Review Culture 'Syriana': Provoking Thought on the Fight for Oil November 23, 2005 A power struggle over oil in the Middle East is the backdrop for the new film Syriana, starring George Clooney and Matt Damon. Critic Kenneth Turan says the movie is one of "paradoxes, contradictions and complications... it takes numerous risks, and thrives on them all." 'Syriana': Provoking Thought on the Fight for Oil Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5024435/5024436" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Syriana': Provoking Thought on the Fight for Oil Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5024435/5024436" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Culture A Winning 'Harry Potter' Installment November 18, 2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire opens Friday. Critic Kenneth Turan says that new director Mike Newell and his cast have finally done justice to J.K. Rowling's work. A Winning 'Harry Potter' Installment Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5018292/5018293" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
A Winning 'Harry Potter' Installment Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5018292/5018293" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Culture 'Get Rich or Die Tryin'': Partly Artistic, Partly Pulp November 9, 2005 The film Get Rich or Die Tryin' opens in limited release Wednesday. Critic Kenneth Turan says that while director Jim Sheridan turned out a quality film, it's marred by Sheridan's use of salacious material. 'Get Rich or Die Tryin'': Partly Artistic, Partly Pulp Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5005339/5005340" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Get Rich or Die Tryin'': Partly Artistic, Partly Pulp Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5005339/5005340" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Culture 'Jarhead': Less Than the Sum of Its Parts November 4, 2005 Anthony Swofford's memoir of his time as a Marine in the first Iraq war, Jarhead, has been adapted to the screen. Critic Kenneth Turan says the movie has brilliant parts and excellent co-stars, but the picture rarely makes the emotional connection it's after. 'Jarhead': Less Than the Sum of Its Parts Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4989266/4989267" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Jarhead': Less Than the Sum of Its Parts Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4989266/4989267" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Movies 'Paradise Now' Is a Life-and-Death Drama October 28, 2005 Paradise Now is a powerful and provocative drama about the nightmare of terrorism. It gets its strength from its dispassion. It is uncompromising in its determination to explain, rather than justify, incomprehensible acts. 'Paradise Now' Is a Life-and-Death Drama Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4978214/4978215" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Paradise Now' Is a Life-and-Death Drama Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4978214/4978215" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Culture 'North Country': A Real Event, Made to Feel Fake October 21, 2005 North Country, starring Charlize Theron, is about the sexual harassment class action lawsuit that the women of EVTAC mines in Minnesota filed in the 1980s. Critic Turan says the taint of melodrama affects the entire movie, despite a good performance by Theron. 'North Country': A Real Event, Made to Feel Fake Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4968291/4968292" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'North Country': A Real Event, Made to Feel Fake Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4968291/4968292" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Culture 'Squid and Whale,' a Model of an Indie Film October 14, 2005 The Squid and the Whale won two awards at the Sundance film festival. It's now in theaters. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan says the movie deserves both, calling it "acutely observed [and] faultlessly acted." 'Squid and Whale,' a Model of an Indie Film Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4958280/4958281" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Squid and Whale,' a Model of an Indie Film Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4958280/4958281" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Culture 'Good Night and Good Luck': Murrow vs. McCarthy October 7, 2005 Set in 1950's America, Good Night and Good Luck portrays the real-life conflict between television newsman Edward R. Murrow and Sen. Joseph McCarthy. 'Good Night and Good Luck': Murrow vs. McCarthy Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4949041/4949042" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Good Night and Good Luck': Murrow vs. McCarthy Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4949041/4949042" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Culture 'Duma': A Boy and a Cheetah October 3, 2005 Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan reviews Carroll Ballard's movie Duma about a boy and a cheetah. He says the film has the same magical qualities as Ballard's earlier films, Fly Away Home and The Black Stallion. 'Duma': A Boy and a Cheetah Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4933611/4933612" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
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Review Culture 'A History of Violence': A Ticking Timebomb September 23, 2005 Film critic Kenneth Turan reviews director David Cronenberg's latest work, A History of Violence. Cronenberg directed films that many consider bizarre, such as Crash, The Fly and Naked Lunch. Turan says this film is less strange, but more disturbing. 'A History of Violence': A Ticking Timebomb Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4860479/4860480" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'A History of Violence': A Ticking Timebomb Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4860479/4860480" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Culture 'Proof' Makes Winning Jump from Stage to Screen September 19, 2005 Film critic Kenneth Turan reviews the movie Proof Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, Hope Davis, Jake Gyllenhaal star in the film version of this Tony and Pulitzer-winning play about a mad mathematician whose daughter may have written his most celebrated proof. 'Proof' Makes Winning Jump from Stage to Screen Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4853784/4853785" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Proof' Makes Winning Jump from Stage to Screen Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4853784/4853785" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Potent Mix Drives the 'Constant Gardener' September 5, 2005 One of the infallible signs of the end of summer is the appearance in theaters of serious motion pictures. First out of the box this fall is The Constant Gardener, and Los Angeles Times and Morning Edition film critic Kenneth Turan says it's the real thing.
Review Culture Dutch Noir: 'Memory of a Killer' August 26, 2005 Film critic Kenneth Turan reviews Memory of a Killer, a Dutch noir thriller about a hit man who's developed Alzheimer's disease. The film is based on the much-praised crime novel series by Jef Geeraerts. Dutch Noir: 'Memory of a Killer' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4816958/4816959" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Dutch Noir: 'Memory of a Killer' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4816958/4816959" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Culture 'Grizzly Man', a Dreamer Lost in the Wilderness August 12, 2005 Timothy Treadwell spent 13 summers among the grizzly bears of Alaska before one killed him. Film critic Kenneth Turan says director Werner Herzog has fashioned a riveting story of Treadwell's obsession. 'Grizzly Man', a Dreamer Lost in the Wilderness Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4797398/4797399" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Grizzly Man', a Dreamer Lost in the Wilderness Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4797398/4797399" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Culture Killing Time with 'The Dukes of Hazzard' August 5, 2005 The Dukes of Hazzard is a film so meaningless that it is almost impossible to review, according to critic Kenneth Turan. He says the movie is, "not empty calories, which implies pleasure, but simply empty. It's a cosmic void where a movie ought to be." Killing Time with 'The Dukes of Hazzard' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4785683/4785757" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Killing Time with 'The Dukes of Hazzard' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4785683/4785757" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript