The 10 Most Sensational English Movie Trailers

Image: Hugo trailer
Raja Sen in Mumbai

Some trailers just make our jaws drop. Here are 10 trailers of forthcoming Hollywood movies that really did it for me. Go watch.

Hugo

"It's Neverland and Oz and Treasure Island all wrapped into one," says the talented young Chloe Moretz in Scorsese's old-school and gorgeous new family adventure, coming to theatres this Christmas.

It's an adventure involving a heart-shaped keyhole, a robot, Sacha Baron Cohen in a Clouseau-esque turn and Jude Law reminding us of Lemony Snickets, but the energy and enthusiasm is very infectious.

The film, one where Scorsese doffs his weatherbeaten hat to cinema itself, from creation to pulsating life, marks the master director's first turn at 3D, and while cynicism for the technology is rife, the first run of reviews are gushing already and Marty's approach to the doubters can be summed up in his young hero's retort when the girl warns him that they could get into trouble:

"That's how you know it's an adventure."

Young Adult

Image: Young Adult trailer

Jason Reitman is one of Hollywood's most interesting filmmakers, one who has gone from strength to strength in his excellent first three features: Thank You For Smoking, Juno and Up In The Air.

Now, as we see Charlize Theron trying hard to ignore a barking pink handbag, it seems Reitman's trying a fresh spin on the cliched Hollywood tale of a loser returning home in search of a high school sweetheart.

David Bowie's Queen Bitch sets the tone and the film follows, with an utterly unlikeable (and baby-hating) Charlize being given relationship advice by a befuddled Patton Oswald.

50/50

Image: 50/50 trailer

Does having cancer work as a pick-up line? The answers to that unlikely stumper and other unfathomable questions lie in the trailer for this buddy dramedy directed by Jonathan Levine.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt isn't alone in coming to grips with the fact that he has cancer; his friend Seth Rogen is just as confounded, if not more. Gordon-Levitt's told his chances of making it are 50/50, which, Rogen feels, are better than any odds a casino game can offer.

Will everything be fine? And what if it isn't? Here's a film that really may have something to offer -- even if not all the answers.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Image: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy trailer

As John Le Carre showed us in the fascinating, genre-redefining novel of the same name, a really good mystery is about feeling. About texture. About a cast made up of compelling players, each real and grey and beautifully-etched.

This beautiful book is a devilish one to adapt, but Tomas Alfredson won us over with the superlative Let The Right One In a few years ago, and his English language debut has a cast to salivate over: John Hurt, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Toby Jones and Mark Strong all star, led by Gary Oldman as the legendary George Smiley.

And the music, taken from Danny Elfman's Wolfman soundtrack, is an immaculate choice.

The Avengers

Image: The Avengers trailers

It's what most of Marvel's big summer movies have been building up to. Iron Man, Thor, Nick Fury, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye and The Hulk all band together in the biggest superhero all-stars movie you can imagine.

This bunch could eat the X-Men for breakfast (well, maybe not Wolverine.) Directed by Serenity's Joss Whedon, the trailer is crackling good fun -- hitting peak with a smashing retort from Iron Man to Captain America as Thor looks on and laughs -- with just the right kind of energy and spirit.

The star power on board is formidable (Robert Downey Jr, Samuel L Jackson, Scarlett Johannson) but this isn't about the stars, it's about the heroes, and there are a lot of them here. And Mark Ruffalo's little 'episode' at the end is priceless.

Melancholia

Image: Melancholia trailer

A planet called Melancholia is careening towards Earth, threatening to damn our little blue marble planet to smithereens, but as can be expected with a Lars Von Trier movie, that scenario seems almost incidental to this film about a family going through emotional upheaval at a wedding.

Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg play estranged sisters, and the latter looks in especially good form. Kiefer Sutherland, John Hurt and Charlotte Rampling all star, making this visually delectable film one to watch out for.

The Rum Diary

Image: The Rum Diary trailer

It opens with a burp. Johnny Depp, playing Hunter S Thompson, flings open the curtains and gasps, also flinging open his lipstick smeared mouth.

It is Puerto Rico, and we are inside one of the late Gonzo journalist's most entertaining narratives. The story here seems to have been made more cinematic, but a romp this film certainly, certainly seems to be.

Richard Jenkins and Aaron Eckhart add interesting angles even as Depp bemusedly staggers through it all, with the very tasty Amber Heard for company, not to mention many, many miniature bottles of alcohol.

The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo

Image: The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo trailer

The thing about cover versions is that sometimes, when done just fantastically enough, they can bring in a whole different level of awesome.

Such is the case with Trent Reznor's phenomenal reworking of Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song, blaring at us here, and such may well be the case with David Fincher's latest film, an English-language take on Stieg Larsson's book of the same name.

Completely different from Fincher's last film, a masterpiece called Social Network, this is a visceral trailer promising us far, far more than we are accustomed to from most movies. Can it deliver? We bloody well hope so.

We Bought A Zoo

Image: We Bought A Zoo trailer

Here's all you need to know about this trailer, and why you should be thrilled about it: Cameron Crowe's back. Ooh yeah.

Haywire

Image: Haywire trailer

There's nothing quite like a perfectly sizzling actioner, and Steven Soderbergh, one of the most consistently thrilling directors in the business, is poised to deliver with this film.

Pitting Mixed Martial Arts superstar Gina Carano in the middle of a very cool ensemble cast -- Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas -- this looks like a sexy spy thriller.

The trailer seems like it's giving too much away, but Soderbergh is the kind of director who'd have saved up all the best stuff for the film. This is gonna be a ride.

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