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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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Werner Herzog's 'Cave Of Forgotten Dreams'

There's an underground cave in the south of France with contents so valuable a big steel door guards the entrance. Director Werner Herzog's new documentary, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, is about that treasure. The Chauvet cave paintings are the oldest cave paintings on record.

Werner Herzog's 'Cave Of Forgotten Dreams'

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Romance Doesn't Show Up In 'Water For Elephants'

Water For Elephants gives off an air of self-satisfaction. It's got a best-selling book as source material, a circus as its setting, and actors like Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson and Oscar winner Christoph Waltz as its stars. While the visual spectacle of a Depression-era circus is splendid, the romance that sold all those copies of the book is not there.

Romance Doesn't Show Up In 'Water For Elephants'

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'Source Code,' A Sci-Fi Version Of 'Groundhog Day'

A soldier must relive the last minutes of another man's life — repeatedly — to stop the terrorist who killed him, and who looks likely to strike again.

'Source Code,' A Sci-Fi Version Of 'Groundhog Day'

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'Win Win' Is A Victory For Writer-Director McCarthy

Writer-director Tom McCarthy is best known for independent hits The Visitor and The Station Agent, but his latest film, Win Win, might be his best. Paul Giamatti is Mike, a lawyer and high school wrestling coach whose life is unraveling because his business is on the verge of going under.

'Win Win' Is A Victory For Writer-Director McCarthy

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Damon, Blunt Shine In 'Adjustment Bureau'

In The Adjustment Bureau, Matt Damon stars as a loose-cannon politician who is watched by mysterious, nattily dressed men after he strays from his chosen destiny to find Emily Blunt, the woman he loves.

Damon, Blunt Shine In 'Adjustment Bureau'

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9 French Monks Face Crisis In 'Of Gods And Men'

The French equivalent of the Academy Awards were given out in Paris on Friday. The film Of Gods and Men won three. The film opened over the weekend in the U.S.

9 French Monks Face Crisis In 'Of Gods And Men'

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Liam Neeson's 'Unkown' Is reminiscent Of 'Taken'

If you've seen Taken, where Liam Neeson played a relentless berserker, who terrorized France looking for his kidnapped daughter, then there's something familiar about Unknown. Neeson's character is in Berlin, this time worried about his wife, not his child. It's another story that allows Neeson to lose his temper and take on the world.

Liam Neeson's 'Unkown' Is reminiscent Of 'Taken'

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Mike Leigh Makes 'Another Year' Extraordinary

British writer-director Mike Leigh focuses his films on ordinary people with ordinary lives. He's known for finding extraordinary resonance in the everyday. His latest movie is Another Year.

Mike Leigh Makes 'Another Year' Extraordinary

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Two Big Stars But No Sparks In 'The Tourist'

The new movie The Tourist stars two of the biggest names in Hollywood: Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. But they don't shine in this not particularly thrilling thriller.

Two Big Stars But No Sparks In 'The Tourist'

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Ballerina Struggles To Unleash 'Black Swan' Within

December is Oscar bait season at the movies, when there's a surge of films coming into theaters before the end of the year to qualify for the Academy Awards. One of the movies in that race opens Friday: Black Swan.

Ballerina Struggles To Unleash 'Black Swan' Within

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In 'Tangled,' A Fairy-Tale Princess Unleashed

Rapunzel, voiced by Mandy Moore, and Flynn, a wanted man voiced by Zachary Levi, encounter many an adventure as they journey through the kingdom. Rapunzel wants to reach a festival, but doesn't realize she might also find true love. Disney Enterprises Inc. hide caption

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In 'Tangled,' A Fairy-Tale Princess Unleashed

Disney's 50th animated film, Tangled, follows a feisty Princess Rapunzel as she escapes from Mother Gothel's tower and travels with a vain thief named Flynn to reach the palace festival -- accompanied by a wise chameleon, a disgruntled horse and her 70 feet of magical hair.

In 'Tangled,' A Fairy-Tale Princess Unleashed

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Harry Potter's 'Deathly Hallows' Unsurprising

It's the beginning of the end for Harry Potter. The seventh movie in the series opens at Midnight Friday. Critic Kenneth Turan says Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, is solid but unsurprising.

Harry Potter's 'Deathly Hallows' Unsurprising

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