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KENNETH TURAN Movie Reviews

Kenneth Turan
322 reviews, averaging 75.7% positive

 

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Date
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1.
Battleship (2012)
Los Angeles Times
05/18/12 Weak "...something of an earnest, two-hour infomercial that should do wonders for naval recruiting if not civilian entertainment.... not a whole lot of fun."
2.
Dark Shadows (2012)
Los Angeles Times
05/11/12 Weak "...an uncertain combination of elements that unsuccessfully tries to be half-scary, half-funny and all strange... all over the place..."
3.
First Position
Los Angeles Times
05/04/12 Outstanding "...compelling and emotionally involving.... what is at stake in these competitions is more than momentary recognition or success, it is a life path."
4.
Last Call at the Oasis
Los Angeles Times
05/04/12 Outstanding "...as visually arresting as it is smart. A complicated story cogently told... it has the potential to change your mind."
5.
Marvel's The Avengers
Los Angeles Times
05/03/12 Excellent "Joss Whedon's got an innate gift for bringing stories like this to life with the energy and intelligence that should be popular entertainment's birthright but rarely is."
6. 04/27/12 Outstanding "...a clever piece of business that is a complete pleasure to experience... If we're living in a golden age of animation -- and we are -- the folks at Aardman are a key reason why."
7.
Headhunters (Hodejegerne)
Los Angeles Times
04/27/12 Excellent "...a dark adult entertainment, a wild and bloody adrenaline rush of a movie that deals in gleeful grotesqueness and over-the-top implausibilities."
8. 04/27/12 Excellent "...well-researched and iconoclastic... a cautionary tale, but what it cautions against is the lure of easy judgments derived from prejudices and ignorance of the facts."
9.
Surviving Progress
Los Angeles Times
04/20/12 Outstanding "Both brainy and light on its feet, bristling with provocative insights and probing questions... feels like it's expanding your mind while you're watching it."
10.
Marley
Los Angeles Times
04/20/12 Outstanding "...moving and authoritative... leaves you with the joy the man took in the music that set him free and enchanted the world."
11. 04/20/12 Excellent "...beautifully honest and psychologically astute... Nothing is rushed, everything is given its appropriate time and place."
12.
Scenes of a Crime
Los Angeles Times
04/13/12 Very Good "...be prepared to be outraged... examines how people can be psychologically manipulated into confessing... it is difficult to be unmoved."
13.
Monsieur Lazhar
Los Angeles Times
04/13/12 Very Good "...shows us life in the round, illustrating the way humor, compassion and tragedy can all be elements of experience. Its emotional honesty is heartening..."
14.
The Island President
Los Angeles Times
04/06/12 Very Good "...the unsettling elements illustrate what happens when your protagonist gets caught in the cogs of history.... compelling and thought-provoking..."
15. 04/05/12 Very Good "...warm and surprising... a look at the annual San Diego convention that is sweetly empathetic where previous Spurlock works have been brash and confrontational. Plus, it's a lot of fun."
16.
Bully (2012)
Los Angeles Times
03/30/12 Good "...is not comprehensive -- the more modern torments of cyber bullying are not much dealt with.... Still, the film's cumulative force is considerable..."
17.
The Hunger Games
Los Angeles Times
03/23/12 Excellent "When you're talking about 'The Hunger Games,' it all comes down to Katniss.... in Jennifer Lawrence director Gary Ross and company have hit the bull's-eye, so to speak."
18.
The Deep Blue Sea (2012)
Los Angeles Times
03/23/12 Outstanding "Exceptionally well-made and completely fearless in its depiction of the widest range of romantic emotions... a film as fiercely committed to passion as its heroine, and that's saying a lot."
19.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Los Angeles Times
03/16/12 Outstanding "...as elegant and tasty as the splendid sushi prepared by the man in the title, and that is saying a lot.... You may not dream of sushi yourself, but why Jiro Ono does becomes perfectly clear."
20. 03/16/12 Outstanding "...brainy, bravura filmmaking of the highest level.... Amusing and disturbing in equal measure... does more than ask the provocative question 'what is more important than truth,' it attempts to answer it as well."

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