Oscar aftermath and ‘Finding Vivian Maier’

I’m on the record as detesting award competitions in the arts, though I do like the idea of merit rewarded. It’s just the concept of narrowing down a field to a handful of ost... Read More

Coastal Commuter

Home is where the art is

By Michael Snyder

Art is where you find it, and I usually know where to look. In fact, both San Francisco and Los Angeles offer some marvelous fine art museums that allow one to drink one’s fill o... Read More

Movie Reviews

‘One Chance’

By Michael Snyder

Get ready for a shock. A jaded reviewer prone to cynicism is about to recommend an earnest dock-drama about a sad sack who enters a reality-TV talent competition. To be fair, I did... Read More

Coastal Commuter

The Coastal Commuter

By Michael Snyder

Batten down the bouquets! Break out the boxes of chocolate! February is here, and so is the inevitability of Valentine’s Day. And that’s one mixed blessing. Who could b... Read More

Movie Reviews

‘Tim’s Vermeer’

By Michael Snyder

You could call inventor and digital-tech engineer Tim Jenison obsessive. You could call him self-indulgent, too. But his fixation on the beautiful, hyper-realistic paintings of 17t... Read More

Coastal Commuter

The Coastal Commuter

By Michael Snyder

I’m beginning to see San Francisco as a bedroom community. For someone like me who frequently works in Los Angeles, San Francisco has now become my refuge more than my day-in... Read More

Movie Reviews

2013 in film

By Michael Snyder

Even though I can’t abide awards competitions in the arts, I still find myself reflecting on the cultural highlights and lowlights of the previous 12 months at the turn of th... Read More

Coastal Commuter

A joy of a Cali Christmas

By Michael Snyder

You know the lyrics. You can’t escape the song in December. “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” Sure it is — unless you harbor thoughts of suicide... Read More

Movie Reviews

Christmas on screen

By Michael Snyder

Christmas movies are part of the fabric of Western culture. And no matter how much you hope the season will be about “peace on Earth and good films to all men (and women),... Read More

Movie Reviews

Big Sur

By Michael Snyder

As someone fascinated by the Beat Generation, its auteurs and their Bay Area haunts, I’m probably the ideal target for director-screenwriter Michael Polish’s faithful-t... Read More

Coastal Commuter

Noir-lit titans straddle mighty cities — ray of moonlight, dash of danger

By Michael Snyder

Listen here, ya mugs! I’m a longtime lover of detective fiction. Naturally, that would include the classics of the genre — and there are no private eyes in the literary wor... Read More

Coastal Commuter

Halloween S.F. vs. L.A.

By Michael Snyder

Uh-oh. It’s that special time of year again, when things go bump in the night — and I don’t mean drunken one-night stands (although there will be quite a few of them ... Read More

Movie Reviews

A terrifying top 10 for Halloween

By Michael Snyder

With Halloween shambling toward us, October is an ideal time for movie-lovers to seek cinematic encounters of the frightening kind, whether supernatural or science-fictional. Let m... Read More

Movie Reviews

‘The World’s End’

By Michael Snyder

As an avowed Anglophile and a major devotee of that peculiarly British brand of comedy couched in discomfort (e.g., Channel 4’s sitcoms Peep Show and Fresh Meat; anything inv... Read More

Coastal Commuter

A Giants lifer upholds the faith when in LA

By Michael Snyder

One of the few pitfalls of residing in Los Angeles for months at a time is the constant barrage of Dodger Blue that I have to endure throughout baseball season. A significant impet... Read More

Michael Snyder