Arts & Culture :: Movies

Opera under a mushroom cloud

Opera under a mushroom cloud

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Aug 15, 2018

Nonesuch has just released the first recording of "Doctor Atomic," composer John Adams' opera about the Manhattan Project, which had its world premiere from San Francisco Opera in 2005.

Skateboarder angst

Skateboarder angst

  • by David Lamble
  • Aug 15, 2018

The Sundance Award-winning doc "Minding the Gap" arrives Friday at the Roxie Theater.

Girl skateboarder posse

Girl skateboarder posse

  • by David Lamble
  • Aug 15, 2018

"Skate Kitchen" is a terrific new girls-can-skate-too New York City drama from San Francisco-born, Tamalpais High School-educated director Crystal Moselle.

Sex lives of the stars!

Sex lives of the stars!

  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • Aug 8, 2018

In director Matt Tyrnauer's new documentary "Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood," author Scotty Bowers attends a book signing for his memoir "Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars."

Junkie chanteuse

Junkie chanteuse

  • by David Lamble
  • Aug 8, 2018

"Nico, 1988" is a sad, silly tale about a boho recording star whose heroin-fueled demise was predictable.

Spike Lee's answer to Trump

Spike Lee's answer to Trump

  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • Aug 8, 2018

Based on a true story, director Spike Lee's latest, "BlacKkKlansman" is the tale of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), a rookie cop in Colorado Springs during the early 1970s.

Jigsaw relationship

Jigsaw relationship

  • by David Lamble
  • Aug 1, 2018

The new social comedy "Puzzle" begins with might be dubbed "scenes from the life of a female doormat."

August offerings at the Castro Theatre

August offerings at the Castro Theatre

  • by David Lamble
  • Aug 1, 2018

The Castro Theatre observes the dog days of summer with a calendar highlighted by David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" and Alfred Hitchcock's once-neglected late-1950s San Francisco-set masterpiece "Vertigo."

Gay man's road to fatherhood

Gay man's road to fatherhood

  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • Aug 1, 2018

Quentin Lee chronicles his journey to fatherhood in "Gay Hollywood Dad."

Alexander McQueen's shock & awe

Alexander McQueen's shock & awe

  • by Sura Wood
  • Jul 26, 2018

At 40, Alexander McQueen, the rule-breaking, barn-burning, sacred-cow-goring British fashion designer, seemed to be a man on top of the world. But in 2010, at the height of his fame and creative powers in a field he loved, he took his own life.

Thursday Night Live with Gilda Radner

Thursday Night Live with Gilda Radner

  • by Roberto Friedman
  • Jul 26, 2018

The audience for the opening night of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival 38 at the Castro Theatre last Thursday night knew that they were in the presence of genius.

More Jewish perspectives in movies

More Jewish perspectives in movies

  • by David Lamble
  • Jul 26, 2018

The 38th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival's final four days at the Castro Theatre feature 20 programs, narratives and documentaries focusing on identity - sexual, ethnic and religious.

Corporate dirty dealing

Corporate dirty dealing

  • by David Lamble
  • Jul 26, 2018

The new documentary "Dark Money" (opens Friday) argues that the Watergate-era reforms addressing the Nixon scandals have been eclipsed by more sinister efforts by corporations (and possibly foreign governments) to rig the system.

Government by the rich

Government by the rich

  • by Erin Blackwell
  • Jul 26, 2018

"The #1 rule of political reporting is 'Follow the money,'" says John Adams, capital bureau chief for The Great Falls Tribune from 2007-15, who covers campaign finance abuse in Montana.