New ‘Hangover’ and ‘Thor’ posters make it feel like summer’s here

It’s summer, right?

I get confused because of the way I see movies.  My schedule is not the same as the calendar schedule, and it leads to some confusion about when things are coming out and how soon they’re going to be screening for the general public.

When I start seeing all the marketing materials for the summer movies kicking into high gear, it makes me feel like the season is actually starting instead of still a month or more away.  Today, there are two new posters out for May releases, and they both do a nice job of selling tone.

So far, I like that they’re playing things understated for the campaign for “The Hangover Part II.”  There’s no reason to play hardball with an audience when you’re making a sequel to the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all time.  I like that the poster is just an image for the four guys looking pretty much worn down and burnt out.  I still laugh every time I see Ed Helms and his Tyson-style face tattoo, and it’s looking more and more like that monkey is this movie’s equivalent to the baby in the first movie.

Here’s the one-sheet:


And there’s also a new IMAX poster for “Thor.”  It’s cool that IMAX has their own posters for many of the big releases, and this “Thor” poster is simple and dynamic, conveying a sense of power and anger.  Appropriate enough for a Thunder God:


They’re going to be showing a chunk of “Thor” footage at CinemaCon in Vegas tonight, so I would bet you’ll be reading some breathless descriptions of that footage soon.  I’m happy waiting a month instead of ruining yet another movie watching it in 20-minute chunks at a time.  I have real expectations for “Thor.”  I’ve read the script, and I’ve seen a lot of what they’ve done on-set, and while it’s a hard film to boil down to 30 seconds, I think it could be a really cool new corner of the Marvel Universe.

“The Hangover Part II” opens everywhere on May 26, 2011.
“Thor” opens in theaters and IMAX on May 6, 2011.