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 new movie Spotlight is about the team of investigative reporters at the Boston Globe that broke the story of sexual abuse in Boston's Catholic Archdiocese.
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The movie is based on Emma Donoghue's best-selling book about a woman who's been kidnapped and had to raise her son in captivity. Room is directed by Irish filmmaker Lenny Abrahamson.
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Another movie about Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is in theaters. It is inspired by the best-selling biography that came out in 2011. The new biopic is simply called Steve Jobs.
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Black Mass is based on the life of Whitey Bulger, the notorious South Boston organized crime boss. Johnny Depp's portrayal is described as "some of the best, most chilling work he's done in awhile."
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The Mission Impossible franchise has been good to Tom Cruise — raking in more than $2 billion in world-wide box office receipts. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation is the fifth film in the series.
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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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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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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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Chappie is the new film from director Neil Blomkamp about a robot that becomes humanity's last hope. It echoes everything from Dr. Frankenstein's creation to the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz.
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Fifty Shades of Grey is an R-rated fairy tale, a kind of Cinderella tale with restraints. It's about as believable as Jack and the Beanstalk but considerably kinkier in intent.