Kenneth Turan, Film Critic
- 1
Wealthy Chinese and their passion for pricy Bordeaux reds make for a compelling subject in the Russell Crowe-narrated ‘Red Obsession.’
- 2
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.’
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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.
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Set in the 1950s, a young woman’s speed-typing potential prompts her ultra-competitive boss to take her under his wing.
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‘The Servant,’ restored for its 50th anniversary, is an icy look at the upper class and power. Joseph Losey directs and Dirk Bogarde stars.
- 6
John Crowley’s timely thriller starring Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall and Julia Stiles about government surveillance and terrorism in Britain is well acted.
- 7
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.
- 8
‘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.
- 9
Young people navigate the troubled waters of a foster care home in Destin Daniel Cretton’s genuine and moving film ‘Short Term 12.’
- 10
The power of art moves strangers at Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum in Jem Cohen’s observational quasi-documentary ‘Museum Hours’ with a fictional overlay.
- 11
Despite digressions into Jewish history, ‘When Comedy Went to School’ is funny when it sticks to the topic.
- 12
The director’s penchant for excess gets in the way of an important story, though Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey lead a strong cast.
- 13
Sebastian Cordero’s mock documentary ‘Europa Report’ is a visually striking and convincingly scary space trip to a moon of Jupiter.
- 14
‘Our Children’ shows how a young mother unravels and does the unthinkable. Emilie Dequenne, Niels Arestrup and Tahar Rahim star.
- 15
Matt Damon can’t save the politically conscious, pedestrian ‘Elysium.’ Neill Blomkamp (‘District 9’) directs.
- 16
The improbable story of a Rwandan national cycling team formed after the ’94 genocide delivers more than expected in ‘Rising From Ashes.’
- 17
Paul Schrader’s ‘The Canyons,’ written by Bret Easton Ellis and starring Lindsay Lohan and James Deen, is boring and pretentious.
- 18
Baltasar Kormakur’s ‘2 Guns’ is an action-packed show, but Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg mostly irritate.
- 19
Joshua Oppenheimer’s gripping documentary ‘The Act of Killing’ has Indonesian national heroes re-create their violence cinematically.
- 20
Not even the powerful actor can rescue James Mangold’s new film, with effective action shots dragged down by a scattered plot.
- 21
The Johnny Depp starrer tips its hat at Lone Ranger mythology, but there’s little appeal in this ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’-like film.
- 22
Invaders of Earth have never been in better hands than in director Guillermo del Toro’s skillful ‘Pacific Rim.’
- 23
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.’
- 24
Jason Wise’s glib but engaging documentary follows four guys who expend extraordinary effort to pass the master sommelier exam.
- 25
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.
- 26
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.
- 27
With a manic energy (those zombies) and a charismatic leading man (Brad Pitt), the smartly done film is fun and thrilling to watch.
- 28
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.
- 29
This fine Danish thriller from Tobias Lindholm follows the crew of a ship captured by pirates in the Indian Ocean and negotiators in Copenhagen.
- 30
Henry Cavill’s Superman is muscular yet sensitive, but ‘Man of Steel’ director Zack Snyder doesn’t balance spectacle and emotion as well.
- 31
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.
- 32
Ethan and Joel Coen’s ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ wins Grand Prize; Bruce Dern is honored for acting in ‘Nebraska,’ Bérénice Bejo for ‘The Past.’
- 33
Morgan Neville’s documentary is a moving, joyous look at Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer and others.
- 34
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.
- 35
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.
- 36
The documentary offers a peek into the wonderful world of contemporary master of manipulation Ricky Jay.
- 37
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.
- 38
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.’
- 39
Plus, at Le Marche, movies from across the globe are for sale; and, dumpster-diving for festival-related trash.
- 40
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.
- 41
Writer-director Sarah Polley’s personal documentary reveals complexities and contradictions within her own family that will resonate with filmgoers as well.
- 42
International collaborations include ‘Only God Forgives,’ a Thailand-set film with a Canadian star (Ryan Gosling) and Danish director (Nicolas Winding Refn).
- 43
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.
- 44
Director Noah Baumbach and star Greta Gerwig have created an irresistible character of unexpected complexity and energy.
- 45
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.
- 46
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.
- 47
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.
- 48
Director and co-writer Shane Black takes over the franchise — still with Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle — and makes it darker.
- 49
Father-and-son Hayao and Goro Miyazaki have created an animated wonder that looks with poetic nostalgia at 1960s Japan.
- 50
Fanning’s dazzling performance is reason enough to see this empathetic, sensitively modulated film about a teen girl’s fear about nuclear destruction.
- 51
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.
- 52
Critic’s Notebook: The directors’ snubs heavily influenced the awards and leveled the playing field.
- 53
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.
- 54
A number of the best films turn out to be contemporary versions of classic Hollywood scenarios.
- 55
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.
- 56
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.
- 57
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.
- 58
The actress continues to prove she can handle guns, grenades and the bad guys even if the story line is implausible.
- 59
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.
- 60
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.
- 61
The 1959 film’s style is dated, but it is visually glorious and tells a fascinating story.
- 62
Story of British soccer coach is buoyed by great acting and storytelling.
- 63
The story behind the production of the award-winning play ‘That Championship Season.’
- 64
Despite Johnny Depp, the film feels more like a Tim Burton derivative than something he actually did himself.
- 65
She is, but are you? Norma Khouri’s ‘truth’ gets complicated.
- 66
With lesser superpowers, ‘Watchmen’ fails to live up to its graphic novel origins. But then, how could it?
- 67
3-D melds with stop-motion to create a fantastical, magical world.
- 68
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.
- 69
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.
- 70
Terence Davies’ poetic documentary looks at life, loss and Liverpool
- 71
A great story fights its way through thickets of Hollywood banter and sentimentality.
- 72
Jonathan Demme’s film weds bitter and sweet in a fraught family situation, Hathaway shines.
- 73
Bertrand Normand’s documentary is a beautiful snapshot of ballet life, Russian style.
- 74
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.
- 75
History steps in -- in the form of the Proposition 8 battle -- to make this seem more than a standard-issue biopic.
- 76
Roberta Grossman’s documentary tracks the tragic story of a young woman’s ill-fated humanitarian quest into Nazi-held Hungary.
- 77
Clint Eastwood, at 78, shows he’s still a formidable action figure.
- 78
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.
- 79
A comprehensive and illustrative look at shtetl life.
- 80
After the strong ‘Casino Royale,’ Bond gets chilly under director Marc Forster in the emotionless, bang-bang ‘Quantum of Solace.’
- 81
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.
- 82
Sally Hawkins stars as a thoroughly sunny, centered person -- hardly the usual Leigh character.
- 83
‘Gonzo’ is stuffed with Hunter S. Thompson minutiae but shies from the tough questions.
- 84
A top-notch thriller so twisty you may forget to breathe.
- 85
The Will Smith vehicle is as self-destructive as its superhero.
- 86
Groundbreaking yet familiar, part romance, part sci-fi, Pixar’s latest work is wonderful and full of wonder.
