John Powers

John Powers says the ghost of violence past haunts 'Bloodlands,' a new thriller set in a present-day Northern Ireland still struggling to rebuild a sense of normalcy in the aftermath of what's known as the Troubles.

John Powers says Mick Herron's novels "boast an irresistible premise. They follow the adventures of a group of maladroit MI5 agents who've somehow blown it — you know, left a disk marked "Top Secret" on the Underground, or slept with an ambassador's spouse."

The travails of immigrant life take a quietly beguiling form in Minari, a semi-autobiographical film by Lee Isaac Chung that brims with humor, humanity and hope.