100 Best Trailers (1/2)

Welcome to the 100 Best Trailers of 2006. This is the 6th Annual List dating back to 2001 and my second year bringing it exclusively to JoBlo.com. If you visit the Trailers Page frequently, you should know my tastes quite well. Sit back and scan the list for your favorite trailer or movie of the year. Sometimes great trailers make great movies and other times they make you see awful movies. Don’t hesitate to strike back below if you think I must be completely nuts.

The 100 Best Trailers are listed in order from worst to first. Bear in mind that each year over 400 hundred trailers are released and not every one can fit on this list. The selection of the 100 Best is not compiled by the site as a whole, nor is it based on reader feedback. This is not a survey, nor did anyone vote. Just one blo’s opinion on things.

Selection of the 100 Best depends on a multitude of criteria. Paramount to making a great trailer, previews must excel in edit, music selection, character and story development, and originality. There are standard types of trailers that movie audiences are accustomed to seeing; this list intends to encourage filmmakers and marketing firms to break those molds. Each movie is only allowed one entry on the list. The power of the movie trailer is not in the safe and secure track, but the exploration of new ways to grab the audience’s attention. Trailers that were released last year (like MIAMI VICE’s teaser) are not qualified for this list.

This list will consist of two parts 100-41 and 40-1. I will feature the Worst Trailer of the year on my personal MYJOBLO Profile. Previous Best of the Years Winners include: JARHEAD, GARDEN STATE, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, FEMME FATALE, and 40 DAYS, 40 NIGHTS.

SPOTLIGHT – # 84 JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE A movie that likely would have been forgotten if not for this trailer. Against some stiff competition this flick opened to $14m in the middle of the summer. The trailer isn’t perfect, but it’s way above average for a by-the-numbers premise such as this. This trailer is almost as good and memorable as the trailer for MEAN GIRLS.

SPOTLIGHT – # 59 ZODIAC Despite the decent ranking of this trailer, I found this preview to be quite the disappointment. Fanboys have been waiting patiently for David Fincher to follow up PANIC ROOM. Unfortunately, this trailer wasn’t a knock out and we’re left with an above average thriller preview. Nevertheless, I’m still expecting this movie to impress when it hits theaters. The potential is still there, this trailer is only missing the delivery.

SPOTLIGHT – # 50 FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS/LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA This placement is for the combo trailer for Clint Eastwood’s epic two-movie examination of the battle of Iwo Jima. Individually the trailers for these movies are a bit thin, but the initial combo trailer hit just the right blend of both stories. This trailer conveys the intense sacrifice of Japanese soldiers, while supporting the visuals of the American invasion force. Nothing here looks over computer generated or unnecessary.

Make sure to check back the rest of this week for the remainder of the list!