50 Greatest Movie Posters Of 2011

Hobo With A Shotgun

The Poster: Brings Grindhouse to the world of posters, as a cartoonised Rutger Hauer wields a massive rifle.

Coolest Detail: The whole thing positively oozes cool.

Human Centipede: Full Sequence

The Poster: Just as nightmarish as Tom Six’s grubby sequel.

Coolest Detail: The ‘100% medically inaccurate’ tagline. At least it’s up front about that.

The Iron Lady

The Poster: Featuring the Iron Lady herself, as portrayed by the very-not-iron-like Meryl Streep. Oscar here we come.

Coolest Detail: The fact that we just can’t stop staring at it and going ‘My God, how did she do it?’

Insidious

The Poster: Elicits chills without even trying, as horrible red hands reach for a vacant cut out off a little kid.

Coolest Detail: The fact that it takes the expressionistic route – something most horrors don’t have the guts for these days.

Shame

The Poster: Knows that the film’s gathered so much steam/acclaim on the festival circuit that it doesn’t even need its stars to appear on the poster. Nice.

Coolest Detail: Michael Fassbender’s name being so close to Steve McQueen’s again. We like this.

Melancholia

The Poster: Instantly iconic, moody and dreamy, this is one you wouldn’t mind having framed on your lounge wall.

Coolest Detail: The painterly quality, not to mention Kirsten Dunst’s solemn expression. Ah, she’s all growed up.

Drive

The Poster: Shafts of light add a dash of style, but the style here is all Gosling’s, as he strikes an effortlessly charismatic pose for the Drive one-sheet.

Coolest Detail: Gosling and that outfit. Ho mama.

Bridesmaids

The Poster: Sticks two fingers at cuddly romcom posters by having its female cast pose moodily against a horrible brick wall.

Coolest Detail: It’s sort of like the Usual Suspects one sheet. Only pinker.

The Ides Of March

The Poster: Hints that Ryan Gosling could very well be the successor to George Clooney’s throne of awesome one day.

Coolest Detail: How these guys look absolutely nothing alike, and yet somehow sort of do here. Cleverness.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

The Poster: Doesn’t even need the film’s title for us to know what’s going on here.

Coolest Detail: Rooney Mara proves she’s willing to do anything for the role, even going topless for the poster. This girl’s got balls.

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.