Young CriticThe Amateur
A Spy Thriller That Plays It Too Safe Spy thrillers have largely disappeared from film slates in the last decade, with the only iterations of this once-lucrative genre coming from established franchises like Mission: Im
Reviews tagged: 6/10s
Young Critic
Young CriticSinners
Ryan Coogler Struggles to Harmonize Horror and History Ryan Coogler was pulled into the franchise machine soon after his debut feature Fruitvale Station (2013). Since then, he’s revived the Rocky franchise with Cree
Young CriticCaptain America: Brave New World
A Spy Thriller Suffocated by MCU Obligations Marvel has lost much of the goodwill it built with audiences after its grand climax in Avengers: Endgame (2019). The ensuing years featured a barrage of TV shows and films w
Young CriticCompanion
A Promising Horror Debut That Shows Its Cards Too Soon In an ideal world, moviegoers would enter films knowing only the title and director. This would allow them to experience a story without expectations regarding genre
Young CriticMufasa: The Lion King
Barry Jenkins' prequel is intriguing, but falls into familiar beats Hollywood is split between studios churning endless arrays of sequels and small auteur-driven cinema. Every once in a while there is crossover between t
Young CriticParthenope
Paolo Sorrentino's latest continues to keep viewers at arm's length Paolo Sorrentino is a director mesmerized by beauty, be it in art, landscapes, architecture, or human beings. His Oscar-winning film The Great Beauty (2
Young CriticThe Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
The animated return to Middle-Earth is rushed and shallow The Lord of the Rings has inspired an entire generation of fantasy novels, shows, and films. Yet the property itself is not as exploited as similar mammoth proper
Young CriticQueer
Luca Guadagnino's second film of the year has Daniel Craig deliver his best work Luca Guadagnino has become fascinated with romances of confused lovers. It’s been a common thread from A Bigger Splash (2015) through Call
Young CriticMoana 2
The Disney sequel plays it too safe Under returning CEO Bob Iger, Disney has turned to producing less content and linking to proven properties. As such we are getting less obscure Marvel characters, a pause on Star Wars
Young CriticGladiator II
The sword-and-sandals sequel plays it safe by retelling the same story When it comes to sequels, Hollywood often seems afraid to take stories forward, opting instead for safe, pseudo-remakes. This was the case with Star
Young CriticHeretic
Scott Beck and Bryan Woods' theological deconstruction fails to fit within a film Scott Beck and Bryan Woods had been making films as a duo for some time before they broke through as the screenwriters of A Quiet Place (2
Young CriticHere
Robert Zemeckis' latest wrings out more from its gimmick than you expect Aside from Robert Zemeckis’ obsession with cutting edge cinematic technology, he’s been fascinated with time and the way humans interact and reflec
Young CriticWe Live in Time
The romance's unconventional structure is a bold if risky bet Romance films have become cliches having staid and predictable structures. However, filmmakers have been trying to re-energize the genre, approaching it from
Young CriticSmile 2
The horror follow-up's increased scale dilutes its haunting nature Smile (2022) became a viral sensation before its release; the Paramount marketing team employed one person to stand behind home plate of MLB games and sm
Young CriticSpeak No Evil (2024)
This remake misses much of the original's daring, but retains its unsettling build up It seemed that Parasite (2019) had shamed Hollywood into not remaking popular foreign language films and rather pushing for the origin
Young CriticAlien: Romulus
Fede Alvarez's entry in the franchise is an entertaining if unmemorable flick Despite approaching its 45th anniversary as a franchise, Alien has avoided the decline that has plagued series like Terminator and Star W
Young CriticBad Boys Ride or Die
The latest in this franchise continues to float thanks to its duo's charisma The Bad Boys films have become an inexplicable franchise. What was once a charming, if dated buddy cop flick, has just delivered its fourth ent
Young CriticIF
John Krasinski's family-friendly fare plays it too safe John Krasinski was allowed to direct pretty much whatever he wanted after delivering two surprise hits with A Quiet Place (2018) and A Quiet Place: Part Two (2020).
Young CriticNext Goal Wins
Taika Waititi's predictable sports film is weighed down by too many jokes Taika Waititi has deftly flitted between multiple mediums in a short amount of time, he’s quietly become a TV mogul, heralding three shows at the
Young CriticNapoleon
Ridley Scott's take on the historical character is technically astounding if narratively shallow Apple Studios seem to be one of the few still shelling out big money for the type of cinematic epics that have gone the way
Young CriticBlue Beetle
The latest from DC works better as a film about family than super-heroes Super-hero fatigue is real. Despite the genre trying to find new juice to squeeze out of its over-exploited characters, it’s finding it harder to n
Young CriticMission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1
The first part of the supposed big finale struggles to find its balance It’s hard to believe, but the Mission: Impossible movies have already clocked seven entries—with an eighth on the way. It’s been fascinating to wa
Young CriticInsidious: The Red Door
The latest in this horror franchise struggles to justify itself Insidious (2010) helped kickstart a revived horror genre that spurted great original terror in the first half of the 2010s. We got the likes of The Conjurin
Young CriticRenfield
This original new take on Dracula devolves into a generic action-comedy Dracula has been done to death (pardon the pun) on screen, with so many iterations and variations on the concept that it’s hard to keep up. Neverthe