John Powers
Stories
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Arts & Life
A police officer investigates her own sister's disappearance in 'Long Bright River'
Set in a Philadelphia neighborhood that's been ravaged by opioids, Amanda Seyfried stars in this heartfelt Peacock series that centers wounded communities and families.
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Arts & Life
Animals are swept up in the 'Flow' of this Oscar-nominated flood film
When the flood waters rise, a band of animals takes shelter on a boat, where they have to work together to survive. Flow is a radiant fantasy, where solidarity, not selfishness, can save the day.
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Arts & Life
After a tragic accident, a widow faces a lifetime of what-ifs
Live Fast won France's top literary prize in 2022. Brigitte Giraud's haunting book revisits the death of her husband in a motorcycle crash 20-odd years earlier.
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Arts & Life
A family endures a dictatorship in the Oscar-nominated 'I'm Still Here'
A Brazilian family is rocked when the father disappears following a military coup. I'm Still Here tells the heroic true story of a wife and mother who steers her family through the rapids of tyranny.
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Arts & Life
She's his boss at work, he's her boss in bed in the unsatisfying 'Babygirl'
Nicole Kidman plays a high-flying, married businesswoman who begins an affair with an intern half her age. It's a lead performance more daring than the film itself.
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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.
