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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The Los Angeles Times and Morning Edition film critic, Kenneth Turan, reviews "Southpaw," a new movie about a boxing champion starring Jake Gyllenhaal and directed by Antoine Fuqua.
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If you saw either of the very popular Despicable Me movies, you know who the yellow, capsule-shaped Minions creatures are. They've moved from sidekicks to stars in the cleverly titled movie Minions.
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Two decades ago, a massive dinosaur movie stomped into theaters, crushing the summer blockbuster competition.The fourth film in the franchise is Jurassic World.
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The British drama is based on the best-selling World War I memoir of Vera Brittain, who gives up her studies at Oxford to enlist as a nurse in the war.
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Earthquakes in California have always interested moviemakers, from San Francisco in 1936 to Earthquake in 1974. Now comes San Andreas, which stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
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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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Avengers: Age of Ultron is proficient at delivering superhero thrills for those who need them. While this movie may be effective moment to moment, very little of it lingers in the mind afterwards.
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It's taken 7 years for the best-selling literary thriller Child 44 to make it to the screen. It's set in the Soviet Union in the last days of Josef Stalin and stars Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace.
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Ex Machina is a smart film that's both futuristic and completely plausible. It's capable of thinking big thoughts and providing pulp thrills. It's written and directed by Alex Garland.
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Director Denny Tedesco began filming in 1996 when his father, Wrecking Crew guitarist Tommy Tedesco, was diagnosed with cancer. Many of the people he talked to, including his father, have since died.