A stylish modern take on the classic American horror story, Wrong Turn remains an impressive example of horror cinema done right seven years after its initial release at the peak of the slasher genre revival in 2003. Due to the film’s superior production quality and commercial success, it’s hardly surprising several sequels have since been released, yet none of them manage to come anywhere close to rivaling director Rob Schmidt’s original vision. Although admittedly formulaic in terms of story, Wrong Turn handily excels in most other areas, particularly in high production values, refined cinematography, top-notch cast and pure entertainment value.

Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar-nominated The Hurt Locker is perhaps one of the best war films ever made – and quite certainly the definitive cinematic work dealing with the current war in Iraq. While its realism may be questioned, the film undeniably offers a rare, eye-opening look at the nature of modern warfare and roots of insurgency in the Middle East. The absence of large scale confrontations and a highly memorable twist at the end of the film make The Hurt Locker a far more potent and personally moving experience than its somewhat distant cousins Black Hawk Down (2001) and Tears of the Sun (2003). Kudos to Bigelow for crafting this gem.

Jason Reitman’s Oscar-nominated new film Up in the Air with master charmer George Clooney in the lead role is a multilayered and unusually complex work that clearly intends to make its audience think after viewing and perhaps even ponder their own beliefs. In the works since Reitman penned the initial scenario based in Walter Kirn’s autobiographical novel back in 2004, the project took shape gradually with the crowd-pleasing bits on the plight of the unemployed, filmed with real life St. Louis residents who had recently lost their jobs, thrown in as Oscar qualifiers more recently when job losses mounted due to the global recession in late 2008 and early 2009.