As part of some sort of cinematic arms race, two of 2012’s most highly-anticipated blockbusters conspired to crash the Internet this week as millions of people watched brand new trailers for Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises” and Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit.” Let’s just say that Batman and Bilbo share the No. 1 spot, as we can’t wait to see either of them. While “The Hobbit’s” trailer seems to trade primarily on nostalgia (both for the beloved book and the box office behemoth “Lord of the Rings” trilogy), “Rises” is more determined to undermine viewers’ belief that “everything is going to be OK.” As Bane clearly states (well, sort of clearly), it’s not. And that’s OK by us.
As for the rest of this week’s list…
December 22, 2011
1. “The Dark Knight Rises” (Last week: No. 1)
Even with a villain that a lot of people can’t understand — literally — the trailer for Nolan’s last Batman film is epically, awesomely epic and awesome.
2. “The Hobbit” (Last week: Not ranked)
3. “Star Trek 2” (Last week: Not ranked)
4. “Wrath of the Titans” (Last week: Not ranked)
The sequel’s new trailer features giants, pegasus and Sam Worthington. Wait, you don’t even need to see the trailer to know that.
5. “Skyfall” and the James Bond franchise (Last week: Not ranked)
Daniel Craig could possibly star in five more films as 007. That’s a lot of martinis.
6. “300: The Battle of Artemisia” (Last week: Not ranked)
Eva Green is in talks to add some estrogen to the muscle-bound prequel. She’ll play, naturally, a goddess.
7. “Prometheus” (Last week: Not ranked)
“Alien” prequel. NOT “Alien” prequel. Either way, the trailer should be worth a look.
8. “Amazing Spider-Man” (Last week: No. 2)
David Fincher talks about what he would’ve done with the beloved Marvel character. What if…?
9. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” sequel (Last week: Not ranked)
All-Talking apes, eh? Maybe they can come up with a title. “The Continuing Rise of the Planet Currently Home to the Apes” or something. Maybe not.
10. “Hunger Games” (Last week: No. 8)
Arrows, daggers, lots of make-up. It’s all in the game, according to these new images.
11. “The Avengers” (Last week: Not ranked)
Two heroic new stills, featuring Iron Man, Captain America and Thor.
12. “Man of Steel” (Last week: No. 13)
Could Zack Snyder’s “Superman” reboot really put the emphasis on practical flying effects?
13. “Lincoln” (Last week: Not ranked)
Jump into the Wayback Machine (meaning these photos) and see what Steven Spielberg has in store for his cast, including Daniel Day-Lewis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
14. “Fast Seven” (Last Week: Not ranked)
Vin Diesel confirms that not only will we get a sixth “Fast and Furious” flick, but we’ll likely get a seventh. This is getting to be like “Saw.”
15. “Drive” (Last week: Not ranked)
Despite the increasing number of critics awards being picked up by “The Artist” and “The Descendants,” the neo-noir drama and co-star Albert Brooks are still being championed by some notable critics.
Movie Power Rankings appears weekly on HitFix. See the previous installment’s rankings here.
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