Culture German Oscar-Winner 'Africa' Makes U.S. Debut March 28, 2003 • The Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film is Germany's Nowhere in Africa, a fact-based story of refugees in a time of war. Now showing on U.S. screens, the movie follows a German-Jewish family that fled to Kenya in 1938 to escape the Nazis. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan offers a review.
Actors as Directors February 24, 2003 • Host Bob Edwards talks to film critic Ken Turan about actors who turn to directing movies. The latest is John Malkovich, whose picture The Dancer Upstairs opens in April. Turan talks about why directing appeals to actors and gives examples of successes and failures.
Culture 'Blind Spot' Chronicles Hitler's Last Days February 14, 2003 • Hitler's secretary recalls the dictator's final days in Blind Spot, a minimalist documentary from Germany. After wide acclaim at Berlin Film Festival attendees a year ago, it's finally opening in U.S. theaters. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan offers a review.
Culture Film Tracks Gilliam's Quixotic 'La Mancha' Effort January 31, 2003 • It's a film about a film that never was. The documentary Lost in La Mancha follows director Terry Gilliam -- of Brazil and Monty Python fame -- as he attempts a screen version of Don Quixote. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan offers a review.
Culture Vintage French Film 'Quai des Orfevres' Returns January 17, 2003 • The French film noir classic Quai des Orfevres makes a new tour of U.S. theaters half a century after its 1948 release, with a restored print. It features a lost Paris full of music halls, cigarette smoke and a criminal investigation. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan offers a review.
Culture A Film Trip Through St. Petersburg's Hermitage January 10, 2003 • The new movie Russian Ark takes viewers on a journey through St. Petersburg's famed Hermitage museum. And it's shot in a single, uniterrupted take. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan offers a review.
Culture Kidman, Streep and Moore Fill 'The Hours' on Film January 3, 2003 • The Hours is a new film based on Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about the writer Virginia Woolf and two women living in a later time who Woolf profoundly influences. Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore star. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan offers a review.
Culture 'Drumline' a Diversion from Holiday Blockbusters December 13, 2002 • It's holiday film season and that usually means big budgets and special effects. But the film Drumline puts the emphasis on storytelling. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan offers a review.
Culture Greene's 'Quiet American' Comes to Screen November 22, 2002 • The new film The Quiet American -- based on the Graham Greene novel -- comments on western attitudes toward Vietnam in the 1950s. Michael Caine stars. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan offers a review.
Culture Quiet 'Tully' Hides in Shadow of 'Harry Potter' November 15, 2002 • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, number two in the series, is sure to dominate current movie box-office sales. But the quieter, character-driven Tully is also in theaters. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan offers a review.
Film: Animated Veggies Do the Bible's 'Jonah' October 4, 2002 • Los Angeles Times film critic Ken Turan reviews Jonah, the new computer animated Veggie Tales movie. He says it's funny and clever while also delivering a moral message. One of the movie's creators describes it as, "what might happen if Monty Python took over Hebrew or Sunday School."
'Wendigo' March 8, 2002 • Critic Ken Turan of The Los Angeles Times reviews Wendigo, the new movie by Larry Fessenden, whose specialty is scary pictures. This one is based on an Algonquin mythical creature, which is half-man and half-deer, with the ability to change forms.
'The Man Who Wasn't There' November 1, 2001 • Los Angeles Times film critic Ken Turan has a review of The Man Who Wasn't There, the Coen brothers' comic take on film noir.
'Iron Monkey' October 16, 2001 • Los Angeles Times film critic Ken Turan has a review of Iron Monkey. The movie is a martial arts romp directed by the same man who choreographed fight scenes in The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Sundance Film Festival 2002 January 23, 2001 • Host Bob Edwards talks with film critic Ken Turan of the Los Angeles Times about the hits and misses of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Among his favorites...a feature film about a detective with no short-term memory and a documentary about people who love chickens.