Young CriticWildwood
Laika's latest is its most ambitious and best yet. Travis Knight's stop-motion epic follows a Portland girl into an enchanted forest of talking animals and warring kingdoms, and pays off its enormous gamble with breathta
Reviews tagged: adventure
Young Critic
Young CriticThe Odyssey
A nearly great adaptation, missing its final gear. Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is convincing, absorbing, and beautifully crafted, though it falls just short of standing alongside his very best work.
Young CriticMoana (2026)
Disney reheats another classic, and it shows. This live-action Moana is a nearly shot-for-shot recreation that dilutes everything that made the 2016 original special, with only Catherine Laga'aia's charisma keeping it af
Young CriticStar Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu
A film that plays like a very expensive TV episode. The Mandalorian and Grogu has technical craft to spare, but Favreau and Filoni deliver a timid, inconsequential story that mistakes motion for cinema.
Young CriticThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie
Too many power-ups, not enough story. Illumination's latest is more merchandise than movie: a forgettable corporate exercise that squanders its characters, its budget, and any semblance of creative vision.
Young CriticProject Hail Mary
A crowd-pleaser to be hailed Despite the success of Andy Weir's novel “The Martian” on the big screen with the Ridley Scott and Matt Damon film of the same name, it has taken more than a decade for another of Weir's nove
Young CriticHoppers
Nature, Robots, and a Pixar Firing on All Cylinders Like much of the other Disney brands, Pixar's reputation was severely hurt by the insatiable quotas for "content" in the Streaming Wars, to populate Disney+. The result
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 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 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 CriticNow You See Me: Now You Don't
A heist without sparkle, the Horsemen return for a trick no one asked to see It would be hard to imagine, of all the franchises that studios have sought to prop up, that the one about magicians who pull off heists would
Young CriticPredator: Badlands
Dan Trachtenberg's latest Predator entry is another solidly entertaining character piece It’s a curious yet unsurprising trend, when a franchise has burnt out, studios are willing to give the material to filmmakers with
Young CriticPaddington in Peru
A Heartfelt Adventure That Doesn’t Quite Match Its Predecessor but Still Charms with Marmalade-Sweet Warmth The Paddington films have brought a delightful and earnest warmth with each entry, showcasing originality in t
Young CriticGodzilla x Kong: A New Empire
The latest in the "Monsterverse" continues its creative decline One need only read the following title to realize the creative doldrums that Hollywood has beached at: Godzilla x Kong: A New Empire (2024). Godzilla x Ko
Young CriticGhostbusters: Frozen Empire
The latest in the franchise is a forced and bland sequel The problem with Hollywood’s current sequel system is that if a good film makes enough money, there is an immediate pressure to produce another entry, even if ther
Young CriticIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
The latest Indiana Jones film is a surprising good imitation Endless sequels can feel daunting, especially after the original filmmakers and storytellers have let go of the material. It is hard for a new set of hands to