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Stephanie Zacharek

Zacharek is the film critic at TIME. She is the recipient of a Newswomen’s Club of New York award and was a 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Recent Articles

Review: 'F1 the Movie'

Joseph Kosinski's new racing movie stars Pitt in the familiar role of an aging guy going for one last short at glory, and Pitt sells the hell out of it.

By Stephanie Zacharek

Review: 'Materialists'

Celine Song's new movie stars Dakota Johnson as a matchmaker caught between two men, played by Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal.

By Stephanie Zacharek

Review: Ballerina

The new installment may be silly, but its cathartic, cartoonish brutality and larger-than-life faces are reason enough to go to the movies.

By Stephanie Zacharek

Review: The Life of Chuck

Mike Flanagan's adaptation of a Stephen King novella, starring Tom Hiddleston, tries to get at the very meaning of life.

By Stephanie Zacharek

The Best Movies of 2025 So Far

From 'Sinners' to 'Warfare'

By Stephanie Zacharek

The Best Movies of Cannes 2025

From Richard Linklater and Kelly Reichardt to debuts from Harris Dickinson and Kristen Stewart.

By Stephanie Zacharek

Cannes Review: 'Die, My Love'

In Lynne Ramsay's postpartum fever dream of a movie, Jennifer Lawrence gives the most complex and bleakly funny performance of her career.

By Stephanie Zacharek

Cannes Review: Highest 2 Lowest

Spike Lee's reimagining of Akira Kurosawa's 1963 movie stars Denzel Washington as a music mogul facing an ethical dilemma.

By Stephanie Zacharek

Raoul Peck's Orwell: 2+2=5 Is Brilliant

'Orwell: 2+2=5' feels like the boldest documentary anyone could make right now

By Stephanie Zacharek

Cannes Review: 'The Phoenician Scheme'

Cannes Review: Anderson's latest pulls back on the colorful world-building to express more frustration than usual at the current world order.

By Stephanie Zacharek

Cannes Review: 'Nouvelle Vague'

Richard Linklater's movie about the making of 'Breathless' is not just for cinephiles, but for anyone with an inkling of an appreciation for art.

By Stephanie Zacharek

Cannes Review: Eddington

Ari Aster's film, set amid COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter protests, is a cry of vexation over what our country has become.

By Stephanie Zacharek

Review: Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning

But it's still fun to watch Tom Cruise try.

By Stephanie Zacharek

Review: 'Friendship'

There's comic genius on display in Tim Robinson's performance as a sad-sack who can't make friends, but it becomes too much in movie form.

By Stephanie Zacharek

What Counts as a Real Movie These Days?

It's deeper than just theatrical versus streaming: these days, it's getting harder to know when you've spotted a real movie in the wild.

By Stephanie Zacharek

The Best New Movies of April 2025

From 'Sinners' and 'Warfare' to a new John and Yoko doc.

By Stephanie Zacharek

Ben Affleck Is a Blast to Watch in The Accountant 2

The sequel to The Accountant is tonally wobbly, but in the end, it all adds up

By Stephanie Zacharek

Sinners Is a Seductive Vampire Movie

Ryan Coogler's latest film is chilling, hypnotic, and sometimes grimly funny. Read TIME's review.

By Stephanie Zacharek

Review: The Wedding Banquet

Andrew Ahn's remake of Ang Lee's 1993 dramedy is a breezier, more freewheeling affair with a quietly sublime ending.

By Stephanie Zacharek

Review: Viola Davis in 'G20'

Viola Davis gives her all to save democracy and her family in the action thriller 'G20'

By Stephanie Zacharek
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