Director: Ben Wheatley

Writer: Ben Wheatley, Amy Jump (Screenplay)

Starring: Armie Hammer, Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Jack Reynor, Michael Smiley

Plot: Set in Boston in 1978, a meeting in a deserted warehouse between two gangs turns into a shootout and a game of survival.

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Lacking Substance

Story: Free Fire starts as we see Irish man Chris (Murphy) is joined by his men Frank (Smiley), Bernie (Cilenti) and Stevo (Riley) for a gun deal with connections Justine (Larson) and Ord (Hammer). The supplies are Vernon (Copley), Martin (Ceesay), Harry (Reynor) and Gordon (Taylor).

When tensions start to rise early on due to clash of cultures it isn’t long before all hell lets loose and everybody is trying to kill everybody else, but who can walk out alive from this arms deal gone bad.

Thoughts on Free Fire

Characters/Performance – Chris is an Irishman looking to get extra guns for the battle against the English. Justine is the connection between the two parties along with Ord who keeps everything in order. Vernon is the dealer who is slightly strange in his own way.

Performance wise, I don’t think anybody did a bad job everyone is good with the role they are in, with Copley getting most of the laughs with Sam Riley and Jack Reynor both doing well.

Story – The story is very thin here, we have two parties coming together for a gun deal, things go wrong and the rest of the film is spent watching how each has their own individual battle to survive, get the guns or money. I did like the concept but it is a lot of just crawling around with random shooting and nothing else happening.

Action/Comedy/Crime – The action is lots of just random shooting, with the comedy coming in places with certain characters coming off funny while others seem to be played straight, neither have the chemistry to work together. The crime side is the gun deal which is fine for the backdrop of this film.

Settings – The whole film is set in and around the warehouse, this is a good thing because the film does play out in real time, this is the strongest point within this film.

Final Thoughts – I liked the idea behind this film, I just feel the film doesn’t decide if it is going to be a comedy or a serious film, it gets completely stuck between the two and not enjoyable. I can see the directors style in here which I do respect but I am not the biggest fan off.

Overall: Strong idea but disappointing final product with all star cast.

Rating

The Simpsons Challenge

Season 2

Episode 3 Treehouse of Horror I

Couch Gag – The whole introduction is mixed with horror symbols before moving to the treehouse for the stories to begin.

Plot Synopsis – The Simpsons move into a cursed house, then are abducted by aliens, before Homer is ensconced in a tale by Edgar Allen Poe.

What is going on really – We start with a warning from Marge about this episode about the horror that will be involved in this show.

Homer returns from trick or treating only to overhear Bart and Lisa telling horror stories first up is ‘Bad Dream House’

Bad Dream House starts with the Simpson family moving into a massive new cursed house that tells them to ‘Get Out’ with the walls leaking blood and a vortex in the kitchen. On the first night, they all try to kill each other with the house being built on an Indian Burial Ground before evacuating the house.

Next up is Hungry of the Damned where the Simpsons get abducted by Kodos and Kang for their first appearance in the show. With the aliens feeding the Simpsons, Lisa becomes curious to what the aliens want with her family only to believe she has discovered the truth.

The final story is ‘The Raven’ which is the Simpson’s own twist to the Edgar Allen Poe short story of the Raven and forever more, this is a gothic story which is brilliant narrated by James Earl Jones.

Star Character

Homer – The Raven

Final Thoughts – This was the start of the tradition that became one of the most popular episodes in the show, this episode shines because of the Raven is such a brilliant version of the classic tale.

Rating 4.5/5