Helen O'Hara
EmpireOnline
Wicker
2026 · EmpireOnline
It's a smart take from married directors Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer, though occasionally social commentary comes at the expense of a more sprightly tone, and the pacing can be a little inconsistent. Still, they keep their eye on the characters and the love story, and find a way to weave it all together beautifully. It's sexy if not quite as saucy as the internet hoped, and instead succeeds best as a quirky fable with a lot of heart.
How to Train Your Dragon
2025 · EmpireOnline · Jun 2025
This remake has largely decided not to improve it, playing out a near-identical script with live human actors and calling it a day. It is frequently soaring and gorgeous, but can't take full credit for its beautiful moments because we've quite literally seen it before. This one just tries to do the same thing again, and while it does it well, that's all it does.
Lilo & Stitch
2025 · EmpireOnline · May 2025
Some recent remakes can't help but feel like a lesser effort, and that's sadly the case with Lilo & Stitch. This funny, sweet film still feels like a pale imitation of its sun-soaked predecessor because that's literally what it is: a real-world take on the pastel-and-primary original.