22. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-1UT7ibxZ8 I like this approach to trailers. It is more like a behind the scenes video with pieces of footage intertwined. It's something Hitchcock used to do but hasn't been done much since. Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood, and others talk about the book series and films while showing CGI creatures coming to life and costumed characters goofing around on set. I wish this was done more often. Maybe Jackson will resurrect this idea with The Hobbit this year. I'd love to see it done again. 21. Skyfall (2012)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MZASvI57zM I hope Skyfall is good. I really loved Casino Royale and was brutally let down by Quantum of Solace, but I feel we are in good hands with Skyfall, or so the trailer makes it seem. We get beautiful cinematography from Roger Deakins, looks at some of the best actors we have working today, and glimpses of some great looking action. Will it deliver? I hope so, but this is one of the best cut trailers of not only this year, but many many years. We're finally getting a new Q and a potentially classic Bond villain in Javier Bardem, so let's hope Sam Mendes and crew make something that lives up to this trailer.
20. War of the Worlds (2005)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2x09p55dps This trailer is a perfect example of why Spielberg is great. You take a trailer that on paper is conventional-images of normal people, something destroying the Earth, etc-and do it better than anyone else. The narration is kind of corny, but the images and transitions are interesting. The meat of the trailer is the families exiting their homes and doing Spielberg faces, looking off into the distance at something captivating but terrifying. Anyone can tell this is a Spielberg trailer by the time that happens. The trailer has a great sense of foreboding terror, and the film does a great job of expanding it. Spielberg has a tendency for making great trailers, and this one is no exception.