Stephanie Zacharek

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REVIEW: Thor Rules With Humor, Grace and Comic-Book Grandeur

It's a good thing Kenneth Branagh shows no inclination -- yet -- of becoming a politician. If Thor, his magnificent thunderclap of a movie, is any indication, he'd…

7 years ago

REVIEW: Something Borrowed, Something Blew

As horrific as Something Borrowed is, it's compelling in its own sick way. Watching it, I kept wondering: How will this dreadful group of self-centered people work out…

7 years ago

REVIEW: Jodie Foster Tackles the Tough Stuff, Mel Gibson in The Beaver

It can't be easy to put serious depression on the big screen. Forget that depression isn't widely understood or simple to understand -- its symptoms are just plain…

7 years ago

REVIEW: Sequel/Prequel Fast Five Mixes, Matches and Somehow Works

Fast Five is not the movie it could be. But maybe it's the movie it ought to be. Action movies in which the cutting is so frenetic and choppy that you can barely discern…

7 years ago

REVIEW: Elegant, Brutal 13 Assassins Keeps the Samurai Spirit Alive

Takashi Miike's samurai adventure 13 Assassins is so beautifully made, it could serve as a model for contemporary American action films. If only. Once you get past the…

7 years ago

REVIEW: Herzog Spins a Paleolithic 3-D Fairy Tale in Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Not so long ago, 3-D technology was being trumpeted as the future of movies. Now that that future has become business as usual, with a new 3-D picture (or a retrofitted…

7 years ago

Stephanie Zacharek's 5 Most Anticipated Summer Movies of 2011

One of my least-favorite tasks is writing about movies I haven't seen yet: It means reviewing advertising and hype, which is hardly the same as reviewing an actual…

7 years ago

REVIEW: Timely Bang Bang Club Loses Focus in Glimpse at War Photographers

It's a special disappointment when a movie takes a great subject and lets us down. It's even more heartbreaking when a movie's release coincides with a horrific…

7 years ago

REVIEW: Water for Elephants Stars One Very Big Heartthrob, with Wrinkled Skin

Water for Elephants is one of those big, extravagant-looking romances that you might automatically deem "conventional" -- except for the fact that almost nobody makes…

7 years ago

REVIEW: Handsome African Cats Doesn't Bring Us Any Closer to the Feline Soul

Cats! You know you love 'em! Or maybe you don't. In that case, watching Disneynature's African Cats may give you a new appreciation for these fascinating creatures. Or…

7 years ago

REVIEW: Morgan Spurlock Hawks Morgan Spurlock in POM Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

There's nothing less controversial than a documentary filmmaker pretending to be controversial. To make POM Wonderful Presents the Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Morgan…

7 years ago

REVIEW: Hypercolorful Rio Toes the Line Between Exhausting and Jubilant

There are moments of glory, or at least glorious color, in Rio, an animated 3D adventure about a domesticated macaw living in Minnesota who suddenly finds himself on the…

7 years ago

REVIEW: Danish War Doc Armadillo Is a Bit Too Glossy

The Danish war documentary Armadillo may be mostly business as usual as war documentaries go, but it does feature a landmark of sorts: This may be the first time a…

7 years ago

REVIEW: The Conspirator Stumbles Under Its Moral Load, But Proudly

Robert Redford's The Conspirator tells a true, and potentially great, story: In 1865, three men and one woman were hanged for their involvement in Lincoln's…

7 years ago

REVIEW: Sturdy Soul Surfer Transcends Inspirational-Drama Clichés

Soul Surfer is based on a true story, that of pro surfer Bethany Hamilton who, as a young teenager, lost her arm to a hungry, aggressive shark. So you'd think that the…

7 years ago

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