Year End Wrap Up: 10 Best Movie Trailers Released in 2011

Studios spent a lot of cash promoting the heavy 2011 and 2012 film slates. Here you'll find a list of the top trailers for films from both years that caught our staff's attention the most including Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and Transformers Dark of the Moon

Nicolas Cage returns as Johnny Blaze in Columbia Pictures' and Hyde Park Entertainment's Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. In the successor to the worldwide hit Ghost Rider, Johnny - still struggling with his curse as the devil's bounty hunter - is hiding out in a remote part of Eastern Europe when he is recruited by a secret sect of the church to save a young boy (Fergus Riordan) from the devil (Ciaran Hinds). At first, Johnny is reluctant to embrace the power of the Ghost Rider, but it is the only way to protect the boy - and possibly rid himself of his curse forever.

Based off of a screenplay written by David Goyer and directed by duo Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance from Sony Pictures stars Nicolas Cage, Idris Elba, Johnny Whitworth, Ciaran Hinds, Placido Violante and Christopher Lambert. The sequel is expected to ride into 2D and 3D theaters February 17th, 2012.

Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor Moriarty—and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective. When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade, points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder—a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by one Professor Moriarty.

Mixing business with pleasure, Holmes tracks the clues to an underground gentlemen’s club, where he and his brother, Mycroft Holmes are toasting Dr. Watson on his last night of bachelorhood. It is there that Holmes encounters Sim, a Gypsy fortune teller, who sees more than she is telling and whose unwitting involvement in the prince’s murder makes her the killer’s next target. Holmes barely manages to save her life and, in return, she reluctantly agrees to help him. The investigation becomes ever more dangerous as it leads Holmes, Watson and Sim across the continent, from England to France to Germany and finally to Switzerland. But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead as he spins a web of death and destruction—all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history.

Filmmaker Guy Ritchie returns to direct Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, which stars Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Jared Harris, Eddie Marsan, Kelly Reilly, Noomi Rapace and Stephen Fry. The film is now playing in theaters worldwide.

On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world’s biggest Muppet fan, and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets’ former stomping grounds.

To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino house band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate.

The Muppets stars Jason Segel and Amy Adams with cameo appearances by Jack Black, Zach Galifianakis, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, French Stewart, Billy Crystal, Alan Arkin, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kristen Schaal, Emily Blunt, Ricky Gervais, Dave Grohl and Bret McKenzie. From Walt Disney Pictures, The Muppets is now playing in theaters.

The Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, are back in action, taking on the evil Decepticons, who are determined to avenge their defeat in 2009’s Transformers Revenge of the Fallen. When a mysterious event from Earth’s past erupts into the present day it threatens to bring a war to Earth so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save us.

Transformers: The Dark of the Moon, starring Shia LaBeouf, John Turturro, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Patrick Dempsey, Kevin Dunn, with John Malkovich and Frances McDormand, is now available to own on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download.

Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle (Christopher Plummer) continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate.

He is aided by the pierced and tattooed computer prodigy Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo stars Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, Stellan Skarsgard, Robin Wright, Christopher Plummer, Joel Kinnaman, Goran Visnjic and Yorick van Wageningen and is now playing in theaters.

Visionary filmmaker Ridley Scott returns to the genre he helped define, creating an original science fiction epic set in the most dangerous corners of the universe. The film takes a team of scientists and explorers on a thrilling journey that will test their physical and mental limits and strand them on a distant world, where they will discover the answers to our most profound questions and to life’s ultimate mystery.

Directed by Ridley Scott (Alien), the film stars Ben Foster (X-Men: The Last Stand), Noomi Rapace (Sherlock Holmes 2), Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class), Charlize Theron (Monster), Idris Elba (Thor), Rafe Spall, Guy Pearce (Memento), Emun Elliott (Lip Service), Benedict Wong (Moon), Sean Harris, Logan Marshall-Green and Kate Dickie. Damon Lindelof wrote the script which was originally written by Jon Spaihts and based on an idea by director Scott. Prometheus is currently filming in the UK and scheduled for theatrical release on June 8th, 2012.

Based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series, first published in 1963, Marvel’s The Avengers brings together the mightiest super hero characters as they all assemble together on screen for the first time. Continuing the epic big-screen adventures started in Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger, Marvel’s The Avengers is the super hero team up of a lifetime. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster.

Robert Downey, Jr. (Iron Man, Iron Man 2) returns as the iconic Tony Stark/Iron Man along with Chris Hemsworth (Thor) as Thor, Chris Evans (Captain America: The First Avenger) as Captain America, Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) as Hawkeye, Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are Alright) as Hulk, Scarlett Johansson (Iron Man 2) as Black Widow, Clark Gregg (Iron Man, Thor) as Agent Phil Coulson, and Samuel L. Jackson (Iron Man, Iron Man 2) as Nick Fury. The star studded cast of super heroes will be joined by Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother) as Agent Maria Hill of S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as Tom Hiddleston (Wallander) and Stellan Skarsgård (Angels & Demons, Mamma Mia!) who will both reprise their respective roles as Loki and Professor Erik Selvig from the upcoming Marvel Studios’ feature Thor. The Avengers is scheduled for theatrical release in the US on May 4th, 2012.

A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseus—the demigod son of Zeus—is attempting to live a quieter life as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10-year old son, Helius.

Meanwhile, a struggle for supremacy rages between the gods and the Titans. Dangerously weakened by humanity's lack of devotion, the gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. The triumvirate had overthrown their powerful father long ago, leaving him to rot in the gloomy abyss of Tartarus, a dungeon that lies deep within the cavernous underworld.

Perseus cannot ignore his true calling when Hades, along with Zeus' godly son, Ares (Edgar Ramírez), switch loyalty and make a deal with Kronos to capture Zeus. The Titans' strength grows stronger as Zeus' remaining godly powers are siphoned, and hell is unleashed on earth.

Enlisting the help of the warrior Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike), Poseidon's demigod son, Argenor (Toby Kebbell), and fallen god Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), Perseus bravely embarks on a treacherous quest into the underworld to rescue Zeus, overthrow the Titans and save mankind.

Directed by Jonathan Liebesman, the upcoming sequel to Warner Bros' remake Clash of the Titans stars Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Rosmund Pike, Toby Kebbell, Bill Nighy and Edgar Ramirez and is scheduled for release on March 30th, 2012.

This is not just another mission. The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in a global terrorist bombing plot. Ghost Protocol is initiated and Ethan Hunt and his rogue new team must go undercover to clear their organization's name. No help, no contact, off the grid. You have never seen a mission grittier and more intense than this.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is directed by Brad Bird and stars Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Josh Holloway, Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Lea Seydoux and Anil Kapoor. The film is now playing in IMAX and standard theaters.

#1 G.I. JOE: Retaliation Trailer

A follow-up to the 2009 release of G.I. JOE: RISE OF THE COBRA, which grossed over $300M worldwide, Paramount Pictures, MGM and Skydance Productions, in association with HASBRO and di Bonaventura Pictures, commences production on G.I. JOE: RETALIATION. In this sequel, the G.I. Joes are not only fighting their mortal enemy Cobra; they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is directed by Jon Chu (Justin Bieber: Never Say Never) and stars Channing Tatum as Duke, Ray Park and Lee Byung-hun (I Saw the Devil) as the dueling ninjas Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson as Roadblock, Elodie Yung as Jinx, D.J. Cotrona as Flint, RZA as Blind Master, Adrianne Palicki as Lady Jaye, Ray Stevenson as the villainous Firefly, Walton Goggins will play Warden Nigel James and Joe Mazzello in the role of Mouse. Bruce Willis will play General Joe Colton, the original G.I. Joe and the man from which the military super-team gets its name. Paramount Pictures has scheduled the film to hit theaters June 29th, 2012.

Runner's Up List: #15 The Dictator, #14 The Dark Knight Rises, #13 The Hobbit, #12 American Reunion & #11 The Artist