This week, Mother Nature provided residents of the Northeast with a preview of winter. Cold rain swept through the region. Getting the comforter on the bed was a necessity. Flannel was unleashed.
Also the trailer for Gilmore Girls came out.
Full disclosure: I have never seen an episode of Gilmore Girls, but I understand that many people love Rory and Lorelai’s signature banter. I’m thankful the show’s upcoming Netflix revival will feature Matt Czuchry, Milo Ventimiglia, and Liza Weil, whom I only know from their post–Gilmore Girls runs on The Good Wife, Heroes, and How to Get Away With Murder.
But this look at the girls from Stars Hollow isn’t the only new trailer to get excited about. Here are five other notable television and movie trailers that came out this week:
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (November 11; wide release on November 18)
Directed by Ang Lee, Billy Lynn looks like the movie you’ll be sneaking off to see in the pocket of time during the Thanksgiving holiday when your family is fighting over something inconsequential. It’s the story of a young man, his emotionally damaging experience in the Iraq War, the dread of returning home, and the toll it takes on his family. You will probably cry and feel terrible for not appreciating your time with your family … for about 15 minutes, until the cycle begins again.
Man Down (December 2)
The mercurial Shia LaBeouf is the star of Man Down, about a former Marine named Gabriel Drummer who’s searching for his wife (played by Kate Mara) and child. The trailer has the traumatic, haunting feel of American Sniper, but Man Down is actually set in "post-apocalyptic" America, which makes it seem more distant, and like more of an allegory, than it looks.
Frank & Lola (December 9)
It feels like only two types of trailers came out this week: ones for movies about war and strife, and ones for movies about creepy people who are capable of dastardly things. Frank & Lola, starring Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots, is the latter. And you can tell this is the case because there’s a scene in the trailer where Frank (Shannon) is chopping up a chicken wing so violently that his chef’s apron ends up drenched in blood. According to the film’s official synopsis, it’s about "love, obsession, sex, betrayal, revenge, and, ultimately, the search for redemption," though it’s unclear how all these elements, not to mention additional cast member Rosanna Arquette, fit together.
Split (January 20)
Director M. Night Shyamalan has done the unthinkable: He’s made James McAvoy completely frightening in their new film Split, about a man (McAvoy) with multiple personalities who kidnaps three teenage girls. But because this is a Shyamalan movie, there must be a twist. It’s hard to say what that twist might be, but I am not looking forward to the usually winsome McAvoy playing so many creepy, terrifying characters.
The Race Card (2017)
Last but not least, I will present you with the most stressful trailer of the week, in which Charles Barkley promotes his upcoming TNT series The Race Card. The Race Card is a political talk show in which Barkley will travel all across America to engage in discussions about race. And if we’re going by the trailer, it’s going to be extremely stressful to watch — not in the Game of Thrones or Walking Dead sense where anyone could die at any time, but rather because there’s a weird anxiety that comes with watching Barkley talk about sensitive matters and anticipating that he’ll say something that will make your jaw drop. It’s happened before, and it will probably happen on The Race Card.
