Too many fans seem to be blown away

That was an excellent one.

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

I watched this film simply on the recommendation of a dear friend who knows I have a thing for elements of chess in a movie, either as supporting theme or a cameo, or as the centerpiece, if you will. The script was good, and delivered and filmed well enough, though a bit too simplistic for me and I felt I knew where the story was going too easily. It felt like a diet movie. I wasn't about to gain any mental weight trying to decipher plot twists or subtle character alleys. That's not harsh, it's just how I saw it. Most of my attention was on the analogy of chess pieces to the unfolding plot of teenage girl against the wickedness all about her. In her own family! For the life of me, I spent the better part of the credits going back and forth trying to find the source of the chess "poem," but never got anything definitive other than the script.And don't think you're going to SEE a lot of strategic chess scenes. You have to listen to the poem interwoven throughout for the saving grace.I found the cinematography crisp, and enjoyed the opening landscapes with a darker tie-in further into the movie.The music was good, and per the credits, mostly original too!

The cast is not bad, the direction's not bad, the story mediocre at best.On the whole, this movie is a pale imitation of the 1994 film 'Fresh':http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109842/Though of course there are many differences. The original was set in an inner city ghetto, and involved a mostly Black cast (including Samuel L. Jackson, among others.) This one is set in the hillbilly rural South, and involves a very nearly all-White cast. The original protagonist was a boy; here the protagonist is a girl.However, both movies/plots involve drugs gangs, life circumstances of hopeless, abject despair, and a chess-minded wunderkind emerging against all odds in such a setting, then plotting and manipulating to extricate themselves and their loved ones from the deadly morass, culminating in a violent denouement with numerous "chess pieces" sacrificed along the way.Yet in my opinion, the original was vastly better in every respect. It had a more nuanced and intelligent plot, deeper character development, fantastic acting, and overall a more realistic setup and more believable motivation. It was bold, poignant, in some ways ground-breaking and in some heart-breaking. It was in fact 'fresh' -- both in concept and by virtue of being the original. And despite its age, it is -- unfortunately -- still as urgently topical in 2014 as it was back in 1994. To anyone contemplating 'Wicked Blood', I would strongly recommend 'Fresh' instead.

OK, maybe 10 is a bit high.This movie really surprised me, terrific acting, the cinematography is outstanding. Maybe mid way through, I felt like the price of this stock was about to crash, but it just went up up and up.Give this movie a view - it's the first time I can say you get manipulated into liking a meth user. Great acting. The story can be cliché at times.But each character is believable- I'm going to go watch the other half now !

"Don't bite the hand that feeds you, understand." Hannah Lee Baker (Breslin) is a teenager who lives with her older sister Amber in her drug addicted Uncle's Donny's house. Her other Uncle Frank (Bean) runs the family business, a drug smuggling ring, with the help of his brother. When Donny's drug use threatens to get Hannah and her sister taken away Hannah comes up with a plan to pay the bills and keep things as they are. She goes to work running drugs for Uncle Frank, but the offer he gives her isn't enough so Hannah finds a way to make a little more money. This action affects the entire family. While this movie is actually much better then I expected I will admit that it is because of the cast. If the cast was not full of big name actors it would be a forgotten about B movie, but as it stands the acting really brings the movie up. Breslin does a great job in this and smoothly handles the transition to a more adult role very well. The movie itself isn't anything that original but it is tense at the right times and keeps you guessing just enough to make it entertaining and watchable. I did enjoy this much more then I expected to. Overall, nothing amazing or new but it is entertaining and worth seeing. I liked it. I give this a B+.