KPop Demon Hunters (2025) Film Review

A world-renowned K-Pop girl group balance their lives in the spotlight with their secret identities as demon hunters.

KPop Demon Hunters is directed by Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang! Appelhans previously directed Wish Dragon (2021) and this being Maggie Kang’s directorial debut!

KPop Demon Hunters is the biggest surprise so far this year, this was a film I was not originally going to watch mainly due to my huge lack of knowledge of K-Pop as a genre of music. I only really know the more mainstream groups and that’s about where my knowledge ends, luckily for people not super into the genre like myself you do not need to be that knowledgeable to jump right into this film. It incorporates elements of the genre while also focusing on being just an overall fantastic film that has so much going for it and even more to really love.

Right off the bat, the voice cast is brilliant the main three characters we follow Rumi, Mira and Zoey almost immediately are filled with charm when they are introduced. The voice acting from Adren Cho, May Hong and Ji-young Yoo is beautifully done, all three have this natural chemistry that you feel from their words and emotions. There’s so much fun dynamics, banter and even character moments shared between the three, it all meshes into this beautifully told story that really captivates the viewer due to the attention to detail that goes into the character designs. Ahn Hyo-seop who voices Jinu is also quite fantastic as well, his moments with Rumi are some of the film’s best that help push the film forward as well as bring out the film’s themes.

The animation is absolutely gorgeous, there’s a lot of attention to detail here that not only went towards the character designs but also the background, the film’s world and the overall atmosphere. There is so much to explore in this world with tons of fun moments during the song sequences, it’s electrifying and never leaves the viewer with a dull moment. The film’s background also tells the story as well, when the foreground is not exactly busy there is always something going on in the background whether it’s fun character movements or just beautifully done animation.

The music is well done and does a great job of translating this style of music to the film, Golden, Free, Takedown and How it’s Done are some of the film’s standouts although the whole track list is quite great. Each of the songs has its own personality and flavor to them that keeps things incredibly fresh throughout the film. The song sequences are also beautifully animated with a lot going on and so much energy in the air that it ultimately builds to beautiful finale.

The story might not exactly be anything new and has a few hiccups, with that being said that is not nearly enough to stop the film’s story from being effective. There’s this 90s classic anime feel such as Sailor Moon that when paired with this exciting style of animation is absolutely exciting and almost feels like it’s putting this era into a different perspective. The visual storytelling is also fantastic there’s a lot of moments here where lines do not have to be said, the music pushes it forward in this way that the viewer can clearly understand.

Overall KPop Demon Hunters is so far the best animated film of the year as well as being one of the best films of the year in general. Be sure to watch this one if you haven’t!

KPop Demon Hunters is available on Netflix.

9/10 A

Happy Gilmore 2 (2025) Film Review

Gilmore returns to the sport of golf since his retirement after winning his first Tour Championship, to finance his daughter’s ballet classes

Happy Gilmore 2 is directed by Kyle Newacheck director of Game Over, Man! (2018) and Murder Mystery (2019). The film serves as a sequel to Happy Gilmore (1996).

Happy Gilmore 2 asks the question, what if we can throw in as many cameos as possible while also completely taking everything that made the first film so fun away? If that was the main goal here then the movie accomplishes just that, if the main goal was to be a good movie that wanted to be as memorable as the first movie well then it fails miserably.

The acting is all over the place, a surprisingly decent performance comes from Bad Bunny who between his appearances on SNL and this film has shown he might have something with comedic acting. It’s a shame that he had this script to work because the very few laughs from the movie come from him. Adam Sandler isn’t terrible here, he delivers a few jokes but he’s just really not doing anything drastically different from what he did with Happy years ago. If anything this movie really shows that Sandler has not really evolved as a comedian due. The dynamic between Sandler and his daughter is genuinely sweet, but we do not get a whole lot of that here unfortunately.

The cameos are what they are, even when she’s given 2-5 minutes of screen time Margaret Qualley ends up being one of the best parts of the movie. She’s genuinely funny and works with what she can with the script. Eminem’s cameo is also kind of fun in a “so bad it’s hilarious way” that does not come from Eminem’s performance (actually okay) it comes from the way the scene is executed and shot, it heavily reminds you of the sort bizarreness you would see in a Super Bowl Ad. There is a lot of instances in the movie like this and this is one of the few times where it works. There is a ton of other cameos that range from “why is this even here?” to speaking for themselves.

The script from Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler attempts to throw everything at a wall to see what sticks, it’s devoid of what made the first movie so fun. Such as the humor and some genuine character moments, those are completely absent here with so little to go off of. The movie’s use of nostalgia and old clips from the previous movie while somewhat neat quickly starts to lose its uniqueness once you realize that a large majority of it is covered with this feel of wanting to also be a modern comedy that throws cameos at the wall.

The biggest issue with Happy Gilmore 2 is the movie itself feels like a giant ad that is desperately trying to sell you something, the way it’s shot with the obnoxious zoom ins, the shoddy editing that fails to give the movie any sort of personality and the visual language just not having anything to compliment on throughout the whole movie. As I mentioned before a lot of the movie is shot like a Super Bowl ad and while it may seem fitting since it is sports related, it quickly gets old and has no personality at all.

Overall Happy Gilmore 2 is a cameo fest that occasionally has some decent laughs but can’t be saved from the incredibly messy script that has no desire of capturing the feel of the first movie.

Happy Gilmore 2 is available on Netflix.

3/10 D-

House Of Eden (2025) Film Review

Setting out to film their next paranormal investigation, Kris, Celina and Jay encounter a malevolent, ancient spirit that resides in an abandoned house deep in the woods.

House Of Eden is directed by Kris Collins which is her directorial debut.

I’m not going to sit here and declare who and who can’t make a film, the number one reason why I love film so much and love talking about it is that anyone can have their go at it. With that being said right from the beginning of House Of Eden you immediately get the vibe that this feels like something straight out of the horror side of TikTok, you would be correct if that is what you immediately think. Kris Collins (director and actress) as well as Celina Myers are both TikTokers and Jason-Christopher Mayer is their editor. I respect that they took a stab at trying to make a film but almost everything here does not come together in the slightest.

The acting is what you imagine it to be…not good, if the goal was to play annoying TikTokers then I guess mission accomplished but even then it still does not make for a fun or interesting movie. None of these characters have any sort of development, intriguing background information or even chemistry towards one another. We are told they are friends but we really don’t get to see anything meaningful about their friendship, it feels more like you got a few people together and see how they would react sort of deal.

The story tries way too hard to capture what made The Blair Witch Project (1999) so great, first and foremost the story isn’t anywhere as intriguing. A lot of what happens in The House Of Eden is basically any other found footage horror film that has come out in the last several years. You get a bunch of one note characters who are searching for something or someone, predictable scares, a very vague urban legend that sounds neat on paper (the best part of the movie) but in execution is incredibly lacking. The whole checklist of the found footage genre is here with none of it leaving a lasting impression.

The biggest problem here is it takes an excruciatingly long time to get to the point of the movie, a lot of time is spent with the characters messing around and not really doing anything that moves the plot forward, I’m sure a lot of these moments were thrown in to try and get the viewer to care for these characters and their supposed friendship between one another. But the problem stems from none of these characters having the script to back it up (written by Kris Collins.)

Making a TikTok and a film are two incredibly different skillsets which is shown throughout this movie. From the sluggish pacing that fails to capture any of the rich slow burn that The Blair Witch Project (1999) had to the shoddy script that depicts these characters as internet brain rotted Individuals.

I’m sure that Kris Collins, Celina Myers and Jason-Christopher Mayer are great people and have made some excellent horror videos for their viewers, but it’s clear that when it comes to filmmaking there was a lot of struggle leaving a gigantic mess of a movie that feels like it missed the found footage horror film craze train.

House Of Eden releases tomorrow in theaters.

1/10 F

The Phoenician Scheme (2025) Film Review

Wealthy businessman, Zsa-zsa Korda appoints his only daughter, a nun, as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists, and determined assassins.

The Phoenician Scheme is directed by Wes Anderson director of Bottle Rocket (1996), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Isle Of Dogs (2018), The French Dispatch (2021), Asteroid City (2023) and many others.

Wes Anderson is back again with another incredibly strong film, while in some areas the film very much does feel like what you would expect from a Wes Anderson film at this point. There is a lot of excellent character writing, humorous moments and fun dialogue that ultimately lead into some genuinely touching moments.

The cast like in most Wes Anderson films does a fantastic job here, I would argue that this film highlights that even more than some of his other films. Benicio del Toro, Mia Therapleton and Michael Cera are all hilarious together each in their own way. The father and daughter bond between Benicio del Toro and Mia Therapleton that builds over the course of the film is genuinely touching, what starts as a rough bond quickly evolves into something genuine, there’s some quite beautiful moments towards the film’s final moments that actually does make the viewer shed a tear. There’s this theme of rebuilding and learning to communicate and the film does that incredibly well with del Toro and Therapleton, it depicts this in such a raw way that quickly connects with the viewer.

Michael Cera is hilarious all around, he captures the bizarre atmosphere the film is going for. The build up to what his character is ultimately revealed to be would have never worked if this were almost any other director, but due to how hilarious Cera is combined with being just born to be in a Anderson film the reveal works and makes Cera all the more fantastic. Cera’s chemistry with Therapleton is also charming, fun and is genuinely sweet, it’s something we also get to see build up over the course of the film and ends up being very well developed.

The rest of the cast is fantastic, although we don’t get to see more of them they stick around long enough to have a lasting impact on the viewer. Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Jeffery Wright and Riz Ahmed in particular are a lot of fun here.

The writing this time around is genuinely hilarious, this is perhaps Anderson’s most hilarious film since The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Which I believe is mainly due to how the film’s premise is presented, going around recruiting people to help you in business dealings while being constantly hunted down is shown in this humorous way that Anderson absolutely hits out of the park. The theme of scaling down ambition is shown here in this striking way, too much ambition can lead to crashing and even dangerous results. This is explored quite well and especially is well executed during the third act of the film.

The films final moments I find to be incredibly sweet, not only do we get the beautiful moments of father and daughter bond we have gotten throughout the film. But the film’s themes are tied together in this nice little bow and shows that starting from scratch and a new life can be welcomed.

The Phoenician Scheme is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

Heads Of State (2025) Film Review

U.S. President Will Derringer and British Prime Minister Sam Clarke have a not-so-friendly and very public rivalry. However, when Air Force One gets shot down over enemy territory, they find themselves on the run and working together to thwart a global conspiracy that threatens the entire free world.

Heads Of State is directed by Ilya Naishuller director of Hardcore Henry (2015) and Nobody (2021).

Heads Of State is not as bad as you would think, that’s mainly due to the fun cast, the direction from Naishuller, some decently timed comedic scenes and even some fun action scenes. The movie unfortunately does fall apart due to the story not really being that investing and a bit formulaic, having that said there’s a lot to like here.

The performances are fun especially Idris Elba and John Cena who both play the buddy cop duo very well, they play off of each other and have fun little banters that keep the movie going at this solid pace. The two’s back and forth are great with fun dialogue that does end up giving the viewer a decent amount to laugh at, it helps that Cena and Elba have the charm to make it work.

The action scenes and the camerawork are actually decently effective here, you get some genuinely great shots during the action filled moments. This does not come to much of a surprise due to Naishuller who’s worked on two incredibly well shot and beautifully done films that ooze with the action film atmosphere, Heads Of State has some of the DNA from Hardcore Henry (2015) and Nobody (2021) although on a much lesser scale (which is not a surprise given that this went straight to streaming.) the film’s action scenes are not anywhere near as good as the previously mentioned films but Naishuller is clearly having a lot of fun and does everything he can with these scenes. For the most part it ends up being effective, taking whatever he can to make a straight to streaming action film work. From what’s presented here and considering what he had to work with, he does a pretty solid job here.

The main flaw with Heads Of State is mainly the writing, while it’s certainly not terrible. It’s not that investing and does land in the formulaic territory, the movie does admittedly get weaker as it goes on mainly due to its nearly 2 hour run time combined with the slow pacing (Cena and Elba can only do so much when it comes to moving the film along.)

With that said, Heads Of State is not a bad movie, it’s one that misses some marks but is a fun enough time that will satisfy most action movie fans.

Heads Of State is available on Amazon Prime Video.

5/10 C

Kill ‘em Now (2025) Film Review

A Bounty Hunter must help a culturally stagnated and hysterical group of Town Folk muster whatever they have to defeat a band of dangerous thugs to earn an undisclosed payday of a lifetime. But will a hidden sibling rivalry stand in the way of the reward and jeopardize everyone’s lives?

Kill ‘em Now is directed by Ryan J. Serrano which is his directorial debut!

I am not typically into western films, but I do recognize them as being a stable for film as a whole. Kill ‘em Now takes that idea and mixes things up a bit.

For starters the film takes on a more self aware comedic approach something you do not often see in a whole lot in of westerns. It never feels like it’s too much, there’s tons of genuinely hilarious moments that are filled to the brim with charm and fun. The character’s behavior makes each scene all the more worth it, the low budget feel combined with the self aware nature helps the film bring out the film’s fun nature.

The acting is a lot of fun as well, Joan James plays No Name a character who is mostly silent but is able to communicate in words thanks to his appearance as well as actions, he captures this classic feel of those neat anti-hero characters who may not say a whole lot but their actions speak for themselves, James fits the western genre like a glove and as the film goes on you quickly invest into his character. Ryan J. Serrano also acts in the film and gives such an entertaining performance, he’s part of what makes the humor work as well as he does. He’s clearly having a blast while on screen which brings out a lot of the film’s charm.

Finally there’s the direction from Serrano who knows how to bring in so many hilarious scenes, he also knows how to get each character involved with the story. Not every character is incredibly important to the story being told, however it is still nice and refreshing to see everyone participate.

Overall Kill ‘em Now is a fun film that has quick and easy 54 minute running time, there’s always something going on with a majority of it being filled with charm and fun!

Serrano House Films will show Kill ‘em Now at Whittier Village Cinema July 19th!

7/10 B

LifeCycle (2025) Short Film Review!

Explores the haunting unraveling of Renato D’Auréli, a fictionalized auteur whose obsession with artistic perfection ultimately consumes his life and legacy.

LifeCycle is directed by Roberto Ortiz which is his first time directing!

LifeCycle is an interesting short film about a fictionalized auteur named Renato D’Auréli who is obsessed with perfection to the point where it consumes his life and even his legacy.

The film is a homage to the silent film era, from the black and white filming to the dialogue intertitles. It compliments this era of film incredibly well and really does feel like you are watching some sort of lost film from this era. The use of sound is quite brilliant as well, the constant ticking captures D’Auréli losing himself from obsession of wanting to perfect. It’s ticking time bomb that might not be exactly loud, but it’s done in this quiet yet incredibly effective way that keeps the viewer along for the ride.

The performances are quite well done, Roberto Oritz does a fantastic and incredibly entertaining job as Renato D’Auréli, he creates such a fun space for the film where it’s just oozing with style and passion. Perhaps that’s what makes Lifecycle so great, almost immediately you can feel the passion of the short and by the end it really does display this well. Oritz does such a good job of portraying a man who is too obsessed with wanting perfection, it’s something that can get into a lot of artists’s heads and here it’s done in this fun but also quite real way.

Serrano House Films will show LifeCycle at Whittier Village Cinema July 19th!

9/10 A

The Accountant 2 (2025) Film Review

Forensic accountant Christian Wolff teams up with his estranged but highly lethal brother to track down mysterious assassins

The Accountant 2 is directed by Gavin O’Connor director of Comfortably Numb (1995), Tumbleweeds (1999), Miracle (2004), Pride and Glory (2008), Warrior (2011), Jane Got A Gun (2015), The Accountant (2016) and The Way Back (2020). The film serves as a sequel to The Accountant (2016).

The Accountant (2016) was a pretty solid action thriller that actually became a hit at the box office which is always nice to see a mid-budget film do well. A sequel was quickly announced as expected and well it definitely was not a bad attempt at a sequel, there really is not a whole lot to comment on here. Some people stand by The Accountant 2 being an improvement over the first film, while others stand by this one being weaker and I definitely think I fall into the latter.

What does remain the same is the strong acting, Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal are both fantastic here. The two blend in with the film taking a more comedic approach this time around which actually does lead into some surprisingly charming moments, Affleck and Bernthal just work so incredibly well together to the point where even if you are not really into what’s going on in the film. You can at least how well done their chemistry really is and how much they carry this film.

The film takes much more of a comedic approach this time around, yes there are thrilling and action filled moments but those are clearly not the main focus. You will get a focus on this people trafificking/conspiracy plot (which admittedly is really not that interesting) and then the film focuses on Affleck and Bernthal having a grand ole time at the bar, dancing and chatting about their lives. It’s a bizarre switch in tone but it mostly works due to the film’s ability to transition from scene to scene well.

The final act is your traditional action filled section which is admittedly pretty neat, it’s not anything groundbreaking but there is the excitement factor that’s present and the build up is quite solid as well. The main criticism here is the running time, it goes on for way too long especially with a lot of scenes where you can really feel they are dragging it out for the sake of doing so.

Overall there is not much else to be said here, The Accountant 2 is a sequel that while fun in it’s own way. Just sort of exists because of how well the first film did, I am admittedly interested to see how the third film will be done (at the time of writing this the third film has been confirmed.) Definitely not a terrible film but not one I will ever go back to.

The Accountant 2 is available on all VOD Platforms.

6/10 C+

Tornado (2025) Film Review

When her father’s puppet samurai show gets ambushed by a notorious gang, Tornado vows to seek vengeance and forge her own destiny by stealing their ill-gotten gold.

Tornado is directed by John Maclean director of Slow West (2015).

Tornado has this interesting idea going on here where it combines samurai and western films, even if the story being told here does not have the full emotional firepower it needs to. There is still a decent amount to appreciate here that does end up help the film ultimately stand on its own.

The performances are great, Kōki gives a solid performance as Tornado. She absolutely carries the film even when it’s in some rough patches, she balances the action moments along with the quiet moments where she is just bonding with her father very well. The writing may not give her a whole lot to go in depth with, but she’s able to turn certain scenes into decently exciting ones from just being quite talented.

The supporting cast is fine here, the best by far has to be Tim Roth who’s just really great at playing a villain. His character Sugarman might be a very generic villain but Roth as an actor helps elevate the role into something a bit more (I’m being generous when I say that), we really do not get a whole lot of information about Sugarman as a character from the script. So it’s really Roth’s acting that does a lot of the talking.

When it comes to the technical aspects Tornado is quite great. The cinematography from Robbie Ryan has this atmospheric feel that you immediately get from a lot of samurai and western films, the decision to shoot on 35mm gave this film a very gorgeous look that actually helps standout well. It’s a smart creative choice and combined with the locations of the film, we get to see how effective this decision really was and how it benefits it in the long run. We get to see how the filming compliments the woods, trails, fields and such in this beautiful and striking detail.

The script is what is mainly holding this one back from being great, the story is a very typical revenge story that you can almost immediately guess what is going to happen. There’s just not a whole lot going on here with the characters, while the film does give some genuinely great character moments such as Tornado bonding with her father Fujin by doing a puppet show for the children. There’s not nearly enough of these moments to really say that the film gives the viewer a lot of emotional depth for the characters.

Overall I do think Tornado is a decent film, visually it’s quite fantastic. When it comes to the writing it drops the ball but it’s not a complete misfire, there’s just not a whole lot going on here narratively and with some writing adjustments this could have been much better.

Tornado is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

The Old Guard 2 (2025) Film Review

Andy leads immortal warriors against a powerful enemy threatening their group. They grapple with the resurfacing of a long-lost immortal, complicating their mission to safeguard humanity.

The Old Guard 2 is directed by Victoria Mahoney director of Yelling to the Sky (2011). The film serves as a sequel to The Old Guard (2020).

The Old Guard 2 is one of the most disappointing films of 2025 so far and there’s definitely an argument to be made that it’s THE most disappointing. The Old Guard (2020) was a really great film that was fun and quite engaging, it came out at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and was one of the films that still gets talked about often (I feel like a lot of the films that went to streaming or were going to be released on streaming anyway during that period of time are often forgotten.) that’s mainly thanks to the great cast, fun action and the excellent direction from Gina Prince-Bythewood. A sequel was greenlit in January 2021 which given how great the first film was I was interested to see what they would do next.

Half a decade later The Old Guard 2 releases….and it’s quite a trainwreck, everything that the first film did so well at is just not present here. Instead it’s replaced with terrible dialogue that is actually quite baffling, unfocused direction (Bythewood did not return) and the feel of a straight to DVD sequel is brought in rather than this strong and fun feel from the first movie.

Charlize Theron is the one thing the movie has going for it and even then she can only do so much. When the rest of the cast either gets very little to do or are flat out not great there is not much a single actor can work with. How this movie does not go far enough with a face off between Charlize Theron and Uma Thurman is quite unbelievable and one of the several questions that the viewer is bound to ask after watching. What’s frustrating is the great supporting cast from the first film are wasted here particularly Chiwetel Ejiofor, with very little to work with due to such a shoddy script.

There are some decent hand to hand combat moments, but the action is still heavily downgraded from the first film. It’s nowhere near as thrilling, exciting or has the cinematic feel of the first. It feels very cheap and way too many quick cuts that make it hard to make out what exactly is going on.

The mythology from the first film now feels convoluted and confusing throwing in a bunch of immortality transfers and even more immortals quickly makes the viewer wonder “what exactly am I watching?” The movie never bothers with any sort of explanation or even deep dive as to why there is so much going on it’s all just sloppily put together. It doesn’t help that the movie bounces from subplot to subplot which again is thanks to poor editing and writing.

Within the first 10 minutes you can feel Gina Prince-Bythewood’s direction is missing, it’s a shame because she really brought this focused and thrilling direction that helped the first film find an identity. The Old Guard 2 never finds an identity in fact it does not come close to finding one, Mahoney’s direction settles for a very cringe (I hate using that term but when you hear some of the lines from this movie you will be saying the same thing) inducing script that tries to playoff like it’s trying to be something cool when in reality it’s embarrassing.

The cherry on top in all this mess is the movie ends on a cliffhanger that will absolutely piss off even casual viewers, I really hope that the potential third film was shot back to back with this one because otherwise it’s such a baffling decision when it took five years just to get this one out the door.

Overall The Old Guard 2 is a disaster, it’s the equivalent of those terrible straight to DVD sequels that are quickly forgotten about. This movie will face the same fate while its predecessor will still be looked at in an even more positive light.

The Old Guard 2 is available on Netflix.

1/10 F