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: coming of age
Young Critic
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 CriticToy Story 5
A worthy toy, buried under too many boxes. Jessie finally gets her due as the emotional core of Toy Story 5, even if Pixar can't quite let go of Woody and Buzz long enough to let her story breathe.
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 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 CriticRomeria
Carla Simon's third feature continues her exploration of memory What is history if not memories compiled, and what is memory, if not multiple individual narratives of singular pasts, and yet what is that individual memor
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 Critic28 Years Later
A thoughtful sequel with heart, hindered by frantic editing Every franchise with even the faintest hint of sequel potential is being squeezed for every last cent. This has needlessly revived properties like The Blair Wi
Young CriticHow to Train Your Dragon
A dazzling but overly faithful remake that mirrors the original more than it reimagines it Remakes present tough choices for filmmakers: do you remain faithful to the original to please fans, or dare to deviate and put y
Young CriticThe Life of Chuck
A tender, time-twisting tribute to the beauty of an ordinary life When you think of the pairing of Stephen King and filmmaker Mike Flanagan, your immediate thought is likely horror. The American author is famous for nove
Young CriticKarate Kid: Legends
A legacy sequel that forgets the legacy The Karate Kid (1984) was a fun ‘80s film—such a success that it understandably spawned a few diluted sequels. But few could have predicted the bloated franchise it would become.
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 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 CriticMy Old Ass
Megan Park's sophmore debut is an original and endearing comedy Despite many cinephiles complaining about the lack of originality in Hollywood, creative stories are being made; one has to look beyond high budget flicks.
Young CriticDidi
Sean Wang's directorial debut is sweet if slightly scattered Coming-of-age stories are go-to material for first-time directors. It allows them to deliver an authenticity to their journey in becoming artists as well as us
Young CriticInside Out 2
The Pixar sequel retains its' predecessor's emotion and humor, if not its depth Pixar built its reputation on continuously outdoing itself with original and unique concepts. However, like much of Hollywood, the studio ev
Young CriticI Saw the TV Glow
Jane Schoenbrun's latest is a unique yet dense surrealist film A24 has curated a style and following comparable to cult filmmakers rather than a movie studio. It’s bet on auteur-driven projects has paid off with unique f
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 CriticLisa Frankenstein
Zelda Williams and Diablo Cody deliver a nostalgic dark comedy Despite being a beloved screenwriter for film fans of the last 20 years, Diablo Cody has only penned 6 feature films. Her distinct and bold style has followe
Young CriticThe Boy and the Heron
Miyazaki's latest, and possibly last, is another original and transporting instant-classic Hayao Miyazaki is not only one of the greatest animated filmmakers of all time, he’s one of the greatest filmmakers period. The J
Young CriticMean Girls (2024)
This musical adaptation of the 2000s classic is surprisingly winning It’s easy to be cynical seeing all the remakes, sequels, and reboots that flood the film market. However, amongst the craze of forgettable IP-milking,
Young CriticPoor Things
Emma Stone delivers a career high in Yorgos Lanthimos' latest Yorgos Lanthimos is a director that has quickly instituted a style of absurdism in his films; donning a mocking and goofy attitude in his narrative, yet havin
Young CriticThe Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
The Hunger Games prequel is constrained by its format The Hunger Games films were a massive success for Lionsgate released concurrently with the Twilight and Divergent franchises. However, as the former ended and the la