John Powers
Stories
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Arts & Life
A critic looks back at some of the year's most striking culture moments
John Powers celebrates the books, shows and performances that stayed with him, including Miranda July's novel All Fours, Interior Chinatown on Netflix and an iconic Olympic moment with Simone Biles.
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Arts & Life
Two good new spy series close out the year: 'Black Doves' and 'The Agency'
In the Netflix series Black Doves, the wife of Britain's defense minister is secretly working for a private spy firm. Paramount+'s The Agency is a reworking of the acclaimed French series The Bureau.
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Arts & Life
'Landman' drills into the wild West workings of today's oil industry
This Paramount+ series, featuring Billy Bob Thornton as a savvy veteran of the oil business, is an old-fashioned soap opera and a breezy portrait of one of the world's most influential industries.
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Arts & Life
A Mexican drug lord comes out as a trans woman in the freewheeling 'Emilia Pérez'
This Spanish-language musical about a cartel boss who undergoes gender-affirming surgery won two big prizes at Cannes, including a shared best actress award for its four women leads.
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Arts & Life
In 'A Real Pain,' Jewish cousins tour Poland, cracking jokes and confronting the past
In this almost perfect little film, Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin play cousins who reconnect in Poland to honor the memory of their grandmother, a Holocaust survivor.
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Arts & Life
A polarizing, provocative French novelist says he’s written his last book
Michel Houellebecq is a controversial literary superstar. His new book, Annihilation, centers on a middle-aged Paris bureaucrat in a sexless marriage. It's slow to start, but still holds surprises.
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Arts & Life
A light-hearted murder mystery weekend turns deadly in Kate Atkinson's cozy thriller
Death at the Sign of the Rook is an expansive novel that pokes fun of baroque, classic murder mysteries — but also delivers a fully satisfying, all-the-pieces-click-together ending.
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Arts & Life
'South Park' creators renovate a beloved restaurant, and find nostalgia is pricey
A new film follows Trey Parker and Matt Stone as they renovate a dilapidated, inauthentic, 1970s Mexican restaurant. The labor of love becomes a money-pit as they chase the landmark's former glory.
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Arts & Life
Matt Damon and Casey Affleck are 'The Instigators' in a classic heist film throwback
After a heist goes bad, two inept Boston crooks (played by Damon and Affleck) become uneasy partners. The Instigators is a reasonably enjoyable film that reflects an earlier cinematic era.
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Arts & Life
'Women in Blue' fight sexism -- and a serial killer -- in this Mexican drama
Set in 1971 Mexico City, this lively Apple TV+ drama focuses on four police women who discover that it’s easier to capture a serial killer than to deal with the misogyny of the men around them.