Young CriticThe End of Oak Street
David Robert Mitchell returns with a vapid creature feature. An original concept and a strong cast can't rescue The End of Oak Street from lazy writing and a finale that undercuts everything before it.
Reviews tagged: 6/10s
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Young CriticOne Night Only
One viewing only: a tepid rom-com with an intriguing premise. Monica Barbaro carries what she can, but Will Gluck's rom-com squanders a genuinely clever setup on generic dialogue and muddled stakes.
Young CriticDisclosure Day
A familiar light in the sky, dimmer than before. Spielberg returns to aliens with gorgeous craft and John Williams back at the score, but Disclosure Day plays almost like a remake of Close Encounters, minus the emotional
Young CriticThe Devil Wears Prada 2
All dressed up, nowhere to go. Meryl Streep slips back into Miranda Priestly with effortless magnetism, but The Devil Wears Prada 2 squanders a genuinely intriguing journalism premise on a melodramatic third act that fee
Young CriticSong Sung Blue
A glossy tribute that mistakes affection for insight Tribute bands are affectionate nostalgia-bait for music fans, wishing to experience an older group in person. One of the most famous tribute bands known at Lightning &
Young CriticAvatar: Fire and Ash
A visually staggering saga running out of fire James Cameron has now devoted close to two decades to his Avatar films, which have revolutionized blockbuster cinema: the first Avatar (2009) through its groundbreaking
Young CriticWake Up Dead Man
A somber Knives Out trades clever twists for faith and fatigue After creating a new charismatic detective to join the ranks of Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes with the Southern-drawling Benoit Blanc, the unlikely fran
Young CriticNuremberg
A compelling yet cautious portrait of the men behind recent history’s atrocities The Nuremberg trials of Nazis were a monumental moment in the collective digestion of the horrors perpetrated in World War II, and set the
Young CriticZootopia 2
Bigger and busier, this sequel can’t recapture the original’s spark After the return of Bob Iger as Disney CEO, a pivot was made to make less quantity of content for the streamer Disney +, which had partially doomed his
Young CriticThe Running Man
A bold new cyberpunk vision held back by tonal whiplash and a muted leading man Edgar Wright is a beloved director for many film nerds, known for a winking style and frenetic editing, the Brit has delivered some modern c
Young CriticWicked: For Good
A return to Oz that exposes fascism with clarity but stumbles in storytelling The phenomenon of Wicked (2024) seemed to work on multiple fronts, launching Jon M. Chu’s musical career as it deserved (after the box office
Young CriticThe Mastermind
Kelly Reichardt's latest demystifies the criminal caper In a time when movies are increasingly loud and boisterous, struggling to capture our ever-shortening attention spans, it’s both refreshing and startling to find qu
Young CriticSundays
Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s follow-up to Lullaby explores faith and female agency but loses its balance in the debate The struggle with one’s spirituality is a journey that all of us undergo at some point. Most of our questio
Young CriticThe Smashing Machine
Benny Safdie's first solo directorial effort delivers Dwayne Johnson's best performance Despite bursting onto the cinematic scene with their film Good Time (2017) and gripping follow-up Uncut Gems (2019) the Safdie broth
Young CriticDownton Abbey: The Grand Finale
The finale that proves sometimes it’s best to let go Downton Abbey (2010–2015) was a comfort watch for many during its run, providing the subtle dramas of the English nobility in the 1910s and ’20s. Essentially a remake
Young CriticThe Long Walk
Francis Lawrence pares down King’s dystopia but leaves little beneath the surface The dystopian young adult genre dominated the 2010s, but like most trends, it quickly burned out. Oversaturation left audiences weary afte
Young CriticHighest 2 Lowest
Spike Lee's adaptation of Akira Kurosawa's classic is serviceable if muted Despite being one of the foremost auteurs in American cinema, Spike Lee is no stranger to remakes. He remade the Korean action classic Oldboy (20
Young CriticJurassic World: Rebirth
A formulaic but welcome return to Jurassic basics. Despite some fun sequences in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and some nostalgic bait in Jurassic World (2015), every Jurassic sequel has been a face-palm ins
Young CriticF1: The Movie
Apple’s F1 spectacle features real racers, but the plot is stuck in neutral Despite being one of the most popular sports in the world—and featuring many dramatic real-life stories—Formula 1 has rarely appeared in Hollywo
Young CriticFrom the World of John Wick: Ballerina
A spin-off that shoots blanks on story Despite having been created as a stand-alone action B-movie, John Wick (2014) has spawned an unlikely franchise, with each sequel outperforming the last at the box office. Though
Young CriticThe Phoenician Scheme
Anderson Finds His Plot Again—But Forgets the Heart Many world-renowned auteurs with distinct styles take years between projects—filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, Kathryn Bigelow, or Steve McQueen. Wes Anderson is inarg
Young CriticLilo & Stitch
Another sweet if slightly diluted remake Disney’s live-action remakes of animated classics follow a clear pattern when it comes to financial success. Remakes of films from the studio’s first Golden Era in the 1930s and ’
Young CriticMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
A Franchise Finale That Talks Too Much and Trusts Too Little When franchises now purport that they’re making the last film in a series, it’s usually just a question of whether the movie makes money or not. Despite much-t
Young CriticThe Accountant 2
A surprise sequel weighed down by second-act stumbles It’s rare for a mid-budget film that barely broke even to get a sequel nearly a decade later. There didn’t seem to be strong indicators of demand for the story or ch