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
Reviews tagged: musical
Young Critic
Young CriticMichael
A brazen act of revisionism dressed up as a biopic. The Jackson estate delivers a sanitized greatest-hits listening party that tells us nothing about who Michael Jackson really was. Colman Domingo is the only one doing i
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 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 CriticSpinal Tap II: The End Continues
The decades-later sequel coasts on cheap nostalgia and celebrity cameos Comedy sequels are notorious for the fall in quality, this is magnified especially with decades-later sequels, which seem more intent on cashing in
Young CriticSnow White
Mirror Mirror, Why Remake This at All? Many blockbusters spend half a decade or more in development before their release, which often causes them to miss prevailing trends or audience cravings. Disney smelled big money i
Young CriticWicked: Part 1
The musical adaptation is winning, if overstuffed Broadway musicals don’t always translate seamlessly to the big screen. While there have been hits like Chicago (2002), there have also been duds such as Cats (2019) a
Young CriticEmilia Perez
The musical takes heavy inspiration from Almodovar Jacques Audiard is a director known for his deep empathy, using it to tell stories about disparate and diverse characters—from 19th-century American cowboys in The Siste
Young CriticPiece By Piece
The Pharrell Williams Lego documentary is enjoyable if biased Music biopics employ such a rote and tired structure that it was parodied as far back as This is Spinal Tap (1984) and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007).
Young CriticJoker: Folie a Deux
The follow-up is uninspired and stiff Despite publicly claiming that no sequel would be made, it was hard for director Todd Phillips and performer Joaquin Phoenix to escape studio demands after Joker (2019) made over $1
Young CriticBack to Black
The Amy Winehouse problematically santizes the dark elements of her life The music biopic is a genre that has not running out of steam despite oversaturating the market decades ago. Consumers’ obsession with fame and wan
Young CriticMusica
Internet star Rudy Mancuso's directing debut is stunningly original For those of us who grew up with the short-form video app Vine, the name of Rudy Mancuso will be familiar. Like many of the other popular creators on th
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 CriticWonka
The "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" prequel is sweet if hollow Original films are increasingly rare in the studio system, as confidence in new stories wanes in favor of existing IP. As such we are getting a barrage o
Young CriticMaestro
Bradley Cooper's sophmore directing effort is a crowning achievement Despite being an action star, romantic lead, and celebrated performer, Bradley Cooper is quickly transitioning into becoming one of the most unique dir
Young CriticTaylor Swift: The Eras Tour
Swift's concert film delivers one of the cinematic experiences of the year Taylor Swift has become not only a cultural phenomenon, but true force of nature, taking the world by storm with her recent billion-dollar grossi
Young CriticThe Little Mermaid (2023)
The newest Disney live-action remake is a safe, but charming adaptation The recent Disney live-action remakes have been coy ways to sell the same product to viewers twice. The trend started with the winningly improved Th
Young CriticElvis
Baz Luhrmann’s brings his bombastic flash to the King of Rock and Roll’s biopic The music biopic is a genre that despite producing many interchangeable films, has delivered true breakthroughs in cinema, such as the crimi
Young CriticCyrano
Joe Wright’s musical adaptation is an overall winning take on the classic romance Some stories can prove to be so timeless that one can never grow tired of seeing endless adaptations of it. This is certainly the case wit
Young CriticWest Side Story (2021)
Steven Spielberg’s remake tops the original in a risky and captivating manner I have to say, despite Steven Spielberg being behind the idea of remaking West Side Story (1961), I was reticently skeptical. Nevertheless, fo
Young CriticTick, Tick...BOOM!
Lin Manuel Miranda’s debut is a risky but very effective adaptation It’s hard to imagine a more poetic and tragic story than that of Jonathan Larson. The musical playwright had been struggling to produce his ambitious oe
Young CriticDear Evan Hansen
This misdirected adaptation of the hit musical is a cringey watch Broadway hits don’t always translate well to the screen. This can be because of a lack of imagination in using cinematic tools, or simply because the film
Young CriticCinderella (2021)
This new version of the classic fairytale attempts to modernize tropes, but falters in its execution Since most classic fairytales are in the public domain, any film studio could theoretically produce them. However, the
Young CriticRespect
The newest Aretha Franklin biopic collapses into music biopic cliches The music biopic is in serious need of a redesign. While I acknowledge that many famous songwriters have very similar stories regarding their rise and