Kenneth Turan

Chappie is the new film from director Neil Blomkamp about a robot that becomes humanity's last hope. It echoes everything from Dr. Frankenstein's creation to the Tin Man in The Wizzard of Oz.

The film depicts Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1971. It was a year when the Troubles, the bitter conflict between the Catholic IRA and the Protestant Loyalists, turned violent.

McFarland USA is an apologetically inspirational Disney sports movie. Kevin Costner plays a coach who starts a high school cross-country team of Mexican-American kids in California's Central Valley.

Fifty Shades of Grey is an R-rated fairy tale, a kind of Cinderella tale with restraints. It's about as believable as Jack and the Beanstalk but considerably kinkier in intent.

If you know science fiction filmmaking, you know the name Wachowski. Siblings Larry and Lana Wachowski have been working in that field since The Matrix in 1999.

The new documentary is not a film about Soviet-era military machines. It is the story of the legendary Soviet hockey team of the 1970s and 80s — one of the greatest dynasties in all of sports.

Song of the Sea by Irish director Tomm Moore is a wonder to behold. It's a stunning example of hand-drawn animation, steeped in Irish myth, folklore and legend.

The new film A Most Violent Year is written and directed by J.C. Chandor. The crime drama starring Jessica Chastain takes place in New York City in 1981, one of the city's most violent years.

The movie is based on the 2010 nonfiction book by Laura Hillenbrand about a U.S. Olympic track star who survives a plane crash during World War II only to be taken prisoner by the Japanese.

Director Ridley Scott's take on the story of Moses is half solemn, half silly — and not so far an evolution from Charlton Heston's The Ten Commandments as it would like to believe.

In "Still Alice," Julianne Moore has each thing that defines her — to herself, to her family — devoured by early-onset Alzheimer's disease. It's a splendid performance, says critic Kenneth Turan.

The new movie The Imitation Game is about British mathematician Alan Turing and his attempts to crack Germany's Enigma Code during World War Two.

A woman in Kenya has been publicly stripped and molested nearly every day for two weeks for so-called "indecent dress." Cellphone video of the assaults have ignited condemnation, and copycat attacks.

The final novel of the trilogy has been cut into two pictures. This one is a placeholder film. It exists to smooth the transition from its successful predecessors to a glorious concluding part.

Written and directed by Jon Stewart of The Daily Show, the film tells the true story of an American journalist covering Iran's 2009 election, who was detained and tortured by Iranian authorities.

Earlier generations of science fiction fretted about nuclear radiation or alien invasion. What powers Interstellar is an up-to-date concern about the viability of Earth as home for the human race.

Kenneth Turan reviews Nightcrawler, a thriller set in the "nocturnal underbelly" of Los Angeles. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a young man who discovers the world of L.A. crime journalism.

Ken Turan reviews the documentary Citizenfour from filmmaker Laura Poitras about Edward Snowden and his decision to leak information about the National Security Agency's surveillance activities.

The WWII drama Fury is about a U.S. sergeant and his five-man crew on a mission behind enemy lines. Kenneth Turan reviews the film, directed by David Ayer and starring Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf.

Kill the Messenger is based on the true story of a reporter at the San Jose Mercury-News who uncovers the CIA's role in arming the Nicaraguan Contras, then becomes the target of a smear campaign.