Kenneth Turan, Film Critic

Wealthy Chinese and their passion for pricy Bordeaux reds make for a compelling subject in the Russell Crowe-narrated ‘Red Obsession.’

Niels Arestrup has lately been a captivating presence on-screen, most recently as a tyrannical father in Gilles Legrand’s ‘You Will Be My Son.’

Though the story of a girl’s quest for a bicycle is more generic than involving, the film marks a huge triumph for its female director.

Set in the 1950s, a young woman’s speed-typing potential prompts her ultra-competitive boss to take her under his wing.

‘The Servant,’ restored for its 50th anniversary, is an icy look at the upper class and power. Joseph Losey directs and Dirk Bogarde stars.

John Crowley’s timely thriller starring Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall and Julia Stiles about government surveillance and terrorism in Britain is well acted.

The director is being honored for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival, where a new digital version of his 1977 film starring Roy Scheider will be screened.

‘The Grandmaster’ from Wong Kar-wai stars Tony Leung as Ip Man, who trained Bruce Lee. It’s a sweet feast of martial arts action.

Young people navigate the troubled waters of a foster care home in Destin Daniel Cretton’s genuine and moving film ‘Short Term 12.’

The power of art moves strangers at Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum in Jem Cohen’s observational quasi-documentary ‘Museum Hours’ with a fictional overlay.

Despite digressions into Jewish history, ‘When Comedy Went to School’ is funny when it sticks to the topic.

The director’s penchant for excess gets in the way of an important story, though Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey lead a strong cast.

Sebastian Cordero’s mock documentary ‘Europa Report’ is a visually striking and convincingly scary space trip to a moon of Jupiter.

‘Our Children’ shows how a young mother unravels and does the unthinkable. Emilie Dequenne, Niels Arestrup and Tahar Rahim star.

Matt Damon can’t save the politically conscious, pedestrian ‘Elysium.’ Neill Blomkamp (‘District 9’) directs.

The improbable story of a Rwandan national cycling team formed after the ’94 genocide delivers more than expected in ‘Rising From Ashes.’

Paul Schrader’s ‘The Canyons,’ written by Bret Easton Ellis and starring Lindsay Lohan and James Deen, is boring and pretentious.

Baltasar Kormakur’s ‘2 Guns’ is an action-packed show, but Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg mostly irritate.

Joshua Oppenheimer’s gripping documentary ‘The Act of Killing’ has Indonesian national heroes re-create their violence cinematically.

Not even the powerful actor can rescue James Mangold’s new film, with effective action shots dragged down by a scattered plot.

The Johnny Depp starrer tips its hat at Lone Ranger mythology, but there’s little appeal in this ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’-like film.

Invaders of Earth have never been in better hands than in director Guillermo del Toro’s skillful ‘Pacific Rim.’

Ryan Coogler, in his directing debut, skillfully balances hope and despair as he explores the true tale of police shooting victim Oscar Grant in ‘Fruitvale Station.’

Jason Wise’s glib but engaging documentary follows four guys who expend extraordinary effort to pass the master sommelier exam.

Starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx and directed by Roland Emmerich, this thriller involving a terrorist takeover of the White House and a man with the skills to rescue everyone in it defies plausibility but takes you along for a great ride.

The 1972 film with Alain Delon, Catherine Deneuve and Richard Crenna has many of the traits that made Jean-Pierre Melville a favorite for fans of French crime films.

With a manic energy (those zombies) and a charismatic leading man (Brad Pitt), the smartly done film is fun and thrilling to watch.

An Israeli Palestinian doctor (Ali Suliman) living in Tel Aviv has his world turned upside down at the revelation his wife could be the attacker.

This fine Danish thriller from Tobias Lindholm follows the crew of a ship captured by pirates in the Indian Ocean and negotiators in Copenhagen.

Henry Cavill’s Superman is muscular yet sensitive, but ‘Man of Steel’ director Zack Snyder doesn’t balance spectacle and emotion as well.

Rachel Boynton’s compelling documentary follows what happens when Texas oil exploration firm Kosmos Energy makes an enormous discovery called the Jubilee Field off the coast of Ghana.

Ethan and Joel Coen’s ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ wins Grand Prize; Bruce Dern is honored for acting in ‘Nebraska,’ Bérénice Bejo for ‘The Past.’

Morgan Neville’s documentary is a moving, joyous look at Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer and others.

Directed by Joss Whedon during downtime between ‘Avengers’ duties, the slimmed-down version of the Shakespeare play is a modern, engaging, black and white affair that was filmed at Whedon’s Santa Monica home.

The film centered on marriage in an ultra-Orthodox community won seven Ophirs, Israel’s Academy Awards. Hadas Yaron is a teen torn between her heart and her family.

The documentary offers a peek into the wonderful world of contemporary master of manipulation Ricky Jay.

The script for the impressive film resonated with the director, who put off the project for years — a delay that deepened the material for him.

That is again on display in the Iranian writer-director’s latest, the domestic drama ‘The Past,’ which shares similarities with his Oscar-winning ‘A Separation.’

Plus, at Le Marche, movies from across the globe are for sale; and, dumpster-diving for festival-related trash.

Based on the 1947 book of the same name, six men attempt to cross the ocean on a raft to prove Polynesians originated in pre-Inca Peru centuries ago. Thor Heyerdahl was the fearless leader, and this film captures the journey and the man in thrilling detail.

Writer-director Sarah Polley’s personal documentary reveals complexities and contradictions within her own family that will resonate with filmgoers as well.

International collaborations include ‘Only God Forgives,’ a Thailand-set film with a Canadian star (Ryan Gosling) and Danish director (Nicolas Winding Refn).

Director Baz Luhrmann’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ is a smothering spectacle for the audience and actors alike, though Leonardo DiCaprio succeeds in the lead role.

Director Noah Baumbach and star Greta Gerwig have created an irresistible character of unexpected complexity and energy.

Much has changed in 42 years of covering the Cannes Film Festival, but the event’s changes have kept it vital to the film scene.

Matthew Miele’s documentary about Manhattan’s Bergdorf Goodman is no mere window dressing, going behind the scenes to showcase the luxury store in all its complexity.

Directors Maiken Baird and Michelle Major get up close and personal with the superstars in this involving look at the sisters who’ve changed the face of women’s tennis.

Director and co-writer Shane Black takes over the franchise — still with Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle — and makes it darker.

Father-and-son Hayao and Goro Miyazaki have created an animated wonder that looks with poetic nostalgia at 1960s Japan.

Fanning’s dazzling performance is reason enough to see this empathetic, sensitively modulated film about a teen girl’s fear about nuclear destruction.

The comedy starring Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Jim Carrey, Olivia Wilde and Alan Arkin doesn’t consistently get the most out of its talented cast.

Critic’s Notebook: The directors’ snubs heavily influenced the awards and leveled the playing field.

In director Kathryn Bigelow’s taut thriller, Jessica Chastain is a revelation as the CIA operative whose dogged legwork helped lead U.S. forces to the Al Qaeda leader.

A number of the best films turn out to be contemporary versions of classic Hollywood scenarios.

History comes alive in the best way in ‘Lincoln,’ which finds director Steven Spielberg and star Daniel Day-Lewis at the top of their form.

Critic’s Notebook: The late Tony Scott filled the screen with glorious movement in films like ‘Top Gun,’ giving adults a professional’s take on action with almost child-like excitement.

For more than 50 years the late Judith Crist passed on her passion for the craft of film reviewing, changing lives, including this Times critic’s, along the way.

The actress continues to prove she can handle guns, grenades and the bad guys even if the story line is implausible.

This family drama about the world of mixed martial arts shows promise before ultimately overdosing on its own testosterone, leaving viewers feeling as thrashed as the on-screen warriors.

Based on Don Winslow’s novel, the film features a drug-dealing American trio battling a Mexican drug cartel. Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch star.

The 1959 film’s style is dated, but it is visually glorious and tells a fascinating story.

Story of British soccer coach is buoyed by great acting and storytelling.

The story behind the production of the award-winning play ‘That Championship Season.’

Despite Johnny Depp, the film feels more like a Tim Burton derivative than something he actually did himself.

She is, but are you? Norma Khouri’s ‘truth’ gets complicated.

With lesser superpowers, ‘Watchmen’ fails to live up to its graphic novel origins. But then, how could it?

3-D melds with stop-motion to create a fantastical, magical world.

A young Dominican aspires to be a major league pitcher. But the film is about much more than balls and strikes. It’s about self-discovery.

A documentary convincingly makes the case that designer Valentino’s lavish lifestyle is matched only by the talent that has kept him at the top of the fashion industry for 45 years.

Terence Davies’ poetic documentary looks at life, loss and Liverpool

A great story fights its way through thickets of Hollywood banter and sentimentality.

Jonathan Demme’s film weds bitter and sweet in a fraught family situation, Hathaway shines.

Bertrand Normand’s documentary is a beautiful snapshot of ballet life, Russian style.

Abdellatif Kechiche’s film, which won France’s Cesar for best picture, is an involving look at a Tunisian immigrant community on the French Mediterranean.

History steps in -- in the form of the Proposition 8 battle -- to make this seem more than a standard-issue biopic.

Roberta Grossman’s documentary tracks the tragic story of a young woman’s ill-fated humanitarian quest into Nazi-held Hungary.

Clint Eastwood, at 78, shows he’s still a formidable action figure.

Oliver Stone’s film is satirical and critical but not scathing. Josh Brolin’s empathetic portrayal of the president helps make for a pleasing, effective film.

A comprehensive and illustrative look at shtetl life.

After the strong ‘Casino Royale,’ Bond gets chilly under director Marc Forster in the emotionless, bang-bang ‘Quantum of Solace.’

The bane of documentaries on creative people is that they’re often little more than a fan’s note, of interest only to those who already know and love the work in question.

Sally Hawkins stars as a thoroughly sunny, centered person -- hardly the usual Leigh character.

‘Gonzo’ is stuffed with Hunter S. Thompson minutiae but shies from the tough questions.

A top-notch thriller so twisty you may forget to breathe.

The Will Smith vehicle is as self-destructive as its superhero.

Groundbreaking yet familiar, part romance, part sci-fi, Pixar’s latest work is wonderful and full of wonder.