John Powers

The new Brazilian film "The Secret Agent" is set during that country's dictatorship, which ran from 1964 to 1985. It stars Wagner Moura as an honorable scientist who becomes a target of powerful forces. The movie, which was directed by Kleber Mendonca Filho, won two big prizes at Cannes and is Brazil's submission for this year's Academy Awards. Our critic-at-large, John Powers, says it's even better than "I'm Still Here," the Brazilian movie that won an Oscar earlier this year.

John Powers reviews The Mastermind starring Josh O'Connor and directed by Kelly Reichardt.

John Powers reviews A House of Dynamite from director Kathryn Bigelow

John Powers reviews The Lowdown.

A new eight-part series by MUBI chronicles the ferocious rise of the Italian dictator. While the show is a bit too eager to make Mussolini entertaining, the story it tells couldn't be any more timely.

John Powers reviews the thriller series Butterfly.

John Powers reviews The Diary of Lies

A new BritBox series centers on a deaf woman who works in a police station, and whose lip-reading abilities come in handy when the precinct needs help interpreting surveillance footage.

John Powers reviewed "Endling," by Maria Reva.

The new Netflix series "Dept. Q" stars Matthew Goode as a crack Edinburgh police detective who brings together a team of misfits to help search for a woman who vanished several years ago. Our critic-at-large, John Powers, says it's one of those crime series that's less about the solution than watching the byplay of the characters.