John Powers

Israeli filmmaker Joseph Cedar centers his new movie on a wannabe dealmaker, played by Richard Gere. Critic John Powers calls Norman a mordantly funny drama with a "dazzlingly revelatory" ending.

These days, the whole world, including our politics, is being shaped by migration. Few people explore the nuances of this reality more skillfully than Valeria Luiselli, a strikingly gifted 33-year-old Mexican writer who knows the migratory experience first-hand.

These days, almost every new movie, TV show, album or book feels so anticipated and pre-packaged that we're already tired of it by the time it's released. This makes it especially thrilling when something dazzling just appears like that alien spaceship in Arrival, startling even those whose business it is be in the know.

After decades of dogs ruling popular culture — there are three canine stars on Hollywood's Walk of Fame — there's been a revolution. Thanks to a tsunami of cute viral videos, our feline comrades are now in the catbird seat, from those ubiquitous Hello Kitty stores to surprise bestsellers like Takashi Hiraide's exquisite, sneakily profound novel The Guest Cat.

Fifty years after its debut, a restored version of Senegalese director Ousmane Sembène's first film is now available. John Powers says Black Girl feels "as timely today as it did half a century ago."

Set in 1979 Santa Barbara, Mike Mills' new film is the story of a teenage boy and the three women who teach him about life. Critic John Powers calls it an "amusing, deeply-felt work."

The new Italian documentary "Fire At Sea" won top prize at this year's Berlin Film Festival for its look at today's refugee crisis. The newly translated novel These Are The Names won the Dutch equivalent of the Booker Prize for its look at the refugee crisis. Our critic-at-large John Powers says each offers an original way of looking at something it's easy to think you know all about.

John Powers reviews Ava DuVernay's film '13th.'

Kelly Reichardt presents the interlocking lives of several Montana women in her new film, Certain Women. Critic John Powers calls it a work of "quiet restraint and unhurried rhythm."

DVDs have enabled us to see movies from some unlikely places. Our critic at large says some of the best films he's seen come from South Korea: the crime drama Memories of Murder and the political thriller The President's Last Bang are two examples, based on true stories.