John Powers
Stories
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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.
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Arts & Life
'Twisters' swirls an old-fashioned rom-com into an effects-happy action movie
This follow-up to the 1996 blockbuster Twister updates the original by making its heroine — not its hero — the center of gravity, but alas, the script doesn’t let her be a whole lot of fun.
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Arts & Life
'Green Border' is the strongest movie this critic has seen all year
Agnieszka Holland's film, which won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, centers on a refugee family trying to escape to Western Europe and the people who try to help and stop them.
