"Free Fire," directed by Ben Wheatley

Movie, 2016

A film with one fairly hackneyed idea, which is pushed to breaking point, but is ultimately rescued by some great and at time over the top acting and a possibly dubious sense of fun at having every protagonist n the film getting battered by their rather dishonest trade. A parable, possibly, about power and guns and evil corrupting and leading to anarchy. It is, however, possibly too easy to read anything into this film because of its almost crass simplicity. A little repetitive, though watchable and, oddly, surprisingly well-paced. 

"Macbeth", directed by Justin Kurzel

Movie, 2015

A film which turns the play on its head, from a pacy plot which builds tension, to something pushing style at the expense of substance and in shortening the running time, makes the whole thing drag. An achievement of sorts. While there are some interesting ideas, including the battle scenes, the whole piece feels like a series of disjointed moments and there are times when the director's vision and cinematography go into overdrive and swamp everything else. Not the greatest introduction to the Bard.