Young CriticWicker
This new fable is winning in its look at healthy relationships. Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård lead a funny, tactile and surprisingly wise tale about love as sharing rather than possessing, with a scene-stealing P
Reviews tagged: social commentary
Young Critic
Young CriticThe Social Reckoning
The Aaron Sorkin follow-up is uninspired and unnecessary. Jeremy Strong nails the Zuckerberg impression and Mikey Madison stands out, but Sorkin's flat direction and uncharacteristically lifeless script make this compani
Young CriticDigger
Alejandro G. Iñárritu's ambitious film is a tangled mess. Cruise delivers his best performance in two decades and Lubezki's practical craft is a joy, but the film refuses to commit to a single idea, tone or style.
Young CriticCoyote vs. ACME
The "lost film" is a winning comedy with meta commentary to boot. Shelved by Warner Bros. as a tax write-off and rescued by an independent buyer, Coyote vs. Acme turns out to be sharp, funny and unexpectedly profound.
Young CriticObsession
Curry Barker's debut lingers long after the credits roll. A richly layered horror film about desire, manipulation, and the damage we do, anchored by an indomitable performance from Inde Navarrette.
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 CriticMarty Supreme
A breathless con-man epic dismantling the myth of the American Dream The unmasking of “the American Dream” as one in which people have to con their way to the top is a thesis American cinema has explored before, going as
Young CriticIf I Had Legs I'd Kick You
A Bleak but Compelling Portrait of Motherhood Motherhood has been the surprising common theme for many 2025 releases, from Die My Love (2025) to Hamnet (2025), Bring Her Back (2025), The Perfect Neighbor (2025),
Young CriticThe Voice of Hind Rajab
A harrowing portrait of innocence, bureaucracy, and the human cost of war The recent war in Gaza was bound to spark art attempting to grapple with the horrors and devastating loss it has caused. One of the most potent st
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 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 CriticDie My Love
Lynne Ramsay turns post-partum despair into a brutal, intimate portrait of a mind unraveling Lynne Ramsay is not a director to shy away from taboo subjects, especially regarding parenting. Her indie hit, We Need to Talk
Young CriticBugonia
Yorgos Lanthimos' latest is a deconstruction of conspiracy theorists Yorgos Lanthimos has developed an idiosyncratic style, in the same way that Wes Anderson or Kelly Reichardt has. You can identify a Lanthimos film with
Young CriticFrankenstein (2025)
Guillemo Del Toro delivers a colorful and defining adaptation of the Mary Shelly novel As much as Netflix is getting blamed for the death of the theatrical experience, the streaming company is giving filmmakers the resou
Young CriticAfter the Hunt
Luca Guadagnino's latest complicates a rather simple topic Sexual assault on American college campuses is a true epidemic. According to RAINN, 1 in 4 women university students are sexually assaulted in the US. It is a st
Young CriticIt Was Just an Accident
Jafar Panahi's latest grapples with the morality of vengeance Iran is producing some of the best modern filmmakers working today, yet sadly, it is not reaping its artistic rewards. Many of these directors are choosing to
Young CriticOne Battle After Another
Paul Thomas Anderson delivers yet another American epic To call something an “American epic” should be reserved to a text that captures the complexity, contradictions, promise, and betrayal that the idea of America entai
Young CriticWeapons
A Chilling Mystery and Shaky Reveal Signal a Director on the Rise Zach Cregger has burst onto the horror scene in a way that few filmmakers do – once a decade at most. He’s echoing the career impact that M. Night Shyamal
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 CriticMaterialists
A sharp, stylish rom-com that dissects modern love—though its heroine falls flat It can be hard for a playwright to transition into filmmaking. Plays are famously staid, physical affairs, relying more on dialogue than vi
Young CriticFriendship
A Cringe Comedy That Skims the Surface of Modern Masculinity Examining male loneliness is becoming an increasingly important objective for psychologists, sociologists, and artists alike. Feelings of isolation, emasculati
Young CriticAndor (Season 2)
A grounded rebellion tale with the grit of a spy thriller It seems hard to fathom, but the best story to emerge from the Star Wars universe—arguably ever—is a prequel to a spinoff. Yet it proves that what matters most