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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

'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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Review

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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Review

Culture

'Sunshine': Space Opera with a Dark Cloud or Two

Brightness has never seemed as menacing as it does in Sunshine, a sci-fi nail-biter about a future Earth's scramble to reignite a dying sun. It's the latest from 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle.

'Sunshine': Space Opera with a Dark Cloud or Two

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Review

Culture

'Order of the Phoenix': Bring On the Next Chapter

Despite some darkly inspired moments, the fifth of seven Harry Potter movies feels like — well, like the next to the next-to-last installment in a series that's taking its time.

'Order of the Phoenix': Bring On the Next Chapter

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Review

Culture

'Transformers': A Toy Story Waiting on a Recall

Special-effects magic makes Hasbro's toys enormously engaging, but the humans they're out to destroy keep slowing things down. If this film were a lot shorter, and if it kept a focus on the toys, it would be hard to argue with.

'Transformers': A Toy Story Waiting on a Recall

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Review

Culture

'Ratatouille:' Nervy, Funny and Thoroughly Tasty

Kenneth Turan says director Brad Bird did something audacious — made a major motion picture with a rat for a star. The comedy they've created is imaginative, good-spirited, funny — and brave enough to let the rats be ratlike, even as they charm the audience.

'Ratatouille:' Nervy, Funny and Thoroughly Tasty

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Review

Culture

'Fantastic Four' Simplistic, Inoffensive

Hollywood puts the planet in peril again with Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer. The comics were hip enough to last for more than 40 years, but the movie treatment is far from must-see cinema.

'Fantastic Four' Simplistic, Inoffensive

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Review

Movies

'Ocean's Thirteen': A Slick Scam, Sure — and Smug

Ocean's Thirteen is the latest Steven Soderbergh-directed movie, starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Clooney plays Danny Ocean, the mastermind behind a gang of thieves who steal from casinos. In this third installment of the franchise, their target is casino owner Willy Bank, played by Al Pacino.

'Ocean's Thirteen': A Slick Scam, Sure — and Smug

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Movies

Cannes Cheers Films from Moore, Coens

As the Cannes Film Festival marks its 60th year, the premier place for premieres welcomes a pair of American movies: Michael Moore's health-care documentary Sicko and the Coen brothers' violent Western No Country for Old Men.

Cannes Cheers Films from Moore, Coens

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Review

Culture

'Once' With Feeling: Small Musical Has a Big Heart

John Carney's unpretentious musical romance is completely winning — with appealing characters, an unforced sense of intimacy and a light-fingered way of mixing music and story.

'Once' With Feeling: Small Musical Has a Big Heart

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