The Roundup with Jeff Stockton (Season 13 Round 3)

Round 3 of Season 13 was a very solid round with three films being released that I didn't have a lot of problems with, but I have a job to do nonetheless, so here's The Roundup....

3. Selena Gomez
She really stretched herself as an actress, perhaps too far at times, in Zoe Maye. She hasn't had a really difficult role for the studio since her Best Supporting Actress nomination all the way back in Season 1 for A View from the Bridge.

2. Halo 5
The Halo series keeps churning along under the tutledge of writer Mo Buck, and it still hasn't gotten stale. It's really pretty impressive, the staying power the franchise has had, and frankly it doesn't sound like it's slowing down at all anytime soon.

1. The Crucible
I really enjoyed The Crucible. I was vaguely familiar with the story going in, but I still found myself surprised by some of the events, as well as the excellent casting and performances (Affleck, Steinfeld, Mara, Pearce, Foy, Laurie, Lewis, etc.).

3. Halo 5
If I had to say something bad about this solid film, it would be that it felt needlessly complicated at times. It was a solid film though, so I'm definitely nit-picking here.

2.  Zac Efron
Zac Efron definitely feels like too much of a "bro" to pull off his prudish role in Zoe Maye. He's a better actor than he used to be, but his range isn't exactly limitless. His performance grew on me a bit by the end though.

1. Zoe Maye
This was a very solid round of films, but I have to come up with a bottom 3, and Zoe Maye as a film ended up on it despite being a decent film. The descent into bondage felt gratutious and exploitative and made for too much of a tonal shift. It took me out of the movie for a bit.