My Favorite Movie Trailers of 2015

Movie trailers have become an entirely different beast. No longer are they afterthoughts – they’ve become art forms in their own right. The best trailers are the ones you watch repeatedly. Sometimes they’re better than the films they’re promoting. They have memorable sequences of imagery and music. Here are the ones that stuck with me through 2015:

12. The Secret Life of Pets

I remember a time when Pixar used to promote their films with teaser trailers that featured no actual footage from the film. The trailers were made solely for the trailer. This ‘Secret Life of Pets’ teaser trailer is in the same vein as that, at least, I think it is. And no, this is not a Pixar film. It’s cute, fun, and funny. Most importantly, it’s simple and doesn’t reveal any plot whatsoever.

11. Zootopia

I’ve been cautious about Disney’s follow-up to ‘Frozen’ and ‘Big Hero 6’ because the premise doesn’t exactly sound too promising, and it seems more like something Dreamworks would do. But I have to admit I laughed a lot at this sloth-heavy trailer for ‘Zootopia’, so now I’m more optimistic.

10. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Whether or not you like director Zack Snyder, you must admit his style is absolutely perfect for movie trailers. This trailer showcases beautiful imagery with preachy dialogue and intense scenes between Batman and Superman. This trailer alone would’ve been enough, but nope, Warner Bros. made the same mistake others have made by showing way too much in their follow-up trailer.

9. Suicide Squad

We have to applaud Warner Bros. and DC Comics for doing something different from Marvel, in this case, making a film focusing solely on the villains. The trailer follows a current movie trailer trend in its use of a haunting musical cover. It absolutely suits the tone and imagery depicted. Also that ticking logo at the beginning is a nice touch.

8. Steve Jobs

This trailer does an excellent job at encompassing the film’s three time periods of Steve Jobs’ life. It showcases some of the film’s flashiest editing sequences, the intense dialogue-driven plot, and I appreciate the first half of the trailer closing in tightly to form an “i,” as well as a typing icon.

7. Mad Max: Fury Road

At this point in time, I still have not been able to see this film, but I’ve heard such good things. The trailer shows the film’s beautiful and over-saturated imagery, as well as non-stop action. It’s so intense it’s memorable.

6. The Good Dinosaur

This trailer for ‘The Good Dinosaur’ is not dialogue-heavy, and neither is the film. So we bask in its gorgeously animated scenery and backdrops. Supported by the equally beautiful music of ‘Of Monsters and Men’, this is one of the trailers I couldn’t forget.

5. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

One of the most underrated and criminally under-seen films of 2015, the trailer for ‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’ showcases the film’s balance of humor as well as heartbreak. And the best part? It makes sure to tell you it’s not a “touching, romantic story.” Using “I Bet My Life” by ‘Imagine Dragons’ is perfect.

4. Joy

This entire trailer is just so well-edited. I love this rendition of “You Don’t Always Get What You Want.” And the best part is that it’s memorable without revealing any specific plot details.

3. The Revenant

The film’s beautiful cinematography, using natural lighting, was meant to be showcased in a trailer. Again, this trailer reveals little information. The scenes edited together with the breathing sound effect is very well-done.

2. Room

I wish I could’ve seen ‘Room’ when it was in theatres. This trailer wonderfully depicts the film’s grim subject matter. It starts off as if everything is normal, only to pan out and reveal the character’s scary reality.

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I would’ve included every trailer for ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ had the first teaser trailer not been released in 2014. What’s amazing about the trailers for the new ‘Star Wars’ film is that there’s only three of them, and none of them reveal major plot points. When people saw these trailers, they saw iconic ‘Star Wars’ imagery, beautiful music, as well as intense images and action, yet they couldn’t say what the actual storyline was. In a world where major blockbusters are showing everything in their trailers (the worst offense is ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2’), it’s worth mentioning. I also really love that the trailers say “This Christmas…,” as the film truly was the best Christmas present. It showed that this was an event worth celebrating.