K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025)

It's easy to feel cynical when watching a movie boosted by current trends and bandwagon jumping. A trio of K-pop idols called HUNTR/X moonlight as demon hunters (it's there in the title). A blend of genres, including anime and Korean drama, and animated in the style of Sony's Spider-Verse movies, visually, it's aces. I guess it makes sense since K-pop singers are treated like superhumans in our modern culture. What helps this film succeed in its own right is that the songs are catchy, so it mostly resembles an extended music video with a loose plot. It's flashy and poppy, which will appease the young ones. A novel concept that was unfortunately popular enough to launch its own franchise.

2½ Golden Honmoons out of 5

Note: The OST on its own gets 3 out of 5 for doing most of the heavy lifting.

Kiss of the Spider Woman (2025)

An adaptation of the 1992 stage musical, based on the 1976 novel (which was previously adapted into a film in 1985). In an Argentinian jail cell in 1983, a flamboyant man relays the story of his favorite movie to a political prisoner being held for questioning. These Technicolor sequences serve as a fanciful diversion from the stark horrors of prison life. Jennifer Lopez stands out as the titular character, which I enjoyed in contrast to the rest of this drab film. Unfortunately, it's a movie at war with itself that cannot be reconciled.

1½ pairs of shitty underpants out of 5

Knives Out (2019)

Who killed Christopher Plummer? Rian Johnson writes and directs this twisty whodunnit where solving the murder is only half the story, and like all great detective fiction, there are layers to the mystery which keep you guessing. Daniel Craig (donning a thick Southern drawl) heads the investigation as famed detective Beniot Blanc, the Poirot of the South. It's an enormously entertaining ride, filled with twists and turns, humor and heart, and a deeply tangled web, featuring an all-star cast all on their A-game. Satisfying from top to bottom.

4 donut holes out of 5

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (2006)

Screened exactly twice in 2006 and 2011, this year finally marks the official wide release of the complete work, restoring it back to Tarantino's original unified vision, before it was insisted on being split into two volumes at the behest of Miramax's Harvey Weinstein. The result is a four-hour martial arts/exploitation/samurai epic (plus 15 minute intermission) with pacing that flows better as one cohesive whole, with some of the fat trimmed out of it.

Watching this 20 years after the fact in a packed theater makes it clear how well the material ages. Enormously entertaining and never boring, it's an homage to all the greats of the past, blending so many disparate styles in a pastiche of Americana, which doesn't take away from the artists it so liberally borrows from. As the ultimate revenge story (summed up in the title), it favors style over substance, but the mission is clear and the emotions are real: You're with The Bride every step of the way. It's not without its flaws, but there's no denying this is Cinema; there aren't many filmmakers left making epics of this caliber. To put it even more bluntly, this is just a cool fucking film with iconic visuals and a killer soundtrack. And Uma Thurman looks damn good doing it.

5 Deadly Vipers out of 5

Note: Exclusive to this 2025 print is a new chapter entitled "Yuki's Revenge," which was animated using the Unreal Engine, with Uma performing the voice acting and motion capture. Luckily, this is tacked on at the end of the credits and doesn't interrupt the flow of the film. You can view it in its entirety here.

Note 2: The original Nutshell reviews can be found here: Volume 1, Volume 2

Keeper (2025)

A couple spending a romantic weekend at a secluded cabin in the woods find more than they bargained for. Weirdness and creepiness permeates every frame of this film. Does it all pay off in the end? Maybe or maybe not, but it's memorable in that way that good horror tends to stick around in the edges of your subconscious. Tatiana Maslany gives an insanely watchable performance.

3 bites of chocolate cake out of 5

Krazy House (2024)

Presented as a sitcom from the early '90s (complete with laugh track), this nightmare fuel toes that same surreal line as Too Many Cooks as it quickly grows more surreal and disturbing. Watching this is like being trapped in a waking nightmare. The more of this stuff you ingested as a child, the deeper it goes. The put-upon dad endures a lot of bullshit until he finally goes off his rocker. It loses steam as it descends further into chaos, but it's a great start.

1½ crises of faith out of 5

Kingpin (1996)

The Farrellys follow up their successful Dumb & Dumber with the bowling comedy Kingpin, about a washed up ex-bowler (Woody Harrelson) who takes on a promising young talent in a naive Amish farmer (Randy Quaid) with the promise of winning a one million dollar tournament and getting his revenge along the way. The Farrellys were the masters at this kind of raucous comedy, once upon a time, balancing nail-biting pathos with side-splitting humor. 

I always saw this movie as a bizarre counterpart to The Big Lebowski. 

3½ ball returns out of 5

Note: It comes in two flavors: PG-13 and R. You know which one to go for.

The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)

The classic sketch comedy movie from the Kentucky Fried Theater troupe (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker) is presented as a series of highly irreverent programming on a local TV station, with fake commercials, news segments, movie trailers and a "feature film" (the Bruce Lee parody "A Fistful of Yen"). It's only the latter segment which weighs the middle of the movie down by being a bit too long, although it's filled with memorable moments that have persisted in my memory. It's gleefully profane and "of its time," and the type of humor you wouldn't be able to get away with nowadays, which is its main selling point. As with the nature of all sketch comedy, it can be hit or miss at times, but this is mostly hit. There are so many overlaps between this and The Groove Tube, I think one must have influenced the other.

3½ "Films at 11" out of 5

Karate Kid: Legends (2025)

After 40 years of assorted race and genders, we finally get our first Asian karate kid in the sixth installment of the interconnected franchise which unites Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) from Parts I, II and III (and Cobra Kai) with Shifu Han (Jackie Chan) from the 2010 reboot. There's a bit of retconning going on to explain that Miyagi and Han have a bit of shared family history, and knew each other from back in the day. His memory is kept alive through Miyagi-Do karate.

The setup is familiar by now. In an opposite twist on the previous film, we now have a boy immigrating from China to the USA and following the tried-and-true formula of bullies, girlfriends and a championship tournament that will somehow make everything right. It's literally a remix of all the films, and as such, lacks in any tension because we already know how it will all go down. Sadly, it feels slick and modern and moves way too quickly, since there are never any hurdles too difficult to overcome in a Hollywood movie. At least it was fun to see Jackie Chan still performing his own stunts at 71, and realizing Ralph Macchio isn't too far behind him at 63. The time...where has it gone?

2½ combos out of 5

The Karate Kid (2010)

A remake of the 1984 film (or is it a reboot?), which also confusingly functions as the fifth film in the franchise. Despite the title, it has nothing to do with the martial art of Okinawa, Japan. It should technically be called The Kung Fu Kid.

After moving to China with his mom, 12-year-old Dre makes an enemy of the local bullies while sticking up for the girl he likes. He meets mild-mannered maintenance man, Mr. Han, who reluctantly agrees to train him while building up his self-image. What I appreciate is that Mr. Han is not a 1:1 carbon copy of Mr. Miyagi. He's less of a wise Yoda archetype, and more of a disillusioned figure. Still, it's fun to watch Jackie Chan beating the shit out of children.

When people throw around the term "nepotism" in Hollywood, none is more egregious than Jaden Smith starring in a film produced by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. The actor is passable, but it cynically feels like a star vehicle. Casting issues aside, the writing isn't terrible. Riddled with clichés and inferior in many ways, it's a testament to the original that it still manages to work.

3 "jacket on, jacket off" out of 5

Kinda Pregnant (2025)

A single woman in her 40s, obsessed with having a baby since she was a kid, decides to roleplay by wearing a fake baby bump. It's a paper thin premise in which she leads a secret double life reaping the benefits of such newfound attention, with the predictable outcome and consequences. I hate how shallow and formulaic this stuff is, but the insult to injury is the fact that the romantic angle between Amy Schumer and Will Forte is not believable at all. It seems to be a woman's fantasy of what modern love should be, with the man acting docile, subservient and not questioning any of the stupidity that happens in this film. It's an insult to brain cells everywhere.

1 belly flop out of 5

Kneecap (2024)

In West Belfast in the late 2010s, two juvenile delinquents and a music teacher form a hip-hop trio called Kneecap who rap in their native Irish tongue, while they struggle against political opposition and those who would silence them for their vulgar lyrics. What's unique about this "loose" biopic is that the trio play themselves in the film, which lends a respective air of authenticity to the proceedings, as they attempt to defend free speech and their right to speak Irish (which is apparently more controversial than I realized). It's all done in a fairly competent, hyper entertaining fashion, and the music ain't bad either.

3 lines of ketamine mistaken for coke out of 5

Kraven the Hunter (2024)

The Sony Spider-Man Universe (SSU) revolves around villains and ancillary characters from the Spider-Man comics without actually involving the web-slinger himself (the character is currently on loan to the Disney MCU). What we get instead are some half-baked ideas and origin movies that don't really go anywhere. The most successful of these was Venom, which spawned two sequels, but Morbius and Madame Web were plagued by poor creative decisions which ended up cancelling plans for further films in the franchise.

The latest of these, Kraven the Hunter, is based on the villain whose power lies in his name. While attacked and left for dead by a shitty CGI lion, he receives a mystery serum which gives him heightened predatory abilities. We're also introduced to versions of Rhino, Chameleon, Calypso and the Foreigner. The result isn't terrible, but the problem with these origin stories is that they set up future tentpoles that will never come because each of these Sony films has underperformed. What ever happened to making complete standalone movies that don't rely on tying it to future IP? The movie isn't bad per se, there's just a lot of strands that never get paid off and probably never will, especially since these stories remain separate from the Marvel Spider-Man IP, confusingly enough. It's all just a big tease that will never come.

2 spider hallucinations out of 5 

Klaus (2019)

An entirely fresh take on the Santa myth, this charming animated film revolves around a postman stationed in the Far North who meets a reclusive woodsman, and their attempts to bring a little cheer to the miserable residents of the town. Even though it treads familiar ground, it somehow feels reinvigorated in its storytelling. It's a different kind of Christmas movie, focusing more on the folklore and the human element, rather than any magical superstitious stuff. Juxtapose this with the terrifying Santa character J.K. Simmons played in Red One and there is no contest. Present this to the intelligent children in your life, or gift it to yourself; it will give you the warm and fuzzies.

4 letters delivered out of 5

Kinds of Kindness (2024)

A deeply twisted absurdist tragi-horror-comedy that required two separate viewings for me to finally process my feelings about it. Essentially three separate stories, starring the same group of actors playing different roles each time, you have to search to find a common thread. The theme here being the fucked up ways people show appreciation and gratitude. At times, it might feel like weird for weirdness' sake, but sometimes that's just what you crave. If you enjoy Yorgos's previous work, this may strike the right chord within you.

4 tennis racquets out of 5

KillRoy Was Here (2022)

So, a little background information. This film was never actually released. Kevin Smith made this horror-comedy anthology back in 2020, but it failed to find a distributor. He was convinced to sell it as a limited edition NFT, so it remains watched by a select few private collectors who bought into that hype. I was able to track down a source of one of these copies (for free) and here is my review.

It should stay unreleased.

1 floppy dick nose out of 5

King Kong Escapes (1967)

aka King Kong's Counterattack

Because King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) did well, Toho wanted more ape. The result is a joint production with Rankin/Bass that's part US monster movie and part Japanese kaijū movie, with an American lead and a Japanese evil-doer.
The plot is bonkers: a rich madame (Mie Hama) wants a rare element mined from the earth, so needs the help of Dr Who (not that one), a crazy James Bond-esque scientist (Hideyo Amamoto), who builds a mecha version of Kong to do the dangerous work. Shit happens (radiation, naturally) and Mecha ends up battling the real King Kong, while dashing US submarine commander Carl Nelson (Rhodes Reason) stays dashing, especially during close-ups.

2 white-gloved subordinates out of 5

Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV (2016)

A CGI movie set in the world of Square Enix's Final Fantasy XV (2016) video game. It supposedly runs parallel with game events, but it's designed to also be a self-contained story, so game knowledge shouldn't be a requirement. That's good, because I’ve not played it, nor have any desire to. Although, even if I had I'm confident that my response would be much the same.
It's the usual blend of magic and technology that we (FF fans) now take for granted as being the norm. So too is the cast of bland characters doing heroic things while a tedious political story tries but fails to be interesting.
The most surprising thing about it all is a non-story creative decision by the makers: the lip-syncing is for the English language version.

2½ ring fingers out of 5

Kung Fu: The Movie (1986)

A belated continuation of the Kung Fu TV series (1972-75) set still in the American Old West, with Kwai Chang Caine (David Carradine) the wandering Shaolin monk. It was Brandon Lee's first credited role, which, given his father's contested place in the original show's genesis, may be considered slightly ironic or something of a balance being properly adjusted.
Set in 1865 the story involves murder, opium and a shady cover-up. The usual memory/flashbacks to Master Po (Keye Luke) are in place, but there's an additional mystical slant that might have been a step too far.
Viewers unfamiliar with the series may not care about any of it, whereas those of us that followed the original TV journey may be upset that it often fails to meet its progenitor's standards. It's merely okay, at best.

2½ golden illusions out of 5

The King and I (1956)

A gorgeous film version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical about a widowed British school teacher named Anna (Deborah Kerr) who travels with her young son to Siam (i.e. Thailand) to teach the King's many children.
The self-serving Hollywood need to have recognisable English-speaking actors in key Asian roles was as ridiculous in the 50s as it is now, but Russian-born Yul Brynner somehow makes the role his own, regardless.
The give and take story revolves around a clash of personalities, with the liberated school mistress butting heads with the egotistical monarch.
The theme of slavery is as daring as it gets, but, while it's simple stuff for the most part, it's also hugely entertaining, in the grand musical tradition.

4 etc, etc, etc, out of 5