Best Movie Trailers of 2017
Watching movie trailers is one of my favorite past times, and as the internet continues to grow, so does the popularity of trailers. It's gotten so big studios now release trailers for trailers, which is ridiculous - and I hate it. But when trailers are done well, damn are they exciting to watch. As you'll see below, I tend to lean more towards teaser trailers because they're usually better edited, reveal less information, and rely more on powerful imagery.
When I started this list I had about 30 notable film trailers, and it took a lot of time to narrow it down. But the following are what I feel are the ten best trailers of the year.
10. Annihilation | Teaser Trailer
Dubbed an "unfilmable" novel, 'Annihilation' is the new film from writer/director Alex Garland ('Ex Machina'). The teaser is beautiful to watch, while also giving off a strong feeling of dread. I don't know anything about this film or the book, but I need to see this film in 2018.
9. A Wrinkle in Time | Teaser Trailer
This teaser trailer follows the popular movie trailer trend of using a slowed-down cover of a popular song, in this case its "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by the Eurythmics. This is from visionary director Ava Duvernay, which is pretty exciting already, and then there's the fact it's the first film with a $100+ million budget that's directed by a black woman! The film looks beautiful, I like the song choice, and I especially like the ticking clock effect in the title sequence at the end of the trailer.
8. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Teaser Trailer
This looks like no other animated film, and it stars a black Spider-Man! I'm also excited by the fact this film is written by Phil Lord, one half of the brilliant directing duo behind such films as '21 Jump Street', 'The Lego Movie', and kinda-sorta 'Solo: A Star Wars Story'.
7. Black Panther | Teaser Trailer
The trailer utilizes a pumping song choice ("Legend Has It" by Run the Jewels) really well. From writer/director Ryan Coogler ('Fruitvale Station' & 'Creed'), starring an all-star cast of black excellence, this just looks plain awesome.
6. Ingrid Goes West | Red Band Trailer
I haven't seen this film yet, and I'd only just found out about it a week ago, but I really, really want to watch it after seeing this trailer. It features some pretty laugh-out-loud jokes and an interesting premise. Plus, Aubrey Plaza is amazing.
5. Ready Player One | SDCC Teaser
Also based on a novel that was once thought to be unfilmable, 'Ready Player One' is from the great Steven Spielberg and features a plot that involves heavy pop culture references. The trailer takes us to another world and cleverly uses an instrumental of "Pure Imagination" from 'Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory'.
4. It | Teaser Trailer
I don't usually care for American horror films because, let's face it, they're usually pretty bad. But this teaser trailer for 'It' is both terrifying and captivating, and it immediately made me want to rewatch the trailer. I give it props for making me actually go out to the theater to watch a horror film. That scene of the projector going haywire and slowly depicting IT is my favorite scene from the trailer and the film.
3. Star Wars: The Last Jedi | Teaser Trailer
Disney knows how to make great trailers, especially for their new 'Star Wars' films. They're always impactful despite revealing no plot details. It helps that 'The Last Jedi' is the most beautiful 'Star Wars' film ever made. The start of the trailer where it looks like a shot of space but reveals itself to be stone, clever. The end of the trailer when Luke says "it's time for the Jedi to end" is powerful.
2. Flatliners | Trailer 2
I couldn't breathe watching this trailer.
1. Detroit | Trailers 1, 2, & Still I Rise
I tried really, really hard to just pick one trailer from this film but I couldn't do it, so I have to slightly cheat my own system and allow three trailers for this #1 slot. The first two are more terrifying whereas the third is more uplifting, featuring a famous poem by the late Maya Angelou. Either way, the trailers are impactful and showcase a horrifying moment in American history concerning police brutality and systematic racism that's still timely as ever.
The film is from Academy-Award winning writer/director Kathryn Bigelow ('The Hurt Locker' & 'Zero Dark Thirty'). It's been out for a while now, but unfortunately I still haven't been able to see it. But I need to asap!
