Review: Turning Red A bundle of charm and nostalgia, Disney Pixar’s latest entry Turning Red is worth your time but unlikely to become a classic for its scattershot approach. Pixar’s 25th feature film certainly stands out next to the studio’s previous releases and not just because it’s a Disney+ exclusive. Coming-of-age comedy Turning Red centres […]
coming of age
Review: Licorice Pizza
Review: Licorice Pizza Clémence Smith finds an irresistible, golden nostalgia in Paul Thomas Anderson’s new coming-of-age drama that seems more an exercise in experience than storytelling. I first heard of Licorice Pizza (2021) through word-of-mouth; before this point, I hadn’t seen any of Paul Thomas Anderson’s work. I also dislike watching film trailers and would […]
Retrospective: Teenage Timeline
Four contributors make their case for the best coming-of-age films over the last four decades.
Review: Booksmart
Online Screen Editor Jacob Heayes is enamoured by the anarchic charms of Olivia Wilde’s coming-of-age film.
Review: Mid90s
Mid90s is a nostalgic slice of time from debut director and writer Jonah Hill (yes, that Jonah Hill). Following Stevie, played by Sunny Suljic of Killing of a Sacred Dear, a thirteen-year-old in 1990s Los Angeles. The film’s lack of narrative navigates the lives of skating teenagers wasting time in their long summers, negotiating with […]
Sundance 2018 – Eighth Grade – Review
Certain associations are damaged with overuse. School, awkward teens, the nuances of young social lives – perhaps it’s all been done before. But then comes Eighth Grade, breezily making those tired tropes new again. The hook is in the bracing modernity of the piece; the young teenage world it portrays happens right now, allowing genuine […]
Sundance 2018 – The Miseducation of Cameron Post – Review
Sometimes you just need a film that’s perfectly pleasant. That’s not to say it can’t be bold in that demeanour, possess genuine stakes, or have something to say, but that within these, it still manages to come through with a sense of warm pride. Based on the book of the same name by Emily Damoir, […]
From Huggies to Hollywood
Bethia Atkinson debates whether it’s time that Hollywood grows out of the ‘coming of age’ film frenzy. We all know them and we all either love them or hate them. But the truth be told, we cannot escape the inevitable onslaught of ‘coming of age’ films that pounds our screens each year. From the stereotypical young adult […]