When a movie about a pyromaniac sociopath opens with a shot of the burning traffic-light she set ablaze and ends with her refilling a gas can at a petrol station, as Pablo Larraín's 'Ema' does, you know you are in for a scorching experience.

In 'The Magician,' Colm Toibin's novelization of the Thomas Mann biography, the 'Venice' tale is resurrected, like the Proustian madeleine, in all subsequent examples of Mann's sweet tooth for comely youth.

In a thoroughly researched and utterly fascinating biography, 'Sometime You Have to Lie: The Life and Times of Louise Fitzhugh, Renegade Author of Harriet the Spy,' Leslie Brody shares intimate details of the writer's fabulous and troubled life.

Michael Morgan, a gay man and the longtime music director and conductor of the Oakland Symphony, died August 20 at Kaiser Hospital in Oakland. He was 63.

Broadway's return will be celebrated on August 29 with 'Wicked in Concert,' a musical event featuring the songs from one of the most successful musicals in Broadway history.

Despite the smaller independent film 'Parting Glances' having preceded it by a few years, 'Longtime Companion' hit strong with a wide national release, becoming essentially the first largely-viewed AIDS-themed narrative film of the decade.

With the vinyl LP arrival of her new album 'Release Me 2,' the compilation follow-up to 2012's 'Release Me,' comprised of previously unreleased material, Barbra Streisand has entered hipster territory.

In contrast to his role as a human in the hit comedy vampire series 'What We Do in the Shadows,' Harvey Guillén is also the voice of a new character in Disney's 'Mickey Mouse Funhouse.' He shared his experiences developing diverse characters.

In 'The Sacred Band: Three Hundred Theban Lovers Fighting to Save Greek Freedom,' classics scholar James Romm doesn't just tell: he tells all. A mass grave of Theban soldiers carefully and deliberately buried in pairs. Make that couples.

Leonardo da Vinci, the Renaissance genius and now a global brand, takes a back seat to his artistic creation in the spellbinding new documentary, 'The Lost Leonardo,' about the queer journey of the painting 'Salvator Mundi.'

In 'The Audacity of a Kiss: Love, Art and Liberation,' the historic art world, opening a historic women's bar, and more events are included in Leslie Cohen's honest and fascinating memoir.

Like many art forms, dance concerts have been put on hold until recently. Amy Seiwert and ODC Theater present their 11th Sketch series of works in progress, August 27-29 at ODC Theater and online.

In addition to the disastrous earthquake (see this week's News edition of this series), 1989 was full of AIDS: protests, drug treatments, and the staged reading of a new play-in-progress about AIDS by Tony Kushner titled 'Angels in America.'

Outfest LA will be held August 13-22 with outdoor events, indoor screenings for vaccinated attendees, and streaming for those wishing to experience the festival from their own home. The nearly 200 hand-picked films represent every genre.