The Roundup with Jeff Stockton (Season 8 Awards Edition)

I'm going to mix it up a little bit for the Season 8 Awards Edition of The Roundup. You'll get a list of my predictions for this upcoming Golden Reel Awards ceremony (not "who should win" or any snubs, just who I think will actually come away with the award - post your predictions in the comments section below and see if you can predict better than me...). But before I get into my predictions, I'm going to give my rankings for all of the Season 8 releases (including my favorite and least favorite aspect of each film). With all that said, here's The Roundup...

SEASON 8 RANKINGS

30. Stan
Director: Sam Mendes
Writer: Meirad Tako
The Good: Sam Mendes obviously knows how to direct emotional scenes. Ever since his directorial debut, American Beauty, he has excelled in this aspect. I may not have liked Stan very much, but it could have been much worse with a less sure hand in the director's chair.
The Bad: There really just wasn't much of a story here. It was essentially just a drawn out version of the music video for Eminem's song. It probably could have been a good movie if more time was spent developing the plot and characters beyond the basic lyrics of the song.

29. Eleanor & Park
Director: Richard Linklater
Writer: H.G. Hansen
The Good: Once again, it's the director that is the film's strong-point. Richard Linklater is quite adept at making the audience like his characters.
The Bad: The casting. I've already gone on the record stating that Chloe Moretz was sorely miscast in this role. Too old. Too beautiful. Ryan Potter honestly wasn't much better. While he suited his role on paper better, he really just doesn't have much charisma or charm.

28. Queen Mary
Director: Eli Roth
Writer: Alex Conn
The Good: The film featured a really strong young ensemble, with several young stars on the rise like Tye Sheridan and Katherine Langford.
The Bad: The plot just wasn't all that interesting to me. I don't know if the fault is with writer Alex Conn or the flimsy source material, but it just didn't work out.

27. Blue Heat
Director: Gareth Evans
Writer: Jack Ryder
The Good: It was nice to see Will Smith finally make his debut for the studio. The role suited him well as a star vehicle.
The Bad: When this film was first announced, it sounded like something I'd really enjoy. I have this one ranked lower than it probably should be because of the level of disappointment. This film should have been better, but instead it came across as a very dated action film.

26. The Story of the Assassin
Director: Mike Newell
Writer: Meirad Tako
The Good: Rami Malek is a great actor, plain and simple. He once again shows off his considerable talent in a leading role.
The Bad: The story is convoluted and unfocused. There's a lot of killing and battles, but we never really get to know any of the characters outside of how many people they kill.

25. Life of a Champion
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Writer: Alex Conn
The Good: I actually really liked the idea of this one, even the protagonist switch - which I thought worked really well.
The Bad: Another missed opportunity here. Alex Conn's debut film featured a talented cast, but they all feel out of place. Dane DeHaan seems wrong for a character hanging around wrestling circles, Miles Teller and Dave Franco likely don't come across as aspiring professional wrestlers.

24. The Banded Ants 3 - Showdown
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Writer: Jack Ryder
The Good: The journey of the lead characters of the series' three films has been well plotted and the character development has been strong over the course of the films.
The Bad: It just feels like the series has been getting further and further away from its roots. Each film has gotten darker. This can work sometimes, like with the Harry Potter series, but I think The Banded Ants series went in that direction too quickly.

23. Damned Ship
Director: Adam Wingard
Writer: Ben Collins
The Good: Jeremy Davies was great in Damned Ship. His character was a bit generic, but Jeremy Davies is anything but generic. He added an extra element to the film with his performance that another actor may not have brought.
The Bad: Horror films are supposed to be scary. Unfortunately, Damned Ship was fairly devoid of scares and thrills.

22. Adr1ft
Director: Alex Garland
Writer: Billy Cruder
The Good: Margot Robbie commands the screen throughout Adr1ft. She shows why she is such an in-demand actress.
The Bad: The mystery of the film was not very interesting - and since the plot hinges on the mystery, it was a very dissatisfying ending.

21. Green Arrow 2: Hunters
Director: Wes Ball
Writer: APJ
The Good: Armie Hammer and Vanessa Kirby are both great as Green Arrow and Black Canary, respectively. I don't think it's capable to make an all-around bad movie with them in those two roles.
The Bad: The first Green Arrow film was jam-packed with interesting villains. This sequel had one interesting villain who didn't show up until the climax (The Count - obviously a version of Count Vertigo from the comics).

20. Wishmaster
Director: Tarsem Singh
Writer: Clive Steinbeck
The Good: Tarsem Singh's visual style is a perfect fit for the material. He uses his unique vision to give the film and its fun kills a great look.
The Bad: I would've liked for the film to expand on the original film more. Instead, it follows the original closely - too closely.

19. Maximum Ride
Director: Joss Whedon
Writer: H.G. Hansen
The Good: This film ended up being better than it probably should have been based on the corny source material. No doubt Joss Whedon being behind the camera helped with this.
The Bad: While the film was well written, I still had a hard time taking a film about a bunch of "teens with wings" seriously. In addition to this, some of the younger actors were clearly not up to being in a film this size or having to act opposite more talented actors like Olivia Cooke and Kevin Costner.

18. The Creature: The Beginning
Director: Robert Eggers
Writer: Ben Collins
The Good: This prequel did a great job of not only giving backstory and development to its predecessor, but also at being a solid film in its own right.
The Bad: The mermaid characters, other than Amanda Seyfried, felt a bit too one-dimensional. I would have liked it if the mermaids played by Munn and Keough had more to do with the plot.

17. Nobody
Director: Marc Webb
Writer: Jack Ryder
The Good: The film had a solid soundtrack (a surprise for a Jack Ryder film...) and a likable young cast (aside from the terrible Jaden Smith) led by Tom Holland.
The Bad: Did I mention Jaden Smith is in this film?

16. Halo: Reach
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Writer: Dominic Wilkins
The Good: The scope of the Halo series at this point is quite impressive. This film, like most in the series, is loaded with great action scenes.
The Bad: Sam Worthington is probably the most bland leading man in Hollywood right now. He's solid in the right role, but in the traditional action star role he comes across as boring.

15. Somewhere, Somehow
Director: Chad Taylor
Writer: Chad Taylor
The Good: Chad Taylor filled the cast of his directorial debut with a group of likable young actors. The young actors all suit their roles well and have strong chemistry.
The Bad: The film probably sticks to the standard teen film tropes a bit too closely. I also wasn't particularly fond of the soundtrack (that era was definitely a weak time period musically).

14. Sweet Tooth
Director: Spike Jonze
Writer: Seth Overton
The Good: The production design is strong, as is the unique take on the post-apocalyptic genre. The idea of a Mad Max-type world with animal-human hybrids is interesting, and Spike Jonze was a good choice to visually interpret the plot.
The Bad: Elijah Wood. He is pushing forty. He felt way too old for his character, regardless of how well he can play naive.

13. Huntress
Director: Michelle MacLaren
Writer: APJ
The Good: After a long wait, Hailee Steinfeld finally hit the big screen as the Huntress. She is able to capture the anger of the character well and holds in her own in some of the film's fight scenes.
The Bad: The film simply did not have enough action. This appears to be a trend in APJ's films, but I'm hoping it comes to an end sooner rather than later.

12. Decrescendo
Director: Jean-Marc Vallee
Writer: Ann Morrow
The Good: The film is full of top-notch actors, including yet another great performance from Christina Hendricks.
The Bad: The film was a bit too traditional in its approach. Not a huge fault, but it doesn't really stand out from other biopics for me.

11. Booster Gold II: The Booster Gold Story
Director: Phil Lord & Chris Miller
Writer: Chad Taylor
The Good: Billy Magnussen and Scoot McNairy once again show great chemistry in this film. I also liked how well the film built up the DC Universe mythos, but without making the world-building come across as too heavy-handed or obvious.
The Bad: While the film was fun, the action scenes weren't all that spectacular. Hopefully the action can get bigger for Booster Gold in the future.

10. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Director: David Leitch
Writer: Mo Buck
The Good: Vince Vaughn was great in the lead role. He has the dark comedic chops and the physical attributes to make for an interesting anti-hero.
The Bad: The supporting characters weren't always fully developed, and many came across more like cartoon characters than fully fledged film characters.

9. Blood on the Moon
Director: John Hillcoat
Writer: Dwight Gallo
The Good: Once again, it's got to be Vince Vaughn. He's really turned around his career by transitioning from comedic leading man to tough anti-hero.
The Bad: The film did not live up to James Ellroy's novel. It just didn't quite have Ellroy's edge in every scene (granted, the novel isn't one of Ellroy's best works).

8. October Crisis
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Writer: Mo Buck
The Good: The film was a solid production tackling a historical topic not yet covered by a major motion picture.
The Bad: The film was too cold at times. Buck's script lacked characterization at times, sticking with plot and fact over character.

7. Maple Leaf
Director: Jason Reitman
Writer: Harry Wright
The Good: The leading trio of Billy Bob Thornton, William Fichtner and Steve Buscemi made for fun and original protagonists. There is never a dull moment with those three on screen together.
The Bad: Jason Reitman. While not a terrible director, Reitman has never lived up to the hype of his first couple of films (Juno and Up in the Air). I can only imagine how great the film could have been if there was more talent in director's chair. It really seems like something the Coen Brothers (or someone else with their darkly comedic sensibilities) should have directed.

6. The Tower
Director: Scott Cooper
Writer: Roy Horne
The Good: The Tower had some down-right chilling scenes (like the letter writing scenes and the rest of the build-up to the actual massacre). Jesse Plemons executed these scenes perfectly. He has a certain boyish charm that the film used to perfection, allowing you to get to like the character and making his actions even more disturbing.
The Bad: When the film shifted its focus from the actions of Charles Whitman to the law enforcement on the scene the film lost a lot of momentum. Films should work to keep their most interesting characters on the screen, not deliberately shift away from them.

5. Runaway
Director: Xavier Dolan
Writer: Mo Buck
The Good: This film works as well as it does based on Caleb Landry Jones' performance. If that role didn't work, the film would not work. You need to like and hate the character interchangeably, something that isn't easily accomplished.
The Bad: While Haley Lu Richardson gave a strong performance, her character came across as whiny and petulant throughout much of the film. She wasn't all that likeable, which hurt the film since she has so much screen time.

4. Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Director: Yann Demange
Writer: D.R. Cobb
The Good: Tom Cruise gives one hell of a performance here. His Sam Fisher is really put through the wringer in this one, and Cruise is more than up for the challenge.
The Bad: Killing off Laurence Fishburne was a big bummer. I also missed the presence of Joey King and Karen Gillan. While King's absence makes sense in the story, the absence of Karen Gillan is left unexplained.

3. Crowley
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Writer: Lon Charles
The Good: Tom Hardy. He was built for roles like this. It is a physically and emotionally challenging film that only an actor of Hardy's talent could pull off.
The Bad: The film wasn't always super focused. This makes sense give the director, as sometimes style will take over for plot with Refn.

2. Nevada, Iowa
Director: Jacob Aaron Estes
Writer: John Malone
The Good: The plot is funny and thrilling at the same time. Comedy and Thriller aren't two genres that are normally combined, but it works great here thanks to a fantastic script from the great John Malone and the perfectly cast roles played by Reese Witherspoon, Sam Rockwell and Kyle Chandler.
The Bad: I'm not sure Jacob Aaron Estes is quite up to making a film this complicated. He started out his career with a lot of promise with the amazing Mean Creek, but hasn't done much worthwhile since.

1. Cascade
Director: Kogonada
Writer: Chad Taylor
The Good: While on paper, Nevada, Iowa, probably should be my favorite film of the season, I'm going to have to go with Cascade. The Chad Taylor-penned western had me thinking the most after leaving the theater. It gave me the most emotional and visceral reaction.
The Bad: Some of the characters feel too much like stock western characters - like the roles played by John Carroll Lynch and Bill Camp.

SEASON 8 GOLDEN REEL AWARD PREDICTIONS

Here is a simple, no frills, set of predictions for this upcoming ceremony. Please make your predictions comments section below and see if you can beat my predictions.

Best Production Design: Cascade
Best Soundtrack: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Most Wanted Sequel: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Best Ensemble Cast: Runaway
Best Starring Couple: Sam Rockwell & Reese Witherspoon - Nevada, Iowa
Best Villain: Jesse Plemons - The Tower
Best Adaptation: Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Best Original Story: Nevada, Iowa
Best Supporting Actress: Maggie Gyllenhaal - Crowley
Best Supporting Actor: Caleb Landry Jones - Runaway
Best Actress: Christina Hendricks - Decrescendo
Best Actor: Tom Hardy - Crowley
Best Director: Nicolas Winding Refn - Crowley
Best Picture: Cascade