Nido di vipere

Making money is an absolute element, making a Quentin Tarantino movie clever.

I have to agree with one previous reviewer: whoever gave this movie just 1 star clearly didn't even watch it.

'Cause, you know, you give one-star reviews to such crap as, I don't know, Look Who's Talking Too, Sausage Party or - to stay with recent releases - Cats or Extraction (aka Tyler Rake). You don't give such god-awful ratings to a movie like this. You may not like it, and that's okay, obviously. But you can't seriously be telling us you consider this one of the worst movies ever made.

Of course it's not perfect, of course it's no masterpiece but c'mon! Given the fact that this is a first-time outing well - it's a pretty damn good one. An edge-of-your-seat thriller that keeps you hooked for the entire running time. It may not be all that original, we can agree on that account, but it anyhow manages to pull off same good scenes and even - to same degree - some interesting points of social satire. What else should we ask for?

The title in itself it's already pretty much revealing as the whole plot centers around a bag full of money and the lenghts the characters involved are able to go to put their hands upon it. They got different reasons and not all of them act out of pure greed. But, in the end, this simple narrative mechanism is perfectly functional to show us the way money controls and directs our lives. The absence of money, of course, but also the excessive amount of it.

As I already mentioned: nothing original in here. But the director has the skills and so he manages to keep us interested. Till a totally sneering conclusion that seems to give us some sort of "cosmic justice" if you pass me the term. Or, most probably, it's just another delusion and the whole bloody affair will repeat itself again and again and happiness will never be reached.

So, yeah, I'll say Beast Clawing at Straws is a solid thriller, tightly written and directed and wonderfully acted (and a special mention, on this regard, goes to Jeon Do-yeon: as soon as she enters the scene well, she just steals the show).

I know this is a sub-genre that some people love and they would split hairs, calling me a killjoy, but to me this is like...Layer Cake? 8 Heads in a Duffle Bag? There are also some South Korean films from about twenty years ago with similar themes, though admittedly the script is original in its character development and fine details. I don't know how people survived all of those head injuries, especially the old grandma. It's a dark comedy, not meant to be realistic, and apparently based upon a novel. The main protagonist any normal person would root for is a clerk at a jjimjilbang, a real working class victim of the system, so I can gladly put this well-written film into the cannon of SK flicks that defend the downtrodden poor.

Right from the start, you realize various stories are linked somehow and money is the common bond. Everyone wants this prize and trying to gain upper-hand somehow. The acting is superb and the pace is fast enough to be captivating.

This movie contained enough violence, disgusting human behavior, memorable characters, and selfish human desire to be worthwhile watching.

Well if Yong-hoon Kim produces anything else of this quality in his lifetime he'll be a happy chap. Yes the quality of the story helps greatly but the directing is up there with the best. This film is like a Steven Soderbergh does Korean crime, dark, violent with wonderful black comedy. More please.