A story told many times over, what makes Andrea Arnold’s "Wuthering Heights" such a standout is her sheer affinity for real emotion. In the world of all things Arnold love and pain go hand in hand and by focusing on the raw elements of Emily Bronte’s novel, never has a book been more befitting of a filmmakers’ cinematic style. Told almost as a cautionary tale against infatuation, her story is at times arduous to get through – and I adored every lovingly painful minute.

The film follows young Heathcliff, a black child who gets taken in by a caring Yorkshire farmer. He has a son Hindley, ...

It’s funny how the first person or found footage horror craze began with flicks like the Sundance hit "The Blair Witch Project" and has evolved into a virtual cavalcade of forgettable doc style terror tales. "Hollow" is one such tale. It’s an uninspired film desperately trying to evoke scares with little mayhem, slight visual candy, but a ton of shaky camera and high-pitched screams – not a recipe for the horror hall of fame.

In a small, remote village in Suffolk, England there’s a local legend surrounding an old monastery that has haunted the town and it’s people. Four friends decide t...

Let me start off by saying I’m a junkie when it comes to the crack of the anthology horror genre. Nothing says serious fun like a bunch of terror tales sewn together for maximum enjoyment. That being said there’s a lot within the compilation inspired "V/H/S" that’s frankly not so good, but for fans there is eternal hope that with each story the flick will raise the horror bar – it doesn’t.

Some ruckus kids with an affinity for chaos get hired by an unknown person to burglarize a desolate house and find a rare VHS tape. But when they arrive they find a slew of tapes and what do you do wh...

When I first saw the acclaimed drama "Precious" I was stuck by how real some of the performances were and how bad the overall direction was. It seemed a tad off, like a lame movie of the week, but I chocked it up to perhaps a style choice by Director Lee Daniels to give authenticity to the material. Having watched his latest "The Paperboy" I realize it was no choice. Daniels shows without a doubt here exactly what I had suspected when I first saw Precious – there is an amateur loose in the world of professionals.

Set in deep Florida in the 1960’s, Miami Times reporter Ward Jensen return...

Sadly, there really hasn’t been a ton of saucy cinematic product for 2012. Nothing that screamed top ten list and as always what’s catching critical attention seems to be more standard stuff. So imagine my surprise when a recent ruckus, dirty, nasty, sadistic, shocking and funny five-star outing reared its head and crashed its way onto my list – meet "Dust Up." Full of all the things your mom doesn't like, it’s a movie that lovingly takes pride in pushing the boundaries of grindhouse good taste all in the name of movie joy. An exploitation flick, cowboy outing and buddy/buddy comedy wit...

Making a movie is not easy. A director must balance telling the story he or she wants the audience to experience with the logistics of dealing with a crew, actors, budgets, locations and myriad other headaches that come into play before, during and after production. For that reason, the work of first-time directors can be difficult to critique because the sheer fact alone that he or she was able to complete a feature-length film is impressive. However, that can only excuse so much. Stephen Elliott, best known as a writer and blogger, makes his debut as a director and screenwriter with About...

There have been a great many good and bad films on the ups and downs of a life in pursuit of athletic dreams. Training, working hard and regimenting everything all in the name of winning has become a familiar staple for sports flicks. The new movie "Backwards" knows these story conventions all too well and serves up a healthy helping of the cinematic safe stuff we’ve seen many times before with the exception of one thing – Sarah Megan Thomas.

Abigail Brooks is a gal who has spent her lifetime in pursuit of a single focused dream – to win an Olympic Gold Medal for rowing. She has even go...

There’s an interesting idea of what "REC" is and it plays out on screen in the new "REC 3: Genesis" – namely should a "REC" film only be handheld? "REC" and "REC 2" not only kept the same shaky camera style, but also stayed with the whole trapped in a building storyline. With its new take on the first camera universe visually and thematically, "REC 3: Genesis" could still have been a fitting sequel to the previous two scary and notable outings. But it’s not the old or new devices that scream mediocrity in REC 3 – it’s the film itself.

Koldo and Clara are a couple in love and about to ti...

When it comes to comedies about relationships it seems as though there are two distinctive paths – racy and wholesome. What’s most interesting about "For A Good Time, Call..." is the fact that the film is essentially a bit of both, a feel good fest wrapped in a dirty subject matter package and it makes for an odd vibe that’s certainly original.

As a couple of young college gals, opposites Lauren Powell and Katie Steel didn’t exactly hit it off. Upon giving the obviously intoxicated Katie a ride home, Lauren finds herself accidentally covered in Katie’s urine and hatred is born. Cut to y...

"Compliance" is a film that can be taken two ways. The first is by covering it with a heap of critical praise about being different, daring and featuring bold performances that linger. The second, which also happens to be my own, involves a story that starts off well but goes beyond being convoluted (based on real-life events or not!), characters that seem daft and dim and an overall feeling of time wasted – two sides of the critical "Compliance" coin.

It’s a busy day in Ohio at the fast food restaurant ChickWich and the rush is beginning. The phone rings and Manager on duty Sandra answ...