Local kicks and twists

Two movies with major Bay Area connections are being released this month, and despite their differences, the gritty narrative Kicks and the provocative documentary Author: The JT L... Read More

Coastal Commuter

The fruits of my labor (or all figged up)

By Michael Snyder

I’m worried about the figs. Never thought I’d say that, let alone write that, but there you have it. At an inopportune time, I find myself in San Francisco and not at m... Read More

A & E, Movie Reviews

Accomplishing a princely feat

By Michael Snyder

Imagine my delight at learning of a new animated movie based on French author and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s beloved 1943 novella, The Little Prince, a book I’v... Read More

Coastal Commuter

Working from post to post on the coast

By Michael Snyder

Just to be clear, I may be the coastal commuter, but I am hardly the only coastal commuter — at least when it comes to the San Francisco-Los Angeles circuit. I have at least thre... Read More

Coastal Commuter

Truckin’: The food truck revolution is over … and the food trucks have triumphed

By Michael Snyder

Remember when a food truck was a giant van transporting groceries to your local supermarket? Or a Meals-on-Wheels delivery service for the ill or disadvantaged? Or a Good Humor tra... Read More

Movie Reviews

Fording the midsummer mainstream

By Michael Snyder

The summer barrage of action-driven, special-effects-laden epics and other buckets of box office bait is as inevitable as a chilly San Francisco night in July. Meanwhile, what of t... Read More

Coastal Commuter

The game is afoot … or on a bus

By Michael Snyder

It’s no big surprise that car culture dominates daily life in Los Angeles, while San Francisco, where a cable car serves as one of the city’s most familiar symbols, is ... Read More

Movie Reviews

New Yorkers in transit

By Michael Snyder

MAGGIE’S PLAN With her frequent presence in savvy, hip, low-budget features, Greta Gerwig is the current Queen of the Indies, starring in a run of independent movies spotligh... Read More

Coastal Commuter

In enemy territory with a charm and a prayer

By Michael Snyder

During the summer of 2012, I was doing one of my increasingly frequent stints in Los Angeles for work, and I received a call from a friend asking if I would like to see the San Fra... Read More

Television

As the seasons change, so does television (for the better)

By Michael Snyder

When I was a kid, there were only two TV seasons: one in the fall and one in the summer. After our favorite shows ran for 20-plus new episodes from September to May, we had nothing... Read More

Coastal Commuter

The parties never stop

By Michael Snyder

One of the true charms of the San Francisco nightlife scene has been the proliferation of long-running fun-filled club nights that are more like special events than mere dates on a... Read More

A & E, Movie Reviews

Envisioning music-makers

By Michael Snyder

If the current schedule of releases is any indication, the movie industry can’t get enough of on-screen biographies about notable musicians — especially ones with checkered... Read More

Coastal Commuter

On spirituality and gettin’ higher in Cali

By Michael Snyder

Oh California! How could anyone deride you as the land of fruits and nuts? And no, it isn’t a reference to our beloved state’s impressive agricultural bounty. That unfl... Read More

Movie Reviews

Movies for grownups

By Michael Snyder

Now that the Oscars have come and gone, entertainment awards hysteria is on hold until the Emmys in early fall. That generally means more adult fare at the cinema until the movie i... Read More

Coastal Commuter

The haps with dating apps

By Michael Snyder

Shortly after February makes its entrance, thoughts of love are inevitable — like they’re hard-wired into us. Or maybe it’s simply pop-aganda. The 14th of the month a... Read More

Michael Snyder