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

Review

Arts & Life

Spielberg Takes Cruise into 'War of the Worlds'

Steven Spielberg takes a new crack at the classic H.G. Wells novel War of the Worlds. Tom Cruise, Tim Robbins and the talented child star Dakota Fanning lead the cast. The film emphasizes the power of evil and highlights the volatile nature of human fear.

Spielberg Takes Cruise into 'War of the Worlds'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4722624/4722625" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Review

Arts & Life

'My Summer of Love,' No Average Teen Flick

Film critic Kenneth Turan reviews My Summer of Love, a teen film from director Pawel Pawlikowski. Turan says the film is not your usual Hollywood teen fare. Fore one thing, it was named best British film of 2004.

'My Summer of Love,' No Average Teen Flick

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4716828/4716829" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Review

Arts & Life

'Howl's Moving Castle': Fantastical, Full of Heart

Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan says Howl's Moving Castle, a new animated film from by Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, is fantastical but has heart. Miyazaki is best known to U.S. audiences for his wildly successful film Spirited Away.

'Howl's Moving Castle': Fantastical, Full of Heart

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4697516/4697517" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

Arts & Life

'Cinderella Man' Lacks Faith in Audience

Ron Howard's latest film Cinderella Man tells the story of James Braddock -- but doesn't share the boxer's confidence. The real Braddock believed enough in himself to accomplish miracles in the ring, notes Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan. But the movie lacks faith in the audience, which undercuts its ability to deliver complete satisfaction.

'Cinderella Man' Lacks Faith in Audience

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4678671/4678672" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

Movies

Highlights of 58th Cannes Film Festival

L.A Times critic Kenneth Turan talks about notable films at the 58th Cannes Film Festival -- including Woody Allen's first feature filmed outside New York City. But Turan notes that despite the quality of this year's offerings, no one movie is causing a stir.

Highlights of 58th Cannes Film Festival

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4659781/4659782" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

'Star Wars' Comes Full Circle

'Revenge of the Sith': The Power of the Dark Side

Has the power of the dark side been underestimated? Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan reviews Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, the final chapter of the Star Wars series. He says it's easily the best of the trio of Star Wars prequels.

'Revenge of the Sith': The Power of the Dark Side

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4656188/4656189" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

Movies

'Mad Hot Ballroom' Dances into Audience's Heart

Some fourth and fifth graders in New York City are the stars of the new movie Mad Hot Ballroom. Los Angeles Times movie critic Kenneth Turan says these kids will fox trot, merengue, rumba, tango and swing their way into your heart.

'Mad Hot Ballroom' Dances into Audience's Heart

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4650745/4650746" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

Arts & Life

'Heaven' Stars Scott's Gift for the Visual

Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan reviews Kingdom of Heaven. Gladiator director Ridley Scott's take on the Crusades features actor Orlando Bloom as a young blacksmith who saves the people of Jerusalem.

'Heaven' Stars Scott's Gift for the Visual

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4632970/4632971" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

Arts & Life

An Inside Look at Enron

Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan reviews Alex Gibney's award-winning documentary, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. Gibney adapted a book that chronicles the fantastic rise and demise of the company that was engulfed in scandal when its outrageous accounting practices were exposed.

An Inside Look at Enron

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4624295/4624296" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Review

Movies

'The Interpreter': Intelligent but Too Ambitious

Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan reviews director Sydney Pollack's The Interpreter. The complex political thriller, which stars Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn, is the first movie the United Nations has ever allowed to film at its headquarters in New York.

'The Interpreter': Intelligent but Too Ambitious

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4615156/4615157" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Review

Arts & Life

Re-release of 'Major Dundee' Closer to Peckinpah's Vision

Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan reviews the re-release of Major Dundee. The 40-year-old Western has been re-edited to more closely reflect director Sam Peckinpah's vision.

Re-release of 'Major Dundee' Closer to Peckinpah's Vision

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4601413/4601414" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Review

Arts & Life

French Film Is Well Worth a 'Look'

Los Angeles Times movie critic Kenneth Turan reviews the new French film Look at Me, directed by director Agnes Jaoui from a screenplay written by her husband. They are both actors who got so frustrated with the roles offered to them, they decided to make their own movies.

French Film Is Well Worth a 'Look'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4571014/4571015" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Review

Arts & Life

Enigmatic Dad, Precocious Daughter: 'Jack and Rose'

Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan says director Rebecca Miller's life with her famous father, the late playwright Arthur Miller, has given her a deft hand for the story she tells in her latest film. The Ballad of Jack and Rose centers on an enigmatic father, a precocious daughter and an island retreat.

Enigmatic Dad, Precocious Daughter: 'Jack and Rose'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4560687/4560688" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">