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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

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Movie Reviews

Chicano Classic 'Bless Me, Ultima' Becomes A Movie

Rudolpho Anaya's 1972 novel Bless Me, Ultima is a classic of Chicano literature. The story begins for Antonio, 6, when Ultima comes to live with his New Mexico family in 1944. Ultima is called a witch, but she considers herself a woman with healing knowledge of medicinal herbs and remedies.

Chicano Classic 'Bless Me, Ultima' Becomes A Movie

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5th In 'Die Hard' Series Is Filled With Action

Given how much money the Die Hard franchise has made, it's not surprising that A Good Day To Die Hard plays like an extended victory lap for star Bruce Willis. Not surprising, but not a whole lot of fun either.

5th In 'Die Hard' Series Is Filled With Action

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Movie Reviews

'Side Effects:' This Thriller Is 'Deliciously Complex'

The movie stars Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Channing Tatum. Our critic reviews Side Effects, which director Steven Soderbergh says might be his last.

'Side Effects:' This Thriller Is 'Deliciously Complex'

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Movie Reviews

How 'Sound City' Changed The Face Of Rock 'N' Roll

Sound City is a documentary that came out of the Sundance Film Festival about a legendary recording studio in Van Nuys, California. It's a mash note to the Neve soundboard in the Sound City studios.

How 'Sound City' Changed The Face Of Rock 'N' Roll

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Movie Reviews

'Fruitvale' Stands Out At Sundance

The Sundance Film Festival is underway in Park City, Utah. Fruitvale is based on an incident in which a young man was shot and killed by a BART police officer. His death triggered riots thorughout Oakland, Calif.

'Fruitvale' Stands Out At Sundance

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Movie Reviews

The Film 'Les Miserable' Does The Musical Proud

Les Miserables is one of the most popular theatrical musicals, with 60 million tickets sold in 42 countries. Producers of the movie version are hoping to attract a lot of those fans, too. They shouldn't have a problem, says film critic Kenneth Turan.

The Film 'Les Miserable' Does The Musical Proud

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Movie Reviews

'Zero Dark Thirty': Taking Bin Laden Down

Director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal last teamed up on the Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker, set during the Iraq war. The hunt for Osama bin Laden is the subject of their new drama, Zero Dark Thirty.

'Zero Dark Thirty': Taking Bin Laden Down

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Movie Reviews

'The Hobbit' Is 'Solid' But Not 'Exceptional'

Director Peter Jackson takes his audience back to Middle-earth in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, set in a time before the Lord of the Rings films.

'The Hobbit' Is 'Solid' But Not 'Exceptional'

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In 'Hyde Park On Hudson' Murray Captures FDR

Bill Murray plays Franklin D. Roosevelt in the new movie Hyde Park on Hudson. Critic Kenneth Turan says Murray's work beautifully conveys the notion of the chief executive as seductive star performer who counts on his charm to get his way.

In 'Hyde Park On Hudson' Murray Captures FDR

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Ken Burns Film Examines 1989 Jogger Case

Ken Burns' new movie in theaters is The Central Park Five. Five black and Latino teenagers admitted to the rape and beating of a white jogger and served prison sentences. But a startling confession in 2002 by a convicted murderer and rapist whose DNA was present at the crime scene led a judge to overturn their convictions.

Ken Burns Film Examines 1989 Jogger Case

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Great Director Would 'Not Approve' Of 'Hitchcock'

Few directors put up as convincing a public mask as Alfred Hitchcock. Few actors are as compelling as Anthony Hopkins, who plays the great man, or Helen Mirren, who plays Alma, his wife. But even with these two Oscar winners, the reviewer says Hitchcock is one portrait of a marriage we could have lived without.

Great Director Would 'Not Approve' Of 'Hitchcock'

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Daniel Day-Lewis 'Simply Becomes Lincoln'

Daniel Day Lewis is a two-time Oscar winning actor, but he surpasses himself and makes us see a celebrated figure in unanticipated ways in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. The movie unfolds during the final four months of the president's life as he focuses on getting Congress to pass the 13th Amendment outlawing slavery despite fierce opposition.

Daniel Day-Lewis 'Simply Becomes Lincoln'

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Chess Prodigies Shine In 'Brooklyn Castle'

Documentary film has developed a new minigenre in the past few years: kids in competition. In Spellbound it was a spelling bee, and in First Position it was ballet. Now, chess in Brooklyn Castle. Critic Kenneth Turan has this review.

Chess Prodigies Shine In 'Brooklyn Castle'

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Family Secret Comes To Light In 'The Flat'

The flat is an apartment in Tel Aviv belonging to the grandmother of director Arnon Goldfinger. When she dies at 98, seven decades after emigrating from Germany, the entire family gathers to decide how to dispose of her possessions. Everything changes with a shocking discovery of a virulently pro-Nazi newspaper.

Family Secret Comes To Light In 'The Flat'

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