pale in comparison than they would otherwise.
First up this fall is the ninth modern (35th if you include the classic) season of Doctor Who on Saturday, September 19 on BBC America. This second season with Peter Capaldi starring as the title role will run 13 episodes including the traditional Christmas episode. From its reboot a decade ago Doctor Who has been a solid sci-fi show with a lot of heart.
ABC’s comedies Fresh off the Boat and Black-ish return Tuesday, September 22 and The Goldbergs Wednesday, September 23. These comedies aren’t great but they usually funny and sometimes that’s enough.
The second season of The Last Man on Earth premiers Sunday, September 27 on Fox. I thought the first season was good, abet maybe not enough “last man”, but I’m honestly interested in where this one picks up after the events of the first season finale.
The drama following the creation of the atomic bomb Manhattan returns to WGN Tuesday, October 13. I’m not sure many watched this show but I genuinely liked a lot of Manhattan where the secrets the people keep who are developing the a-bomb are almost as destructive as the weapon itself.
The second season of The Knick on Cinemax about the hospital of the same name in New York at the turn of the last century, debuts Friday, October 16. The first season was produced and entirely directed by Steven Soderbergh and was one of the best things on TV last year. And Soderbergh’s again returning to the directing chair and is filming each and every episode this season too. The Knick is the rare show that takes a look at a mostly forgotten time on our history where the world was moving to a time of scientific wonders and horrors too.
I’m a huge Star Wars fan and am excited about the return of the animated series Star Wars Rebels Wednesday, October 14 to Disney XD. This series takes place between episodes III and IV in a time where the Empire was the unequivocal ruler of the galaxy and the crew of the ship the Ghost are just trying to make a legal if they can, illegal if the must, buck. But as the first season progressed and the rebellion agains the Empire began to spark the question becomes does the crew join up and fight and put their lives on the line or do they play it safe and try and stay small and under the radar of the Empire?
I very nearly included the upcoming reboot of The X-Files as a new series since the show’s been off the air 13 years at this point, but decided that it’s a returning show since it features all the same cast and writers from the classic show returning to this new one on Sunday, January 24. Honestly, I can’t wait for the return of The X-Files even though late in its original run the series became overwrought in trying to maintain its conspiracy storylines and had an unremarkable ending for a remarkable show. Yet the first time I saw Mulder and Scully in the new promos and heard the eerie theme again I got goosebumps.
And sometime after the new year two of the best shows on TV returns; The Americans on FX and Better Call Saul on AMC.
Now in its fourth season, The Americans looks to pick up after the devastating events of the third season that left the Jennings’ family in ruins. Is there hope for the Soviet spies in 1980s Washington DC when members of their own family want to defect to the other (our) side?
Better Call Saul was a revelation to me last winter. I was never one that was able to get into the TV series Breaking Bad. All of my friends who watched that show loved it and I’ve tried watching it several times but for whatever reason I could just never get into it. So I almost didn’t watch Better Call Saul since it’s a prequel of sorts to Breaking Bad but luckily I did. Better Call Saul traces how sad-sack lawyer Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) one day becomes ambulance chasing do whatever it takes to win a case/make money law be damned Saul Goodman.
Everything about the first season of Better Call Saul was wonderful and its the rare show that when one episode ended I’d spend the next week waiting with excitement for the next one to start.