As the opening credits of "Mudbound" (2017) lead into the film's opening scene, the sounds of labor cascade from some unseen source — a few grunts, a garden hoe striking coarsely against wet ground.

"Mudbound," directed by Dee Rees, was released on Netflix in late 2017 and would have looked glorious on a big screen. But the power of this film is in how it makes a small screen feel expansive; you ...

Editor’s Note: In this feature, running every other week, Seattle Times movie critic Moira Macdonald shares her love of certain movies and what makes them great — in the hope of inspiring some of your ...