“Baby Driver”
And this is how Edgar Wright brings audiences to his first film in nearly half a decade: a killer track, gun-shots, crispy cool dialogue and some much needed hoo-haw, put in with some great editing techniques (editing an inserted Christopher Plummer on Kevin Spacey’s head might be appropriate for future releases — we’ll make that remark before someone in the comments inevitably does) A high-speed trailer for a high-speed film is the right concoction from a director who spent much of the eighties watching as many action films as he possibly could, and that film education is now paying off. Wright, often touted as England’s answer to Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, brings that ’70s sense of cool to the pink/purple credits and nods to James Bond in the delivery of the quippy lines (though no Bond trailer has been this exciting since Timothy Dalton’s swansong “Licence To Kill”, which, not un-coincidentally, is one of Wright’s formative action films). Put on your seat-belts. This trailer’s a blast. – Eoghan Lyng
“Thor Ragnarok” – Teaser
As grand, exciting and fun-focused as the last few Marvel films have been, especially ‘Guardians of The Galaxy’ Vols 1 and 2, the “Thor” films films have had a tendency to be a little too po-faced and overtly serious. Thank the Gods of Asgard that “Flight of The Conchords” and “What We Do In The Shadows” director Taika Waititi came along to show how wonderfully silly the antics of Thor and The Hulk could be. Waititi was hired for the job based on a sizzle reel he put together of other films to the sound of Led Zeppelin‘s Viking epic and Robert Plant‘s wail has never been more appropriately used in a trailer. Gladiators, spaceships and Jeff Goldblum? No wonder it struck box office gold. “We know each other…he’s a friend from work,” cries Thor, giving away just the right degree of the tongue in cheek silliness the film abounds in before launching into a gladiatorial tackle has that an aura of camp flair that would make Flash Gordon proud. In less than three minutes’ time, this teaser turned out to be something neither of the previous Thor films were: fun. – EL
The Disaster Artist” – Teaser
All together now, one, two, three; “I did not hit her. It’s not true. It’s bullshit. I did not hit her. I did not. Oh. Hi Mark.” Can you recite it? Good. So can the entire crew, except for Tommy Wiseau, who wrote the script. Arguably the most notorious scene from “The Room” (simply type “oh hi Mark” into YouTube to watch several parody videos in which details are obsessively recreated), it makes for a good launchpad for the film’s promotional push. This is a brilliantly executed scene, a nice indicator of the haphazard ramshackle nature of Tommy Wiseau’s vision. After more than sixty takes to get one line right, it doesn’t matter the crew that Wiseau (James Franco) has delivered the worst performance they have ever seen; they finally have a take. The joy on Seth Rogen and Dave Franco’s faces is infectious and this is also a splendid introduction to the elder Franco’s note-perfect intonation, cadence and timing as the deluded hero Wiseau. -EL
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Nobody can bandy a string of epithets about like Frances McDormand and nobody would use them to open a trailer but Martin McDonagh. This is classic McDonagh territory; biting, fighting language, high drama over vintage sixties soul (the Four Tops make a fine substitute to P.P. Arnold) and violence undercut for comic effect (which he did brilliantly in “In Bruges” and less so in “Seven Psychopaths”). Some old McDonagh cast members return for another go-round (Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson‘s verbal sparring makes for cool watching), but this is McDormand’s show, stabbing dentists, kicking groins and insulting police officers. The wide shots willowing throughout Missouri show evidence of directorial flair lacking in McDonagh’s first two films (his brother John Michael’s films have tended to have a greater visual edge). But McDonagh’s not forgotten his theatrical roots, with lines like “It seems to me the police department is too busy torturing black folks to solve actual crime,” showing his facility for barbed, potent wit. And that closing encounter, as McDormand’s Mildred Hayes verbally assaults a television reporter is dark comedy gold. Priceless. – EL
Read the full piece here: The Best Movie Trailers Of 2017
