The Roundup with Jeff Stockton (Season 27 Round 8)

 

  

Despite Tomato Can bombing at the box office, things are starting to look up as the season comes closer to its close. Here's The Roundup....

3. Sam

Round 8 is one of those rare rounds without a single subpar film. Sam was a solid music biopic with a very unique-feeling third act. I wasn't super familiar with Kelvin Harrison Jr's work, but this one put him on my map as a star to look out for.

2. Tomato Can

I have to agree with the Ridgefield Press' Dave Manning regarding the casting of Jenna Ortega. She really let Mo Buck's script down. The writing was solid, if not a bit too down-trodden, and Derek Cianfrance felt like a perfect fit for the material. Alicia Vikander could end up being a Best Actress candidate for her role, which I feel ranks as one of her best performances.

1. Wonder Woman: Labyrinth

Not only was the film a huge, much needed box office success for the studio, but it was also a pretty solid action flick. There was not a single moment that I felt bored or tuned out. I love that D.R. Cobb and Kathryn Bigelow are really diving into the Greek-ness of the character and bringing in figures and settings from the classic myths into the mix, all while still feeling like a modern superhero popcorn film.

3. N/A

2. Jenna Ortega

This one isn't entirely her fault, but Jenna Ortega looked out of her depths in Tomato Can. Based on what little I've seen of her work, she isn't a bad actress, but she felt like that wrong choice in this one. She felt young and lacked the physicality I felt like the role as written required.

1. Box Office

Season 27 has been a pretty rocky season at the box office. If the final two superhero films of the season do well (and the other films don't lose too much), the season could end up with a decent financial output though. The last two rounds will tell.