The Roundup with Jeff Stockton (Season 7 Round 2)

This round had a little more consistency at the box office, unlike the opening round of the season which solely relied on Halo 3. Nobody made me mad this round, but there's always Round 3. So let's get right into the latest Roundup...

3. Idris Elba as Spawn
He has long been a fan favorite to play the role, but it has finally happened thanks to Last Resort Films. A lot of people have said they want him as Batman or Bond, but fuck that shit. He is perfect for Spawn. I haven't even liked most of his performances (he's yet to top his role as Stringer Bell on "The Wire" for me) - and he's all wrong from Batman and Bond - but he nails the role of Spawn in every way.

2. Revolution's Soundtrack
Now this film had a groovy soundtrack. Films like this, much like Trip, are great reminders of great songs from the past.

1. The Cast of Revolution
Holy shit, the cast on this one. The film essentially has six lead roles played by six different legitimate movie stars. It never feels forced, unlike certain films from last season that shan't be named, because they all have their own story lines and they are all very actor friendly roles. I expect to see a lot of the names from this film come awards season.

3. The Case of Revolution's Disappearing Child
It looks like John Malone wrote himself into a bit of a corner with the characters in Revolution. The character of Robert (Noah Schnapp) was needed at the beginning as part of Billy's (Jaeden Lieberher) story line, but once his important work is done he disappears completely from the film never to be seen again. It was honestly weird not seeing him in the end when we see how most of the characters have winded up. I get that he was the only character without his own story line, but throw the kid a bone. It's an odd part left dangling in an otherwise impressive film.

2. Lack of Cogliostro in Spawn
Overall, I rather enjoyed Harry Wright and Mo Buck's Spawn adaptation, BUT - one aspect I was highly disappointed with was the exclusion of the character of Cogliostro. For those unfamiliar with the comic series, Cogliostro serves as a mentor of sorts to Spawn after he returns to Earth from Hell. It would have been a great role for an older actor (Jeff Bridges? Ian McShane? Ray Winstone?) and would have helped fill in some narrative holes in the film. UPDATE: I forgot that Cogliostro doesn't show up for first handful of episodes of the Spawn comic series. I am excited to see the character in the sequel, although I still feel the character could have helped in this first entry as a guide to help introduce Simmons, as well as the audience, to the rules of the world. I at least now understand the lack of an appearance from the character (even if I don't like it...). So you can count this one as a minor negative in a very solid round in the world of Last Resort Films.

1. The "Teenagers" of Looking for Alaska
Were we really supposed to believe those "kids" were supposed to be in high school? They looked old as shit to be in that setting. Freddie Highmore is 26, Kaya Scodelario is 26, Josh Hutcherson is 25, Sophie Turner is a ragged looking 22. If the film were set in a college, the cast could work, but not as high schoolers. Hell, Highmore plays a doctor on TV and Scodelario is married with a kid!