Trailer Round-Up – 26 March, 2017

Justice League Directed by Zack Snyder with a script by Chris Terrio, Justice League stars Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Henry Cavill, Ezra Miller and Ray Fisher as Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Superman, The Flash and Cyborg, respectively. Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes, it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions. This is the first official trailer for the highly anticipated big-screen live-action debut of the Justice League and it comes off the tail of several very divisive chapters in the DC Extended Universe. It shows a much lighter tone than the likes of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, with a bigger emphasis on humor and fun interactions between the team members. Superman is notably absent, but we do get a first look at characters like Mera and Commissioner Gordon. The humor seems a little awkward, sometimes because of the lines themselves, but mostly because it doesn't really gel with the monochromatic visuals which are as dark as ever - but it's still a step in the right direction. Justice League still has a lot of work to do if it wants to win over those that have been turned off by previous DC movies, but at the very least, it certainly seems as if Warner Bros. is trying to change things up. Justice League is set for a November 10, 2017 release. Death Note Based on the famous Japanese manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, Death Note follows a high school student who comes across a supernatural notebook, realizing it holds within it a great power; if the owner inscribes someone’s name into it while picturing their face, he or she will die. Intoxicated with his new godlike abilities, the young man begins to kill those he deems unworthy of life. The first trailer for Netflix's adaptation of Death Note works as a decent first impression for those unfamiliar with the source material but doesn't show off enough to win over fans, a lot of which were skeptical about the very idea of an American adaptation to begin with. The trailer sets up the basic premise and shows off how stylish the movie looks, but the big point of contention for fans will be casting and here we only really see how the characters look. There's barely any dialogue, which makes the actors easy targets for people that have grown accustomed to how these characters look in the original. With director Adam Wingard (You're Next, The Guest) at the helm, this could very well be a solid movie, but the next trailer needs to work harder to convince skeptics. Ending on Willem Dafoe as Ryuk was a solid move, as pretty much everyone is on board with that perfect bit of casting. Death Note will premiere globally on Netflix on August 25, 2017. Casting JonBenet In 1996, Boulder, Colorado was rocked by the mysterious death of six-year-old pageant queen, JonBenet Ramsey. Two decades later, director Kitty Green returns to audition local actors, unpacking how each remembers and relates to the ill-fated Ramsey family in Casting JonBenet, a dark exploration of crime, guilt and personal bias. The trailer shows off what appears to be a fascinating approach to documentary film-making and does an excellent job of setting up an unsettling tone. Casting JonBenet makes it clear that it's not really interested in solving the mystery, as much as it wants to explore the fallout. There's a danger of substituting insight for style, but for the purposes of the trailer, emphasizing the style is the right choice. Casting JonBenet will premiere on Netflix globally on April 28, 2017. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri From Martin McDonagh (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths) comes Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby (Woody Harrelson), the town’s revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Dixon (Sam Rockwell), an immature mother’s boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing’s law enforcement is only exacerbated. This trailer gives us a lot to work with. It clearly sets up the movie as an effective dark comedy, articulates the premise very well and showcases a whole lot of funny moments and scenarios. It also paints Mildred Hayes as a complicated character - you're inclined to root for her as she takes on the police at first, but the trailer implies she might go to some pretty unsympathetic extremes. Things not being clear cut makes for a more compelling story and opens up more comedic possibilities. Overall, it's a great trailer. No set release date as of yet. My Cousin Rachel A dark romance, My Cousin Rachel tells the story of a young Englishman (Sam Claflin) who plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin (Rachel Weisz), believing that she murdered his guardian. But his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms. It looks dark, mysterious and beautifully shot, which in itself makes a good first impression. There is enough plot details here to catch your interest, but not enough to spell everything out (although the trailer strongly implies she's poisoning him, which hopefully isn't a spoiler). It's a compelling trailer mainly driven by character and dialogue. My Cousin Rachel is set for a June 9, 2017 release.