Favourite Trailers of 2012: Katey Stoetzel!

As 2012 winds down, and the last of the year’s movies are finally released into theaters, everyone begins writing up their “Best of” and “Worst of” lists. I love this time of year because of two things: 1) Christmas and 2) those lists. They are a great reminder of movies that I had forgotten about or movies that I still need to see before the year is over. However, this Best of list is slightly different. While everyone thinks about their favorite movies and their least favorite movies, I’m going to lay down my top 15 movie trailers of 2012.

As excited as I am to go see a movie at the theater, I always look forward to the new batch of previews the most. When I went and saw “Argo,” which is a fantastic film you can read my review somewhere on this site, and the theater failed to show any previews, I was so disappointed I almost walked out of there. What I love about movie trailers is that audience only gets part of the story, which allows them to fill in the rest of it with their imagination. If the year was 2010, “Inception” would hold all 15 spots because of its ability to intrigue us, while at the same time telling us almost nothing about the plot. This type of marketing gets movie goers to speculate with their friends, come up with theories, and most importantly, get them to the theater to check it out. Trailers are also a place we get a first look at the soundtrack. Pick one or two great songs to represent the movie in the trailer, and you got yourself a killer preview. And while the actual movie is usually a better payoff than the trailer, those 2 and a half minutes of footage are special, simply because they are the first look at films we will eventually grow to love.

15. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

When this particular trailer debuted in February, so many people immediately shot it down. I’m not ashamed to say that I was excited about this movie because its trailer is great. With Lincoln giving familiar speeches as voiceover, and him chopping down vampires left and right, it really feels like an epic History/Fantasy film. Fates would prove otherwise, however. Despite negative reviews, I feel the marketing was good enough for it to make number 15 on this list. Plus, it was good to see vampires being cut down for a change, instead of idolized like in some movies.

14. Gangster Squad

The preview for this film noir is everything but boring. Complete with Jay-Z’s “Oh My God” we have Ryan Gosling being awesome, Sean Penn being awesome awful, and Emma Stone being awesome. Overall, everyone is awesome in this trailer. While it gives us a basic plot-gangsters, drugs, guns, rivals, etc-we are still left with wondering where this film is going. Is Ryan Gosling a bad guy or a good guy? Why don’t more people wear hats anymore? And why aren’t Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone dating in real life yet?

13. Movie 43

What makes this trailer so great is how it manages to tickle our funny bone while never actually explaining what the movie is about. All we get are various celebrities acting in different comedic moments. And that’s why it is awesome! With that many celebrities, ranging from Emma Stone, Chris Pratt, Kate Winselt, Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, Terrence Howard plus many more, this movie is sure to be something different, and the trailer proves just that.

12. Looper

Time travel movies are special because they beg the question that if you had the ability to travel in time, would you go back and change something, or go forward? But the preview for Looper tells us it is playing a different game, and that we should buckle our seat belts because Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis are here to wreck some havoc.

11. Django Unchained

This spaghetti western trailer screams Quentin Tarantino. Filled with humor, blood and an evil Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained’s trailer could not be more satisfying. And if I’m thinking correctly, this is Leo’s first role as an antagonist, correct? Should be quite interesting.

10. The Walking Dead Season 3 Comic Con Trailer

I realize this is not a movie, but the 4 minute preview of the first part of season 3 of The Walking Dead that premiered at this summer’s Comic Con was rife with spectacular footage and an eerie tone. I watched this thing about a billion times, though that was probably because I was having Walking Dead withdrawals, which is probably also the reason why I’m including it on this list. Seriously though, for a tv show, this trailer is pretty wicked.

9. Argo

What got me interested in Argo is the camera work by Mr. Ben Affleck that was apparent in the trailer. Just from those couple of minutes, it was clear this movie was not messing around. Mixed with real-life footage, this trailer really showed how serious of a director Affleck is turning out to be.

8. The Hobbit

Say what you will about the movie, but the trailer certainly had even the most cynical excited about going back to Middle Earth. And that’s what I think is best about the movie and the trailer: seeing the familiar characters, hearing the familiar music, and having the chance to see it on the big screen again. From the trailer, we got that The Hobbit had more of a lighter tone than the LOTR trilogy, but there was that sense of adventure from Mr. Bilbo Baggins that got us excited to embark on that adventure with him. And who doesn’t love the reappearance of Gollum? Side note: I just want to say that the scene with Bilbo and Gollum in the cave is one of the best scenes from films this year.

7. Les Miserables

I’m not a big fan of musicals really, but the art direction of this trailer and movie have me very excited about seeing this. It’s clear even from the trailer how great the performances are, and while I’m not all that familiar with the story of Les Mis, I can tell just from two minutes that this is an important story.

6. Iron Man 3

After two Iron Man movies and The Avengers, its clear that Robert Downing Jr. has got the role of Tony Stark/Iron Man down pat. So it’s not him that makes this trailer so good, but rather the scale of the story. This time around, it seems we have a more darker story than the previous two, and with the pretty good action sequences in this trailer, it’s clear this will not be another Iron Man 2.

5. Man of Steel Teaser Trailer

Movie goers got their first glance at Zack Snyder’s re-imagined Superman film “Man of Steel” during “The Dark Knight Rises” this past summer. This teaser trailer gave me goosebumps. The first gritty image made it clear this was no Superman Returns, and I think everyone can agree that when the camera showed young Clark Kent going into the Superman stance, tears burst from our eyes, and from that moment, we were sold. Plus, Zack Snyder knows how to make a red cape look really freaking cool.

4. Perks of Being a Wallflower

The second Imagine Dragons launched into their growing up anthem, we knew this was a feel good movie worth seeing. Even though the trailer makes Perks seem more light hearted than it really is, it leaves the darkness as a surprise, and first captures a growing up movie that we all can relate to, and that’s what got us to the theater, even if we had already read the book.

3. Oblivion

When I first heard of the synopsis for Tom Cruise’s “Oblivion,” I was not interested in the slightest. But the trailer is absolutely gorgeous to look at, and while the plot still doesn’t seem all that interesting, the camera work and action set pieces might be worth the trip to the theater next April.

2. Star Trek Into Darkness

Since the teaser trailer, theatrical trailer, and the nine minute preview all premiered around the same time, I’m grouping them together. The teaser trailer contains no dialogue, except for Benedict Cumberbatch’s voice over, which is why I like it better than the longer version because hello Benedict Cumberbatch. Star Trekking isn’t really included in either of them, but the special effects of both trailers really pulls you in to see how grand of a scale this movie is on. The nine minute preview was gorgeous, and I won’t get too spoiler-y for those who haven’t seen it yet, but if the movie is anything like that 9 minutes, we are in for a real treat. Also, Star Trek Into Darkness might be worth checking out in 3D.

1. Man of Steel Theatrical Trailer

Not only is this my favorite trailer from this year, it also does the best job at pulling the audience in for a story that we think we know, but will ultimately be surprised about, surely. Everything from the visual effects, to the cinematography, the tone, and the anticipation of what kind of Superman character does Henry Cavill have in stores for us, is what makes “Man of Steel” the most looked forward to movie of 2013. Plus, that damn red cape!