The Counselor

I have never been in a more awkard situation than I was for the first five minutes (or so) of The Counselor.
The key to enjoying film is the experience of watching them in a darkened theatre on the big screen with a group of people. But there quite a few other things you should do before walking through the door.

The first lesson: make sure you watch or read at least one trailer or review before inviting two work colleagues, both in superior positions, to join you in enjoying a film.
If you're not careful, and the movie is The Counselor, the entire pre-title sequence is going to be one of the longest and most uncomfortable few minutes of the year.

A quick glance at the film's Wikipedia page reveals some controversy over "an explicit sex scene involving the film's female antagonist and a Ferrari windshield", another period of complete and utter uncomfortably you would be much better off avoiding.
And explicit is quite the understatement.

Another lesson: take note of the rating or classification.
They often leave a big (see obvious) clue about the film's content - which you would've seen if you saw a trailer. In the case of The Counselor, there is no better description - or warning - than "strong bloody violence".
Cormac McCarthy (The Road, No Country For Old Men) hits the spot by coming up with some interesting and unique exits for several characters, the most effective of which is known as the "bolito". The explanation of how the device works is superbly delivered by Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt in the role of Westray, an associate of Michael Fassbender's The Counselor.
We even get to see it put to use.

Fassbender leads the cast brilliantly as The Counselor, whose name we half-frustratingly half-awesomely never learn. I believe that's a masterstroke from McCarthy, director Ridley Scott and anybody else on the decision-making panel. While we connect slightly with the lead character as it's his life we've been thrust into, it also allows us to objectively judge him and his actions. This is an extremely good thing, especially given the consequences. Fassbender, who worked with Scott on science fiction hit Prometheus, will return to the big screen next year in the much anticpated X-Men: Days of Future Past (trailer here).
Javier Bardem (Skyfall) is solid as one of the more bizarre and "out there" characters in Reiner, an entrepreneur doubling as a drugs boss by night, while Penelope Cruz achieves similar success as Laura, The Counserlor's fiance. 
My biggest criticism is the casting of Cameron Diaz as Malkina, Reiner's girlfriend. The role is similar to that of Katey Sagal's Gemma Morrow in Sons of Anarchy: an attractive, smart woman in a relationship with a powerful figure who is actually more dangerous than their kingpin lovers. Diaz looked slightly ridiculous in the part, and I personally found it hard to believe in her character at all.