While we should not have a #11, there should also not be a trailer for Thundercats. Taking the internet by storm, the fanmade trailer for Thundercats takes advantage of Adobe and clips from a collection of films including The Chronicles of Riddick, X-Men, Troy and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; to name a few. The project took ‘WormyTV’ a year and a half to get done, and the results make this one of the best fanmade trailers we’ve seen since Grayson. Watch Now »
#10 Australia (Feature Trailer)
Featuring little dialogue, 20th Century Fox rests on the visuals provided by Baz Luhrmann, various mugshots of both Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, who can’t help but go shirtless for the female auds, and an excellent score thanks to the song “The Only Moment We Were Alone” by Explosions in the Sky. Watch Now »
#9 9 (Trailer)
Did you expect to see this film anywhere else on the list? Based on the animated short of the same name, as created at UCLA by Shane Acker, 9 is one of the last trailers released for 2008. Making it just in time, the trailer deserves a top ten spot for a variety of reasons. While we could rant and rave about the film’s unique story and incredible look, what originally turned our heads was the use of Coheed and Cambria’s “Welcome Home” as the preview’s score. Genius! Watch Now »
#8 Revolutionary Road (Sea of Love Trailer)
Every trailer for Revolutionary Road provided a selectively picked track. It was Trailer B, however, where Paramount Vantage showed they were not afraid to cover the film’s not-so-happy topic: a troubled marriage. How better to show that than with no dialogue, troubled faces, and an acoustic version of Cat Power’s “Sea of Love”, which begins to skip near the end. We get it – this is not a feel good movie. Watch Now »
#7 Wolverine (Trailer)
As shown in the past couple years, adaptations take a lot of work to get right. While Singer’s X-Men and X-Men: United succeeded in telling the story of this band of mutants and, more importantly, Wolverine, the third installment fell short. With a selection of other comic book and video game adaptations missing the mark, the franchise looked as if it could be falling into a parody of itself. 20th Century Fox responded with the first official trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Showcasing the birth of “Wolverine” and tons of geeky cool action, the franchise looks back to form. The only letdown was having the word “damn” cut out of the final segment while Wolverine talks to Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber). Where’s a red band when you need one? Watch Now »
#6 The Fall (Trailer)
“Magnificent,” says Roger Ebert. While the critic’s stamp of approval at least generates curiosity, it is Tarsem Singh’s visuals that capture our attention. Storytelling and Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 7 - Movement II” never looked or sounded (in the words of Catinca Untaru’s Alexandria), “So beautiful.” Watch Now »
#5 The Dark Knight (Trailer)
If it ain’t broke, why fix it? Using Hans Zimmer’s score from Batman Begins, the film’s first feature trailer opens with an introduction from Heath Ledger’s Joker. Speaking of the Joker, the preview shows that this character, or should we say Heath Ledger, is the star of this movie. The cast looks familiar, save for Maggie Gyllenhaal, who makes a credible replacement as Rachel Dawes. Just in case you weren’t entirely convinced, the preview was sure to prove that one could actually flip an 18-wheeler without CG enhancement. Watch Now »
#4 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Teaser Trailer)
How do you pitch the idea of a man aging backwards? While having Brad Pitt star is a great start, the whole backwards ticking clock kicks off the message. Well, that, some footage shown in reverse, and multiple shots of Brad Pitt growing younger. Get the message? How about a final shot of an aged lady walking with a small child?
To further set the mood, the teaser takes advantage of the score “Aquarium” from Camille Saint-Saëns. Watch Now »
#3 Pineapple Express (Red Band Trailer)
“I fly like paper, get high likes planes.”
Could there have been better song selection than MIA’s “Paper Planes,” as originally heard in the film’s first red band trailer? While having action-comedy centered around marijuana could mean immediate comedic glory, the trailer was the first to show a goofy, red-eyed James Franco. Having him “kick out the window” was like icing on this THC-laced cake. Watch Now »
#2 Star Trek (Trailer)
Trekkies unite! The first feature trailer for Star Trek provided a compilation of goodies including a super-young James Tiberius (or was it Siberius?) Kirk, what looks to be the NCC-1701 under construction, just about the entire crew, the villain (Eric Bana), and action that felt reminiscent to Wrath of Khan! All fueled by adrenaline-pumping music. Watch Now »
#1 Watchmen (Trailer)
It comes as no surprise that our first trailer to ever pass one-million embeds is also the top pick of the year. With Smashing Pumpkins providing the score with “The Beginning is the End is the Beginning,” the trailer not only gave us our first big introduction to the story’s ensemble of characters, but set the tone nicely.
Who’s distributing this film again? Watch Now »
And there you have it! TrailerAddict's Top 10 trailers for 2008!
