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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In 1959, Charlton Heston starred in Oscar-winning movie Ben-Hur. The question is: Why take another turn at making a film that defined epic when it was released, and was itself a remake?
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Joel and Ethan Coen — better known as the Coen Brothers — have brought moviegoers some of the most distinctive, quirky movies of the last three decades. They are back in theaters with: Hail, Caesar!
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The last two films by writer-director David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, had 18 Oscar nominations between them. So anticipation is high for his new film, Joy.
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Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes place 30 years after Return of the Jedi. The evil Empire has been replaced by the even more ruthless First Order, and the Republic continues to fight the good fight.
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Creed is billed as a Rocky spinoff but it's actually something more interesting. It's a spiritual remake of the 1976 film that retells the original story in an unexpected and involving way.
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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.