1 With not a word of dialogue spoken, the electrifying high school gang thriller "The Tribe" plays like a mute "Lord of the Flies." Ukrainian director Myroslav Slaboshpyt­skiy's stunning film lacks spoken words (and subtitles), but it is far from silent. The narrative, set in a derelict boarding school, is fueled by the intimidating clack of shoe heels across wooden floors, the slap of faces hit by fists, the wail of anguish choked by a mute girl in an unbearable back alley abortion. When has "show, don't tell" communicated with such harrowing, pitiless power as this parable does? (St. Anthony Main. www.mspfilm.org.)

2 If you're finding "True Detective" too tough of a slog this season, trot thyself over to "Masterpiece" on TPT, where the Cornwall-set British period drama "Poldark" has been reeling in viewers. When the oddly surnamed titular hero Ross Poldark (Aidan Turner), back home from the Revolutionary War after being presumed dead, isn't taking off his shirt to brood, he's mucking about with various comely lasses, wayward servants or his corrupt, land-grabbing uncle. Names like Prudie, Verity, Choake and Demelza are just icing on the cake. (8 p.m. & 2 a.m. Sun., TPT Ch. 2; also 8 p.m. & 2 a.m. Wed., TPT Ch. 2.3.)

3 Jeffrey Hatcher's "Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders" at Park Square Theatre is a clever adaptation of Twin Cities architecture critic Larry Millett's novel. Director Peter Moore nicely balances Hatcher's tongue-in-cheek approach with an overwrought atmosphere. This isn't the first outing for Steve Hendrickson and Bob Davis as Holmes and Watson, respectively, and it shows in their chemistry. (www.parksquaretheatre.com.)

4 With a six-year lull since his last new album, Libertyville, Ill.'s short-fuse punk poet Ike Reilly — whose 2001 breakthrough record "Salesmen and Racists" remains a Twin Cities favorite — was bound to have a healthy stockpile of songs. They finally came to light this month in the form of "Born on Fire," Reilly's eighth album and first for Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello's new label. It boasts the usual workingman blues epics ("A Job Like That"), wry political ditties ("Am I Still the One for You"), catchy rockers ("Hangin' Around") and a lot more.

5 "The English Spy" is a simply delicious novel. Daniel Silva weaves an intriguing tale of modern espionage that begins with the shocking death of a British princess but ultimately has its roots in the story of a mercenary bombmaker with decades-old ties to the IRA, Hezbollah and Al-Qaida. As the story unfolds, the legendary Israeli spy and "angel of vengeance" Gabriel Allon tracks the bombmaker from West Belfast to Lisbon, while Silva provides enough twists and turns to keep readers guessing until the end.