Accessibility links
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.
thumbnail
Stories By

Kenneth Turan

Tintin's 'Adventures' Take Him To Hollywood

Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis, left) and Tintin (Jamie Bell) chase fortune and treasure in The Adventures of Tintin. WETA Digital Ltd. hide caption

toggle caption
WETA Digital Ltd.

Review

Movies

Tintin's 'Adventures' Take Him To Hollywood

Seamlessly blending innocent wonder with the most worldly and sophisticated technology, Steven Spielberg's motion-capture adventure tracks the Belgian hero on a global quest.

Tintin's 'Adventures' Take Him To Hollywood

Listen · 2:32
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/144084465/144111924" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Movies

'Mission Impossible' 4 Doesn't Disappoint

The title doesn't have the number, but anyone who cares knows that Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol is really Mission Impossible 4. It's opening this weekend only on huge IMAX screens. It will be in regular theaters next week.

'Mission Impossible' 4 Doesn't Disappoint

Listen · 2:24
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/143820310/143820291" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Movies

A Endlessly Rich 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'

The new screen adaptation of John le Carre's Cold War spy novel, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, addresses a simple question: Is there a Soviet secret agent at the very highest echelons of British intelligence? Getting to the answer is brilliantly complex.

A Endlessly Rich 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/143429351/143429328" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Movies

'Shame' Is Hard To Watch But You Can't Turn Away

A new film called Shame arrives in theaters with several honors, including the best actor award from the Venice Film Festival. It also arrives with a rare NC-17 rating. Michael Fassbender plays Brandon, a New Yorker who's addicted to sex.

'Shame' Is Hard To Watch But You Can't Turn Away

Listen · 3:02
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/143039973/143039948" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Movies

Scorsese Brings 'Hugo' To The Big Screen

Hugo is the latest film directed by Martin Scorsese. It's based on a children's book, and is decidedly less dark and violent than the films he's most known for.

Scorsese Brings 'Hugo' To The Big Screen

Listen · 2:14
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/142641758/142641875" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Movies

'Happy Feet Two' Lacks Satisfying Story

It's hard to resist dancing penguins, but Happy Feet Two makes you want to try. It features tens of thousands of Antarctic types toe-tapping their way across the screen, but it doesn't have a clear idea of what else it wants them to do.

'Happy Feet Two' Lacks Satisfying Story

Listen · 2:51
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/142494960/142494941" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Movies

Clint Eastwood Takes On FBI Legend 'J. Edgar'

The new movie J. Edgar is directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover who headed the FBI for 48 years. Hoover championed scientific crime fighting in general and the use of fingerprints in particular.

Clint Eastwood Takes On FBI Legend 'J. Edgar'

Listen · 3:10
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/142234884/142234871" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Movies

'Like Crazy' Makes First Love Feel Real

"Los Angeles Times" and "Morning Edition" movie critic Kenneth Turan calls the Sundance standout "Like Crazy" a simple love story. It's about a young couple divided by geography.

'Like Crazy' Makes First Love Feel Real

Listen · 2:27
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/141788003/141787988" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Movies

'Margin Call' Sheds Light On Wall Street Meltdown

Margin Call is based on the financial collapse of 2008. The firm in the movie is so over-committed to risky real estate loans that it owes more money than the company is worth. The cast includes Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Jeremy Irons and Stanley Tucci.

'Margin Call' Sheds Light On Wall Street Meltdown

Listen · 2:36
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/141578808/141578797" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Movies

The Dancing Is Hotter In 'Footloose' 2011

As long as daughters pout when fathers proclaim, "I don't want you to see that boy," Footloose will endure. As long as kids want to dance and Hollywood wants to profit from that passion, it will do more than endure. It will be remade.

The Dancing Is Hotter In 'Footloose' 2011

Listen · 3:13
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/141345592/141345595" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Movies

'Benda Bilili!' Congolese Band Achieves Success

Benda Bilili! is a music documentary that will have you shaking your head in astonishment as well as moving your feet to some unstoppable rhythms. This film is set in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It features the high energy, propulsive music of Staff Benda Bilili, a band that is as unusual as it is overpowering.

'Benda Bilili!' Congolese Band Achieves Success

Listen · 2:36
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/141143586/141144797" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Movies

'Moneyball' Revolutionizes How Baseball Is Played

The new film Moneyball opens in theaters this weekend. It is a rare sports movie that deals with more than wins and losses. It follows the entertaining, real-life quest of a sports revolutionary who wanted to rethink how baseball is played.

'Moneyball' Revolutionizes How Baseball Is Played

Listen · 2:31
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/140730707/140730696" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Movies

'Contagion' Spreads To No. 1 At The Box Office

Contagion starts with a cough and ends with death on an unimaginable scale. The movie shows 30-something days in the life of a global pandemic, a lethal virus that travels like the wind and kills without a trace of mercy. This may not sound like entertainment, but it certainly keeps your eyes on the screen.

'Contagion' Spreads To No. 1 At The Box Office

Listen · 2:44
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/140388352/140390525" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Movies

'Gainsbourg' Brilliantly Depicts The French Musician

The new film Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life is an unconventional biopic about French musician Serge Gainsbourg. He is celebrated in France for the songs he wrote, and the affairs he had with beautiful women like Brigette Bardot.

'Gainsbourg' Brilliantly Depicts The French Musician

Listen · 2:46
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/140136457/140136497" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript