No, I haven’t actually got round to seeing this joint yet (not sure if I really will), but I know that pesky lil’ asterisk has been confounding Marvel mavericks for a while. So let’s look at some other films with unconventional punctuation.
– Thunderbolts* (Asterisk)
I don’t have much motivation to watch this one despite reviews saying it’s better than the few MCU films (uh…not exactly a selling point, consider the quality of those last few guys). But hey, I’ve gotta give a shout out for the use of that asterisk in the film title. As far as unusual punctuation usage goes in the punctuation world, that’s pretty darn unique. Nice. I had a quick check to see if there were other titles around which had an asterisk in their title, but google unhelpfully just brought up a load of films concerning that dude from the comic. You know, Asterix. Makes sense, I guess.
But after doing a deeper dive on IMDb, I suppose there’s M*A*S*H, which I hadn’t considered. And apparently there’s a 2004 film titled What the #$*! Do We (K)now!?. But that just feels like a lame excuse to hide an expletive. Not good enough. There’s also another one called 61*. And another one called Bigger Stronger Faster*. Cool. But I’m basically just scrolling down IMDb right now. The point is, the use of the asterisk in today’s modern world feels unique and refreshing.
Does it work? Yes
Romeo + Juliet (Plus sign)
Whoa there, Baz Luhrmann’s at it again with his fancy shmancy visual poster coding. It gets across that star-crossed lovers vibe, though. Because, in a way, that plus sign is essentially, a cross. Whoa. Deep. But yeah, it’s good at doing what it does. They’re an item, y’know.
You might be shocked to discover, however, that this love symbolism with that old plus sign wasn’t the only usage in film. Ten years later, that ol’ addition fella was used again in 2006’s Tristan + Isolde. Again used to express that love couple vibe. Intriguing.
Does it work? Yes
WALL-E (Capital Letters)
2008 was a simpler time. Not as many goobers going online and announcing their presence to the internet by writing in lovely duvely caps lock. BECAUSE YOU KNOW YOU”RE AN IMPORTANT AND MEANGINGFUL INDIVIDUAL WHEN YOU”RE TYPING IN BIG BLOCKY CAPS LOCK AND IT MAKES YOU COME ACROSS AS A WELL BALANCED AND WHOLESOME MEMBER OF THE HUMAN RACE.
Yeah. Clue. It doesn’t. But in the context of Pixar’s beloved classic, I guess it does. It gets across that robot vibe, anyway. We’ve seen it before in other flicks like THX 1138 (and some numbers for extra intrigue, woo!), K-9 (dogen, hooray), K-PAX (weird alien film?) and K-19: The Widowmaker (macho submarine film, woo). Well, yeah, a lot of ks are capitalised, apparently. Food for thought.
Does it work? Yeah, I suppose so…
Airplane! (Exclamation Mark)
Ah, the humble exclamation mark. It’s been used a lot over the years. Mostly in comedies, which makes sense. It was used in Airplane! to satirise disaster movies from that era (the 70s) and it’s used for general comedic aplomb. It’s used in musicals too, like Moulin Rouge! (yay) and Mamma Mia! (boo). The exclamation mark is a fairly conventional mainstay in the realm of film. But that doesn’t mean it’s not effective when used well.
And it is used pretty well in Airplane! Or at least I think it is. My judgement is probably clouded from how much I like the film. I mean, it’s not the kind of film that’s ever going to be made in the modern era, but I still like it.
Does it work? Yes?
Se7en (Number)
Now here’s the big hitter. And it’s a pretty genius yet simple hitter. It’s a word puzzle as well as a number puzzle. You read the title first and then you go ‘Huh. Something’s not right here’. Then you go back and realise there’s a goshdarn number wedged between those letter dudes. But you probably said the title correctly in your head anyway. Why? Well, there’s only one letter that can go between ‘Se’ and ‘en’ in the English language. And that’s ‘v’. That’s right. David Fincher’s playin’ mind games with ya. Sure, the number ‘7’ doesn’t particularly look like a ‘v’, but the gimmick works regardless.
Winner? Thunderbolts* put in a sterling effort, but Se7en swooped in last to get the peculiar punctuation prize. And with a number at that. Impressive.