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. He has been a staff writer for the Washington Post and TV Guide, and served as the Times' book review editor.
A graduate of Swarthmore College and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, he is the co-author of Call Me Anna: The Autobiography of Patty Duke. He teaches film reviewing and non-fiction writing at USC and is on the board of directors of the National Yiddish Book Center. His most recent books are the University of California Press' Sundance to Sarajevo: Film Festivals and the World They Made and Never Coming To A Theater Near You, published by Public Affairs Press.
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One of the films that is premiering at Cannes and that is getting a lot of attention is the latest animated feature from Pixar: Inside Out. Son of Saul and Carol are also getting a lot of buzz.
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The new film A Most Violent Year is written and directed by J.C. Chandor. The crime drama starring Jessica Chastain takes place in New York City in 1981, one of the city's most violent years.
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Earlier generations of science fiction fretted about nuclear radiation or alien invasion. What powers Interstellar is an up-to-date concern about the viability of Earth as home for the human race.
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Kill the Messenger is based on the true story of a reporter at the San Jose Mercury-News who uncovers the CIA's role in arming the Nicaraguan Contras, then becomes the target of a smear campaign.
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When Denzel Washington and director Anton Fuqua collaborated on 2001's Training Day, the film won Washington an Oscar and changed the trajectory of his career. They're together again in The Equalizer. -
Directed by Bennet Miller, Foxcatcher, starring Steve Carrell, is getting Oscar buzz. This is a straight dramatic role for Carrell. It tells the story of the murder of Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz.
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Lots of films are based on true stories, but film critic Kenneth Turan says Million Dollar Arm is especially endearing. The film stars Jon Hamm of Mad Men and is directed by Craig Gillespie.
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Ida is a Polish film about a young woman who was raised as an orphan in a convent. She's planning to take her vows as a nun when she discovers she's Jewish and her parents were killed by the Nazis.
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The innovative drama directed by Steven Knight takes place over the course of a tense, riveting car ride. Locke is an exploration of how one decision can lead to the complete collapse of a life.
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Transcendence is an ambitious and provocative film about the perils and pleasures of artificial intelligence that is intriguingly balanced between being a warning and a celebration.
