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Kenneth Turan Kenneth Turan is the film critic for the Los Angeles Times and NPR's Morning Edition, as well as the director of the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes.
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Kenneth Turan

Review

Movies

With a Sad Subject, 'Diving Bell' Surprisingly Funny

Based on Jean-Dominique Bauby's 1997 memoir, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is an unexpectedly funny film. It was written after a stroke left Bauby almost completely paralyzed.

With a Sad Subject, 'Diving Bell' Surprisingly Funny

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Review

Culture

'Enchanted,' a Spellbinding Self-Parody from Disney

The film, about an animated princess thrust unprepared into the gritty reality of New York City, is what happens when wised-up meets happily-ever-after. Amy Adams is the indispensable star.

'Enchanted,' a Spellbinding Self-Parody from Disney

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Review

Movies

'Beowulf' Sexes Up, Dumbs Down an Epic

Forget Grendel: The monster here is director Robert Zemeckis, who has turned an ancient literary classic into a blood-soaked, 3-D fanboy fantasy that panders with demonic energy to the young male demographic.

'Beowulf' Sexes Up, Dumbs Down an Epic

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Culture

Violence Overwhelms 'No Country'

Set in Texas in the 1980's, the film No Country for Old Men narrates a chase for stolen drug money. It's the latest from brother filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, whose films have always had violence as a theme. But this new movie is darker and more violent than ever before.

Violence Overwhelms 'No Country'

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Review

Movies

Gangster Life Depicted on Film

Crime has come to the movies in a big way. Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe star in American Gangster, a film about the career of Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas. And the documentary Mr. Untouchable offers a look at Lucas' main rival, Nicky Barnes.

Gangster Life Depicted on Film

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Review

Culture

'Real Life' Rarity: A Romantic Comedy for Grownups

Dan in Real Life is a rare romantic comedy aimed at adults. The Dan of the title is a newspaper advice columnist stumped by his own life. He's mourning the death of his wife and raising three rambunctious daughters who are growing up faster than he'd like.

'Real Life' Rarity: A Romantic Comedy for Grownups

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Review

Movies

'Things We Lost' Explores Family, Addiction, Death

In the new film Things We Lost in the Fire, Halle Berry plays a recent widow who builds a relationship with her deceased husband's old friend, a recovering heroin addict. It is rough at times, but the film gathers strength as it goes on.

'Things We Lost' Explores Family, Addiction, Death

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Review

Movies

'Lars and the Real Girl' Heralds Friendship

Lars and the Real Girl, about a loner who finds companionship with a life-sized anatomically correct doll, is capable of sweeping you off your feet. It's a tribute to the joys of friendship and community, but it's constructed around one of the most salacious items modern culture provides.

'Lars and the Real Girl' Heralds Friendship

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Review

Movies

'Michael Clayton' Tells of Suspicion and Suspense

Michael Clayton is a smart and suspenseful legal thriller about desperate men searching for redemption in a cold and ruthless world. Issues like corporate malfeasance lurk around the movie's edges, along with themes of moral responsibility and regeneration.

'Michael Clayton' Tells of Suspicion and Suspense

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Review

Movies

'The Kingdom' Mirrors the Headlines

Set in Saudi Arabia, The Kingdom is a film about American good guys going toe to toe with followers of terrorist Abu Hamsa. The film opens with sounds of bombs going off in an American housing compound, killing and wounding hundreds watching a softball game.

'The Kingdom' Mirrors the Headlines

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Review

Culture

'Valley of Elah' a Drama of Post-War Trauma

A fall full of films with post-Sept. 11 themes kicks off with In the Valley of Elah. Director Paul Haggis takes on a subject rarely embraced by Hollywood: the pernicious effect war has on the young people we send to fight.

'Valley of Elah' a Drama of Post-War Trauma

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Culture

'Yuma' Brings Back Western Movie Genre

Western movies used to be thick on the land, but they've become scarce at the multiplex. A new one, 3:10 to Yuma, is out now. It is a remake of the 1957 classic, and it stars Russell Crowe and Christian Bale.

'Yuma' Brings Back Western Movie Genre

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Movies

Independent Movies Take Back Seat to Sequels

An independent bookstore in Los Angeles called Other Times suddenly closed, shocking patrons. Could movies by independent filmmakers face the same fate as the business becomes increasingly addicted to the money that overblown sequels provide.

Independent Movies Take Back Seat to Sequels

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Review

Culture

In 'Deep Water,' a Sailor Who's Lost His Bearings

British documentary is disturbing, unnerving and wire-to-wire involving — the story of a dream that got so wildly out of hand that it ensnared the dreamer in an intricate trap of his own creation.

In 'Deep Water,' a Sailor Who's Lost His Bearings

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