The Roundup with Jeff Stockton (Season 32 Round 1)

 

 

Season 32 is off to an interesting start with a flop, a surprise hit, and the return of one of LRF's original writers. Here's The Roundup....

3. H.H.

H.H. was not my favorite film of the round, but it was still well-crafted. While I think it could have leaned harder into the sci-fi elements, the story had a nice pace to it.

2. Bigfoot

Bigfoot is exactly what you would picture when someone says "Rob Zombie Bigfoot Movie" - for better or worse. Personally, I think that is for the better. The stars were likable and Bigfoot made for a great new slasher villain - the first new one in a long time. I would love to see it become a new franchise (which seems like a possibility based on the ending). It was also great to see Clive Steinbeck back after all these seasons (and years) with his first release since Season 10. Welcome back, Clive!

1. Monopoly

The reviews seemed a bit divided - not a lot of films get a positive Metascore with two negative-leaning reviews - but I thought it was a lot of fun as long as you don't think too hard about the logic. It was filled with entertaining references to the game (and how people play it) and the characters were all very likable.

3. N/A

2. H.H.

It's a decent film, but I couldn't help but ponder why it just didn't work at the box office. It features young, likable leading actors, is directed by an acclaimed filmmaker. Was it the genre combination? Was it the setting? Was it lacking genre elements to sell it to those audiences?

1. Blockbusters

One storyline over the last handful of seasons has been the decrease in big budget films (which tend to help the studio's overall box office as long as they don't completely flop). The budgets featured in this round are already leading me to question whether that will be an issue this season.