Kinematoscope

A look at the taglines for this week's major releases. How do studios try to hook us when they only have a sentence?

Actual Taglines: If You Need Heroes, Send In The Basterds

OR: A basterd's work is never done.

OR: You haven't seen war untill you've seen it through the eyes of Quentin Tarantino.

OR: several others.

One of the most ubiquitously promoted movies of the summer ends up with several official slogans, naturally. Four have quotes from the film, or the character posters have the format "Brad Pitt is a Basterd." Or you get the ones above touting the the film's in-your-face misspelling, which honestly has been annoying me all summer.

Of the title (spelled correctly in the early poster above), Tarantino says: "Here's the thing. I'm never going to explain that. You do an artistic flourish like that, and to explain it would just take the piss out of it and invalidate the whole stroke in the first place." Would it? Really? I think he just doesn't want to admit that he likes lolcatz.

Also I think people that have actually, y'know, seen war might take exception to that third one.



Actual Tagline: Now What?

OR: A Pre-Life Crisis.

As a former English major, I can sympathize with the idea of this movie, but not with the terrible play on "mid-life" in the second tag.



Actual Tagline: Not So TALL Tales From The Director Of 'Spy Kids'

I once was a child. I can't remember if I found bad puns amusing then, but kid's movies sure seem to assume that all kids must.