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

Michael Moore's New Target: 'Capitalism' Itself
Overture Films

Review

Movies

Michael Moore's New Target: 'Capitalism' Itself

Michael Moore is famous for skewering the excesses of American industry — and in his latest film, he goes looking (mostly on Wall Street) for the source of the trouble. Critic Kenneth Turan says that while Capitalism certainly has spirit, the pop-culture polemicist may have taken on more than he could chew.

Michael Moore's New Target: 'Capitalism' Itself

Listen · 2:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/112569384/113154153" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Love At First Longing For 'Star'-Crossed Lovers

"Now a soft kiss ..." A dying John Keats (Ben Whishaw) locks lips with his "stedfast" muse and secret lover, Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). Apparition hide caption

toggle caption
Apparition

Review

Movies

Love At First Longing For 'Star'-Crossed Lovers

Boy meets girl. Boy loves girl. Boy writes poetry and wins girl's heart. The catch? The boy is John Keats. Oscar-winning writer-director Jane Campion's new film, Bright Star, uses history to set a new standard for poetic love.

Love At First Longing For 'Star'-Crossed Lovers

Listen · 3:11
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/112563951/112953520" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Big Fan': The Defeat Of A Football Fantasy

For the love of the game: Paul (Patton Oswalt) and his buddy Sal (Kevin Corrigan) are die-hard Giants fans who watch games on TV in the stadium parking lot. First Independent Pictures hide caption

toggle caption
First Independent Pictures

Review

Movies

'Big Fan': The Defeat Of A Football Fantasy

Big Fan explores the passion and obsession of those who live on the fringes of professional sports. Patton Oswalt gives a powerful performance as a die-hard Giants fan who has an unexpected brush with football fame.

'Big Fan': The Defeat Of A Football Fantasy

Listen · 2:34
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/112485727/112739840" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

Movies

A West Bank Family, Making A Home In 'Amreeka'

Cherien Dabis' debut film tells a warm, funny story about a divorced Palestinian woman and her son, who move from the Middle East to the American Midwest to start their lives anew — just as the Iraq War is getting underway.

A West Bank Family, Making A Home In 'Amreeka'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/112483075/112614774" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Ponyo,' Swimming Magically Against The Tide

Up Where They Walk, Up Where They Run: Ponyo, a goldfish turned little girl, gets her chance to live where the people are in a sweet-natured film by Spirited Away director Hayao Miyazaki. Nibariki-GNDHDDT hide caption

toggle caption
Nibariki-GNDHDDT

Review

Movies

'Ponyo,' Swimming Magically Against The Tide

A goldfish gets her chance to live above sea level in a sweet-natured film by visionary Hayao Miyazaki. Kenneth Turan says its mixture of fantasy, adventure and affection make Ponyo unforgettable.

'Ponyo,' Swimming Magically Against The Tide

Listen · 2:38
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/111629594/111878806" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

Movies

'Half-Blood Prince': A Franchise Flick, But With Mojo

Director David Yates is a good steward of the material — respectful but not overly reverential — which means audiences should be happy, even as the darkness gathers around Harry Potter and his Hogwarts friends.

'Half-Blood Prince': A Franchise Flick, But With Mojo

Listen · 3:05
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/106467419/106632597" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

Movies

Depp's Broody Dillinger, Dominating His 'Enemies'

Centered on a fatalistic portrait of a great American outlaw, Michael Mann's slick, authentic-looking drama is simultaneously an art film and a crime saga — one dazzling enough to keep the Dillinger legend alive for years.

Depp's Broody Dillinger, Dominating His 'Enemies'

Listen · 2:20
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/105899079/106131922" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

Movies

For 'Cheri' & Co., Liaisons Dangerous To The Soul

It's been 20 years since Michelle Pfeiffer, director Stephen Frears and screenwriter Christopher Hampton teamed up for Dangerous Liaisons. In Cheri, they tell a very different kind of love story.

For 'Cheri' & Co., Liaisons Dangerous To The Soul

Listen · 2:46
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/105609793/105950458" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

Movies

In Allen's 'Whatever Works,' Not Much Does

There was a time when Woody Allen's characters were both funny and recognizably human. Sadly, the work necessary to accomplish that looks to be something the writer-director can't be bothered with anymore.

In Allen's 'Whatever Works,' Not Much Does

Listen · 2:33
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/105421407/105646710" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

Movies

'Pelham' Redux: Trouble On The Tracks Once Again

Tony Scott's thriller — a remake of the 1974 film of the same title — is a deft and professional genre piece that roars right along, despite what some might think is an excess of plot-convenient coincidence.

'Pelham' Redux: Trouble On The Tracks Once Again

Listen · 2:39
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/105115923/105285870" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

Movies

'Away We Go': A Tour Among The Tiresome

A self-satisfied film about insecure people, Sam Mendes' film has mustered several genuine assets, but it squanders them all — and ends up being not nearly as special as it wants to be.

'Away We Go': A Tour Among The Tiresome

Listen · 2:45
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/104712041/104994142" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Up': A Pixar-Style Lift, Pretty Much Guaranteed

C'mon, Get Happy: A pesky but well-intentioned 8-year-old and a 70-something curmudgeon find tropical adventure — and a surprising connection — in Up. Disney/Pixar Studios hide caption

toggle caption
Disney/Pixar Studios

Review

Movies

'Up': A Pixar-Style Lift, Pretty Much Guaranteed

With visual magic, high-adventure excitement and an intelligent look at one of Hollywood's persistent taboos, Up isn't just good; it's among the groundbreaking studio's best. (Recommended)

'Up': A Pixar-Style Lift, Pretty Much Guaranteed

Listen · 3:01
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/104567219/104696328" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

Movies

In New 'Star Trek,' A Successful Personality Splice

The Star Trek franchise has certainly taken its own advice about living long and prospering. The current film is the 11th in the series — and critic Kenneth Turan says it revives the brand nicely.

In New 'Star Trek,' A Successful Personality Splice

Listen · 2:40
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/103902693/103926724" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Movies

Hugh Jackman Returns As Wolverine

One of the surest signs of spring is the appearance of comic book movies in theaters everywhere. Hugh Jackman is back as the edgy Logan, aka Wolverine, in a fast, loud origin-myth of a movie designed to cash in on the fanboy fervor that greeted the three X-Men films.

Hugh Jackman Returns As Wolverine

Listen · 2:31
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/103698995/103698974" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript