The Counselor

"Too bleak, too steeped in blood sport."

"6/10 I found my mind wandering a lot during this movie, which wasn't good because I was left thinking WTF at the end. I understood what happened but even after 2 hours of movie I wondered "how did we get here?". I mean this specifically to the counselor character. There were so many under utilized great characters that I couldn't figure out why they were there in the first place. If you figured this #thriller out, I'd love to hear your input!"

"Great cast and highly stylized, but self-indulgent horseshit. Disappointing and not worth the opportunity cost."

"It is a movie with depth and you have to watch it in its full condensed form, but it is incredibly fascinating "

"It starts with an American legal counselor laundering money. He doesn’t realize that this money he has absentmindedly made legal connects him to people that are capable of committing horrors beyond his imagination. Through this one act he has indirectly sanctioned their violence and condemned himself to a fate and a burden of which there is no relief. A contemporary Shakespearean tragedy that begins with nonchalant money laundering and ends with what you would expect from Cormac McCarthy. I’d recommend the directors cut. It is very bleak, but the bleakness fits the time it was made. It has a lot of subtly presented information about US/Mexico relations at the time, and touches on topics that are generally avoided, such as who profits from gang warfare in Mexico, the diamond trades connections to violence throughout history, and comedic ruminations on beauty. Not for a lot of folks, but if you like Cormac McCarthy, or the humor of the Coen Bros, you should enjoy this. The theatrical cut doesn’t really have a lot of breathing room but the directors cut gives you some time to think. ."