So much average

Admirable film.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Traders (2015): Harry Fox (Killian Scott) and Vernon Stynes (John Bradley) are left penniless when their company goes under in the economic crash. Harry takes work as a minimum wage data-entry clerk, Vernon returns home to mum to work on a business plan. A colleague who can't take the stress drives his car into a tree so that his family will get the insurance money.Vernon comes up with the idea of Trading: you fight to the death with each participant putting up an equal stake. You double your money each time and bury the body of your opponent, each having taken turns digging the grave beforehand. Literally survival of the fittest. Harry excels and racks up the kills and accumulates capital. Ken (Barry Keoghan), an eighteen year old combatant complicates the story as criminals attempt to move in on the business. Orla (Nika McGuigan) is Vernon's neighbour and unrequited love interest but now Harry gets involved. But nothing is ever quite straightforward in this quirky Irish thriller which is veined with very dark humour.A macabre take on the aftermath of the Crash in Ireland, never before has Dublin looked so desolate nor have so many bleak burial sites been located. I a particular irony, abandoned building sites are the arenas for many of the combats and also supply the grave sites. Good acting all round particularly from Scott, Bradley and Keoghan. Co- Directed and written by Rachael Moriarty and Peter Murphy this sharp thriller was under-appreciated on it's release. 8/10

There is something unique and special about English revenge, bloody gangster, colorful evil people films. "Snatch" and "Shallow Grave" of course tops them all. I really liked this one, and even though it's barely in the ballpark of "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" or even "Layer Cake," I found no problem watching it all the way through. The acting is nothing short of superb, and the character development at times masterful. Really enjoyed and highly recommend this one.

I was brought to this via following John Bradly (GoT), who does a sterling job here.Really good solid film without all the self-congratulatory nonsense that fills Hollywood movies but still with high production values. Despite the unlikely premise that runs throughout, it is shot with a bleak but engaging realism. The characters are developed and yet refreshingly, we don't have to suffer too much relationship nonsense.The plot is pretty straight forward and while some might say it was a bit thin, I was content to just let it flow to its conclusion. I was initially skeptical about the main premise being a viable concept (even within a film) but the small scale of how it started actually won me round.

When I saw screen captures, I dreaded to spend 2h bored watching a dumb looking fat guy... but I'm glad that I overcame my prejudices because he's actually the most interesting person in the movie! His cleverness made it all possible. A lot of people get fired and commit suicide because of financial ruin, so he gets the idea to fight to the death to win the other person's money... A lesser of two evils.Oh~ How I loved to hate him and his plots, the bastard.The main fighter is a more likable person in spite of being a bit dull. But it's fun to watch him kill.It's an original way to calm people's frustrations by showing them a bunch of people dying, it's a nice change from slasher movies with a crazy maniac as killer. That stereotype is wrong, it caused stigma and discrimination against people with mental illness, most of them are that way because they suffered more than they could bear, but they wouldn't hurt others. I like how the movie shows that you don't need to be insane to kill, all it takes is a rational motivation... and even the "best" people can do the worst if they see it as their best option.It was nice to see ordinary "good and proper" people pushed into desperation enough to try to murder... Showing that anyone could do it when pushed hard enough. It's easy to be a good person when everyone is good to you and give you good opportunities... And people pride themselves with mere luck... But if that help is taken away and you fear to lose everything good, you might turn out more evil than you thought anyone could ever be. One of the fighters seemed old and I thought that he had no chance, but the way he fought really surprised me.Thank you for this movie. It made me laugh~ Thankfully I'm not that desperate yet. I appreciated this movie, and I appreciate my life a little better.