Páiric O'Corráin 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

Eric_Cubed 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.

nammage First 15 minutes I knew what this movie was going to turn into. As a film lover, I have seen quite a bit of films (19,000+ ratings here over 11,000 on films alone) and this (despite some other reviewers statements) is actually well produced; acting's good, scripted alright (in concern to writing ability), composition not bad but it does have that annoying narration that comes when you never want it. This is basically Fight Club (except people die in this on purpose) without the philosophical undertones. It's not even very good at even that. I mean, while most those fighting are out of shape, don't really know how to fight they still bet a lot of money on the fact their going to live. That seemed wholly unrealistic to me. Only one who is absolutely desperate could I believe would do such a thing, and no character in this film seemed so desperate as that.If there's a moral to walk away from this movie it must be, "When needing some money, take all the money you have and hope you don't die in some fight with some other idiot just like you.". Otherwise...what's this film about? What was the plot? The point? I don't get it and was I supposed to? Now, do not think I am naïve. I have read in the newspaper, seen or have been referenced to YouTube videos, even seen on national and local news on people who come off as idiotic-minded people doing some idiotic-minded things. Like the girl from California driving with her 14 year old sister and friend in the back while live streaming the stupidity of being drunk behind the wheel and the consequences of a dead sister afterward. I know they exist. Movies like this with no sense of philosophical endeavor, underlining message, or even a strand of morality or ethical viewpoint are the entertaining companions of those types of people. And while I also recognize that movies like Fight Club may spark ideas in these types of people to do things where they have no understanding of the consequence or actions that tends not to be the film's fault, in such guise. Because like books and music etc., there's supposed to be an underlining message, right? As each year passes it seems it's either just remakes, sequels, or just movies to make a buck off of. I know (figuratively) everything's been done before but one should try to strive to build on what's been done before rather than just dragging it through the mud and calling it 'art'. Seems also these days, or it's always been (most likely) that even a realistic nature of things needs to be turned into a fiction. I reference 'Joy (2015)' and 'Hacksaw Ridge (2016)' as good examples of that. Take the latter: the real-life father was turned into a mean drunk, in real-life he was nothing like that. Why the fiction? They did the same in 'October Sky (1999)' -- turning the real-life father into a mean awful person who comes to his senses at the end. Not true about the actual man. It's bad enough fictional films take other fictional films and make them even more unbelievable but why do it for real life? The man who's the subject of 'Hacksaw Ridge', while he was alive, never wanted a film about him because they knew they would fictionalize his life and sensationalize it. After he died, what did Mel Gibson do: exactly that. My point is, when are we going to get back (if we were ever there) to what films are supposed to be? To me they were the imagination created by our minds; and when writing about actuality, having an understanding of what that actuality is rather than what we imagine it to be. This film: not that there's much of anything in this film, mind you. While there are small scenes of violence throughout, most of the 'brutal' violence doesn't really start happening until 42-45 minutes in. The way these people just kill others, even for money, as if it's no big deal, as if they've been doing it all their lives and it's just another day at work, is also wholly unrealistic. The police in Ireland must be some of the most incompetent people on the planet, at least in this film. Never remember ever seeing a police officer once in this film. Maybe I missed them. Plus, they dispose of the bodies like amateurs (which they are), and the main character buries all his kills in 2-3 ft deep holes. There's a reason why 6 ft is the normal amount for burials; so animals can't get to them or weather etc., I mean, animals in this film must be incompetent, too, let alone the police. Maybe it's like all those horror films where after all the fighting is done then that's when the police and animals show up, or something. This not an Action film. Not a Thriller or a Horror film or a Drama. It's nothing. Genreless. They do attempt to add a story but it's without a plot or pointless so it doesn't really mean anything, in the end. Sometimes even a bad movie is worth watching; this was barely worth this 'review'. I'm getting so tired of watching these types of films. Most likely watch another in the future but each one kills my love of films as time moves on.

tsevatt I had low expectations based on this film's rating and synopsis but was pleasantly surprised. The plot sounded too dark, impersonal, and unrealistic to be any better than your everyday shock-value indie horror film. However, the idea of ordinary people voluntarily meeting up via the dark web to fight to the death in hopes of doubling their life's savings was just too enticing. The narrator and main character Kevin Fox played by Killian Scott (who I've never seen before) really pulls you in by somehow making the whole world of p2p mutual combatants seem feasible among those who are in financial despair. Then, he takes you along for the downward spiral that ensues when such a world becomes difficult to leave behind. Some of the lines in his narration are so well-written, ironic, and humorously delivered that they alone make the movie worth watching. I hope to see more of that lad! The film also has a way of warming you up before things turn too sinister. Once the ball gets rolling, the writers manage to mix in comedic relief without being campy. There is also good character development which sets it apart from other movies with similar themes. This is despite your initial rejection of John Bradley (Sam from Game of Thrones) for Vernon Stynes as being the pioneer of said "trading" website. Sit tight, because you will come to find Bradley is the perfect cast for reasons I can't disclose without any spoilers. It isn't receiving 9 from me only because most of the rest of the cast just lacked the blockbuster talent required for it. But a 6.1 certainly just doesn't do "Traders" justice.