Film - Off the canvas
by David Lamble
A new, imaginative, French animated feature (opening Friday at Landmark Theatres) should challenge and delight a wide swath of film buffs. Jean-Francois Laguionie's The Painting has something for everyone: it's conceived and executed in a traditional style of animation that should fascinate fans of representational art while still appealing to aficionados raised on Picasso or Pollock.
(read more)
Television - Liberace lives!
by David-Elijah Nahmod
On Sunday, May 26 at 9 p.m., HBO will premiere Behind the Candelabra, director Steven Soderbergh's eagerly anticipated biopic of Mr. Showmanship, the late Liberace. The film will focus primarily on Liberace's relationship with Scott Thorson, his much younger chauffeur/lover. Oscar winners Michael Douglas and Matt Damon star as Liberace and Thorson, respectively. Douglas is particularly impressive in his capturing of the entertainer's speech patterns and body language.
(read more)
DVD - Beyond
Scarlett & Blanche
Because she gave brilliant, Oscar-winning performances in
two of the most coveted roles in Hollywood history, it's easy to overlook
Vivien Leigh's (1913-67) other movies.
(read more)
Out There - Shaking
your symphony booty
We never thought we'd see a concert musician doing a right excellent Michael Jackson moonwalk on the stage of Davies Symphony Hall, but goshdernit, we have now seen exactly that. (read more)
Film - The rise and
fall of Jay Gatsby
I'm a sucker for director Baz Luhrmann's The Great
Gatsby, filmed on Aussie locations, scored
by Jay-Z, and starring real-life best friends Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby
and Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway.
(read more)
Books - Choreography creates chaos
The Rite of Spring will have its 100th anniversary as a dance(d) work on May 29. (read more)
Books - Spellbinding
From a literary perspective, combining the literary prowess of seasoned writers like David Levithan and Andrea Cremer is catnip for the bookish. (read more)
Out & About - Gleeway
Yes, a few young faces among this week's talent are familiar to fans of the TV show Glee. See and hear two of its stars performing live. Okay. So Darren Criss' show is already sold out, and Alex "Unique" Newell is performing out in Alameda, but hey! I don't decide such things. Enjoy these and other gleefully talented performers. (read more)
DVD - Stars in their eyes
In recent years, filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz has made a name for himself with documentaries about show-biz folks, as in Spine Tingler! (horror filmmaker William Castle) and Wrangler (gay porn legend Jack Wrangler). (read more)
On the Town - Star power in San Francisco
The GLAAD Media Awards take place in only three cities – New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco – and boy, are we fortunate to be one of them! (read more)
Karrnal Knowledge - Ginger male
It sort of crept up on us. What was once a rarity now rages. Everywhere you look, there are Ginger Men abounding. (read more)
Lavender Tube - Season finales in the End Times
All we can say about what we've been seeing on TV is: Wow! The thing about the End Times is, everything gets very intense and exciting, and you just don't know which way to look first. (read more)
Music - Springtime dance party
Bad band name aside, Letting Up Despite Great Faults deserve credit for creating a 21st-century version of new wave on Untogether (lettingup. (read more)
