1. “True Grit”

The new Coen Brothers film is the acme of the duo’s directorial career, deftly straddling the line between the commercialism the brothers have tried to avoid and the pure aestheticism they’ve always embraced. This marriage of ideals is reflected beautifully by the trailer. It provides just enough meat to intrigue us with its plot, but not so much that it spoils the feast (Liam Neeson’s “Unknown” trailer, anyone?). Most importantly, it foreshadows Jeff Bridges’s brilliant performance with billowing gun smoke, bottled bourbon and the grouchy, sarcastic quips we’ve come to expect of him.

-TIMOTHY RABB

2. “Inception”

This trailer ingeniously plants the idea in viewers that “Inception” is worth seeing without giving away too much plot — or what the title means. It features the faces of the film’s stars; memorable, ominous music and a city folding over on itself. A voice mentions that what we’re watching is “called Inception.” This secretive trailer ends begging the question: “What is Inception?” Ironically, if you were curious enough after the trailer to see the movie, you answered the question.

-BEN VERDI

3. “The Social Network”

Familiar icons flash across the screen. Friend requests. Status updates. “In a relationship.” This is what we do. This is what we have become. This is a Belgian children’s choir telling us we’re creeps. This is the shiny college campus, equal parts elitism and debauchery. This is TIME’s Person of the Year, or at least an approximation — the closest the public will get to the man who created the need for privacy settings. This is the story of Facebook in two minutes flat: a group of frustrated, snarky individuals who took social networking very, very seriously. Go ahead — call it a joke. Your profile page says otherwise.

-ANDREW LAPIN

4. “Black Swan”

Aronofsky’s twisty-turny psycho ballet thriller didn’t stick its landing with all folks that ended up watching it, but the hype building up to its premiere almost made up for it — as the frigid, winding lines at the Michigan Theater on Friday and Saturday nights demonstrated. The trailer, a mélange of oozing lust and beauty, has a lot to do with this. And that climax, that harrowing climax — all reflective surfaces and Freudian doppelgangers, coupled with Clint Mansell’s quivering tremolos, as a red-eyed Natalie Portman yanks out a single black feather from her arched, tensed back. Obvious and melodramatic? Yes. Terrifying? Most definitely.

-JENNIFER XU

5. “The Town”

The best trailers aren’t always made for the best movies. Sometimes, they’re assembled from satisfying, well executed clichés — a love triangle, a crew of thieves, a relentless FBI agent — and hint at something the source material doesn’t quite offer.

The trailer for “The Town,” from washed-up star-turned-up-and-coming director Ben Affleck, is a prime example. The film itself was simply, well, a satisfying, well executed cliché. But the expertly edited trailer cut out the fluff and gave audiences a product that was more sizzle reel than trailer, presenting stars Affleck, Jeremy Renner and Jon Hamm at their most intense, and teasing at 90 minutes of non-stop badassery that, unfortunately, wasn’t really there.

-DAVID TAO