Netflix: Review of K-POP DEMON HUNTERS: Shielding with Song

July 1, 2025

Demons have been stealing the souls of poor unsuspecting humans and channeling them to strengthen their leader, Gwi-Ma. A group of three enchanted women came together to hunt and fight these demons. With their gift of song, these women united the souls of the people to created a shield called the Honmoon to protect the human world. Succeeding generations of Hunters used their singing voices to maintain the Honmoon.

The present day Demon Hunters were in the form of K-pop girl group called Huntr/x, namely lead singer Rumi, dancer MIra and rapper Zoey. They were under the tutelage of Celine, a former demon hunter who raised Rumi, whose late mom was also a hunter. One day after their world tour, Rumi lost her voice as mysterious marks were appearing on her skin. Meanwhile, a boy band of demons called Saja Boys were fast gaining in popularity.

Co-writer and co-director Maggie Kang came up with main story, mixing in elements of Korean mythology and K-pop to create her dream culturally-focused animated movie. The principle of demon hunters and the impenetrable Honmoon created by their songs that kept humankind safe were fascinating. Just as interesting was the idea that gaining a bigger fandom was the be-all and end-all solution to the critical problem

K-pop is so ubiquitous nowadays, every song in the film is so catchy. Huntr/x had songs like "How It's Done," "Golden" and "What It Sounds Like." They even had a song Rumi did not like called "Takedown," but it wasn't any less poppy. The Saja Boys were winsomeright off the bat with the irresistibly sing-along-able fiest hit, "Soda Pop." Their second song "Your Idol" could  be a metaphor of how the public can easily be brainwashed by their hypnotically powerful music.

The handsome rendition of Saja leader Jinu and his romantic interactions with Rumi will thrill fans, especially the young female kind.  The Ru-Jinu love team had great chemistry together, as evidenced by their duet "Free." There were also other aspects of Korean life shown here, like relaxing in bath houses, medicinal tonics that can be fake, wacky TV game shows with celebrities, the cute tiger and the cuter bird with the hat. 8/10

 

Review of F1 THE MOVIE: A Racer's Redemption

July 1, 2025

Back in the 1990s, Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) was considered a promising prodigy in Formula One (or F1) car racing. However, in 1993, he experienced a bad car crash during the Spanish Grand Prix. He  sustained serious back injuries and had to prematurely drop out of the F1 circuit for good. In the years following this accident, Sonny continued a racer-for-hire in minor races as he battled gambling addiction and failed marriages. 

One day, Sonny was approached by his former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), who was now the owner of the APXGP F1 Team. Ruben's team had not been doing well in the current season, finishing last in the previous championship. Investors have threatened to withdraw support if APX fails to win any of the remaining GP races that year. Ruben wanted Sonny to drive for his team, together with rookie Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris).

As an actor, Brad Pitt has consistently done well both commercially and critically. He had one Oscar for Acting (Supporting for "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"), nominated for 3 more.  He is also very active as a film producer in his own production outfit Plan B entertainment, which he owned on his own since 2005. Plan B had won three Oscars for Best Picture ("The Departed," "12 Years a Slave" and "Moonlight"), nominated for eight more.  

F1 is the latest project released by Plan B, and it does not seem farfetched that it will attract Academy Award attention as well. The story is simple and frankly, quite familiar, so may find yourself predicting what will happen next in the strained relationship between Sonny and Joshua, and likely guess a lot of things right. The star power of Brad Pitt was a big factor to make the dramatic redemption story of Sonny Hayes pop out on the big screen, enhanced by awesome production design by Ben Munro and cool costumes by Julian Day. 

Ehren Kruger's screenplay put Sonny and Joshua into all kinds of tight situations and perilous accidents in Grand Prixes in Britain, Belgium, Italy, Las Vegas, Abu Dhabi. Director Joseph Kosinki upped the danger and suspense of these racing scenes with intense cinematography by Claudio MIranda, rapid editing by Stephen Mirrione and heart-pounding music by Hans Zimmer. After this, Kosinki's plan for a sequel featuring Pitt's Sonny and Tom Cruise's Cole from "Days of Thunder" (Tony Scott, 1990) is a certainly a very exciting idea. 8/10