John Powers

The new romantic comedy "Fallen Leaves" tells a story about love on the margins of society. The film has won several big international prizes. It was written and directed by Aki Kaurismaki, who first put movies from Finland on the map in the 1980s. Our critic-at-large John Powers says "Fallen Leaves" is a rare bird, a refined art movie that's also a crowd-pleaser.

A new Australian comedy series called "Colin From Accounts" is about a 40-something man and a late-20s woman who were brought together by a dog. The series begins streaming on Paramount+ tomorrow, and our critic at large, John Powers, says that its warmth, good humor and essential benevolence might make it the perfect antidote to what's going on in the world.

When Helen Garner published her first novel, "Monkey Grip," in 1977, it made her a literary sensation in her native Australia. She's been a famous writer there ever since. The American publisher Pantheon has begun releasing her most popular books, starting with her 1984 novel "The Children's Bach" and her 2014 true crime book "This House Of Grief." Our critic-at-large, John Powers, says that Garner is one of his favorite writers and that these books offer the ideal introduction to a woman who's forever grappling with the hard stuff of life.

"The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" is the final film by the Hollywood director, William Friedkin, who made "The Exorcist" and won the Oscar for "The French Connection." Premiering this weekend on Showtime and Paramount+, it's a present-day adaptation of Herman Wouk's story about a trial of a ship's officer accused of wrongly ousting his captain, played by Kiefer Sutherland. Our critic-at-large, John Powers, says that it uses an old-fashioned story to comment on culture today.

The Gold is an enjoyable new series based on a real-life gold heist of 1983, in which thieves broke into a warehouse and made off with three tons of gold bars.

Fifty years ago, the U.S. government backed a coup that ousted Chile's democratically elected socialist president. Rotting in the Sun and El Conde offer subversive glimpses into the coup's legacy.

Face to Face is a neatly turned Danish thriller whose protagonists — different in each season — attempt to solve a murder over the course of eight half-hour episodes.

Midnight Diner" is a Japanese TV series about a diner located on a quiet side street in one of Tokyo's busiest districts. Although the show has been running on Netflix for several years, our critic-at-large, John Powers, keeps rewatching old episodes. He says the show creates a mood that keeps calling the viewer back.

In Naomi Hirahara's new novel a Japanese American family that had been interned during World War II returns home to a Los Angeles that isn't what they remembered.

The TV series "Dark Winds" is a cop show about the Navajo tribal police based on the bestselling novels by Tony Hillerman. The series begins its second season streaming on AMC+ today and then on Sunday on AMC. Our critic-at-large John Powers says that what makes the show work is less its crime story than its memorable characters.