New York Times - Top Stories

A seedy, seething locale (Berlin, 1989). A blasé-cool new wave soundtrack (“Blue Monday”). Charlize Theron as a ruthlessly efficient spy who specializes in hand-to-hand combat and speaks in snarl-whispers (“Soviets”). What’s not to love? The fact that we don’t have a sequel to this 2017 action thriller is a stain on everyone who works at Universal Pictures.

You’ve never watched this British TV series? As the Northumberland detective at its center might shout in frustration, “Put a wiggle on it!” I love that “Vera” showcases an older character — a woman, no less — who isn’t doddering; in fact, she’s an absolute ace. The sublime Brenda Blethyn has played her since 2011. The 13th season arrived in January.

This mesmerizing 1977 psychodrama, directed and written by Robert Altman, mostly follows two young women — the twangy, twiggy Millie (Shelley Duvall, a revelation) and the creeptastic Pinky (Sissy Spacek). They collide in a doleful California desert community, one that the film scholar Joe McElhaney described as “a space of death but also one of creation.” And how!

Yes, this melodramatic 1989 mini-series about seekers in the Old West overflows with clichés. But the flinty dialogue (“I hate rude behavior in a man”), standout performances (especially Robert Duvall as Gus) and heart-rending score combine to rousing effect. Based on Larry McMurtry’s novel, a masterwork.

If I need a cry, Robert Redford’s literary drama from 1992 often does the trick. It’s set in Montana (where I grew up) and focuses on siblings, one shy and studious (that was me) and the other a charismatic outdoorsman (much like my brother). They love each other, even if they don’t understand each other.