Movie reviews: The Curse Of The Weeping Woman, Money
MONEY (PG)
This crime drama revolves around an aspiring stockbroker (Ryu Jun-yeol) and his distant dream of making big money.
When approached by a mastermind (Yoo Ji-tae) who covertly controls the stock market, he jumps at the chance to cheat his way to the top with dire consequences.
This Korean version of The Wolf Of Wall Street is particularly delightful in the Korean language, as the fast-speaking tongue perfectly complements the movie's kinetic pacing.
Given the financial subject matter, many may find themselves lost, and Money never slows down enough to explain things. But you do get swept along by the sleek cinematography and close-up shots capturing the energy of the characters and the tension of the game.
Money successfully depicts the drug-like high of chasing fool's gold and has the ability to lure the audience into its narcotic haze. - JASMINE LIM - 3.5 Ticks
THE CURSE OF THE WEEPING WOMAN (NC16)
According to Mexican folklore, the ghostly woman known as La Llorona drowned her children in an envious rage, then threw herself into the river as she wept in pain.
Now her tears are lethal and eternal, and she lives in the shadows and preys on children - in this case, those of a social worker (Linda Cardellini) in 1970s Los Angeles - desperate to replace her own.
The premise of this supernatural flick is riveting, but the result disappoints.
Originality is not its forte, as all it does is stitch together popular and time-tested horror movie tropes and stick a new title on it.
To make things worse, the moments that are meant to frighten fall apart, making one laugh instead.
To the movie's credit, it does serve up mindless, easy-to-digest entertainment due to its use of jump scares, comedic timing and likeable main cast.
If you are crying out for a film that is so bad that it could be good, this is the one for you. - JASMINE LIM - 2 Ticks
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