Arts & Culture :: DVD-Streaming

'Michael' — early gay film was ahead of its time

'Michael' — early gay film was ahead of its time

  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • Feb 20, 2024

Originally released in 1924, Carl Theodor Dreyer's "Michael" was a film that was quite different from what audiences of the time were used to. "Michael" is about a gay artist who loses his young male lover to a gold-digging woman.

'Capote vs. The Swans' Truman's deadly crash landing from high society

'Capote vs. The Swans' Truman's deadly crash landing from high society

  • by Brian Bromberger
  • Feb 13, 2024

"Capote's Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal and the Swan Song of an Era" by Lawrence Leamer, is the basis for the Ryan Murphy anthology series "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans," which premiered on FX and is now streaming on Hulu.

'I.S.S.' - In space no one can hear you scream

'I.S.S.' - In space no one can hear you scream

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Feb 13, 2024

Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, Nick Shafir's screenplay is set in the near (and not totally improbable) future. "I.S.S." takes place aboard the International Space Station research facility.

'Hundreds of Beavers' — slapstick comedy's snowy silliness

'Hundreds of Beavers' — slapstick comedy's snowy silliness

  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Feb 13, 2024

Set in the wintry Wisconsin wilderness, "Hundreds of Beavers" recalls the early silent film comedies of Buster Keaton with a hint of Wile E. Coyote. Amid its national tour, the wacky film screens at the Balboa Theatre beginning February 23.

Cruises & comedy crashes: The Lavender Tube on 'Death and Other Details,' SNL's off-kilter sketches and more

Cruises & comedy crashes: The Lavender Tube on 'Death and Other Details,' SNL's off-kilter sketches and more

  • by Victoria A. Brownworth
  • Feb 6, 2024

Hulu's new murder mystery series "Death and Other Details" will remind you of "White Lotus" and other shows, but it's got three lesbians. Our columnist also cover SNL's comedic crashes, and news of their next guest host, a racist homophobe.

Mostly British Filmfest at The Vogue

Mostly British Filmfest at The Vogue

  • by Joel Shepard, Jim Provenzano
  • Feb 5, 2024

For some jolly good cinema, the Mostly British Film Festival returns on February 15 to 22, at the Vogue Theatre. The 16th annual tribute to English language films from the former Commonwealth screens 26 movies, some with queer themes.

Are you 'Open To It?' Frank Arthur Smith dishes on his gay non-monogamy series

Are you 'Open To It?' Frank Arthur Smith dishes on his gay non-monogamy series

  • by Christopher J. Beale
  • Jan 30, 2024

"Open To It" is a web series led by Frank Arthur Smith. In season one we meet Cam and Greg, a gay couple who make the decision to start hooking up with other guys. What follows is an episodic master class in comedic representation turned all the way up.

'Mean Girls' hits & misses

'Mean Girls' hits & misses

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Jan 30, 2024

The trend of adapting films into stage musicals and then movie musicals has produced hits such as "Hairspray," and misses including "The Producers." "Mean Girls" (Paramount), falls somewhere in between, although it leans closer to a miss.

Milestones and millstones: The Lavender Tube on 'Law & Order's anniversary, Jodi Foster, & the political race and -ism

Milestones and millstones: The Lavender Tube on 'Law & Order's anniversary, Jodi Foster, & the political race and -ism

  • by Victoria A. Brownworth
  • Jan 23, 2024

NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" celebrates an amazing TV milestone this season: 25 years on prime time with a woman — Emmy winner Mariska Hargitay as the lead character, detective, now captain, Olivia Benson — since the series debuted.

'Good Grief' — Dan Levy's journey down a dark tunnel

'Good Grief' — Dan Levy's journey down a dark tunnel

  • by Brian Bromberger
  • Jan 23, 2024

Dan Levy's follow-up to his smash streaming TV series "Schitt's Creek," a romantic comedy/drama about a man processing the sudden death of his husband.

'Fireworks' — true-life story packs an emotional wallop

'Fireworks' — true-life story packs an emotional wallop

  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • Jan 16, 2024

Giuseppe Fiorello makes his debut as a director with "Fireworks," ("Stranizza d'amuri") a bittersweet tale of young gay love in a small, homophobic town. The film is set in Sicily in the early 1980s.

'Masc' film series at BAM/PFA

'Masc' film series at BAM/PFA

  • by Laura Moreno
  • Jan 16, 2024

A new film series at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive, "Masc: Trans Men, Butch Dykes, and Gender Nonconforming Heroes in Cinema," celebrates the rarely depicted masculine identities of queer and gender non-conforming trailblazers.

Swan songs: The Lavender Tube on Capote's crash, Golden Globes gaffes & more

Swan songs: The Lavender Tube on Capote's crash, Golden Globes gaffes & more

  • by Victoria A. Brownworth
  • Jan 9, 2024

The latest in Ryan Murphy's 'Feud" series dives into Truman Capote's scandalous exposé of New York's society women, and how their revenge led to his downfall; plus, abortion nightmares and insurrection terrors.

'American Fiction' — Cord Jefferson's performative racial hijinks

'American Fiction' — Cord Jefferson's performative racial hijinks

  • by Brian Brmberger
  • Jan 9, 2024

In Cord Jefferson's debut film "American Fiction," a Black professional is forced to reexamine his integrity as he concocts a fictional book about racial stereotypes. Is he a sellout or mocking the shibboleths that surround the politics of race?