Dear Mick LaSalle: I once met Gene Hackman at a boxing match and spoke with him. Nice man. Did you ever meet him? Robert Freud Bastin, Petaluma Dear Robert Freud Bastin: I never really met Gene ...

Closing out the program was Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5, which was, disappointingly, executed with less success than the concert’s first half. This was even more surprising given how well Stasevska ...

Dear Mick LaSalle: Which theaters have the best projection and sound? Teresa Concepcion, Emeryville Dear Teresa Concepcion: Well, in one sense of the word “best,” I’d say the Roxie Theater, the ...

After a well-received first run in 2024, the Fraenkel Gallery’s Fraenkel Film Festival will return to the Roxie Theater this summer. The news of the festival’s second year comes as the nonprofit seeks ...

Particularly grating is when the two — beautiful — middle-aged actors, Fey and Kerri Kenney (“Reno 911!”) crack fatphobic jokes, especially at their own expense. It’s not funny, and it’s not ...

While Sameer Pandya was writing his latest novel “Our Beautiful Boys,” he knew he wanted to somehow work in one of his favorite photos that’s been sitting on his desk for years. It’s a faded snapshot ...

The art form might be called drama, but gentleness is a perfectly valid approach onstage. Such plays slow time down, the way bird-watching does. Your breath resets to the rhythm of wind between boughs ...

On July 19, 2023, Saou Ichikawa won Japan’s prestigious Akutagawa Prize for her short but mighty debut novel, “Hunchback” — making her the first disabled person to be given the honor in the award’s 90 ...

As Timo is leaving his old friend Mickey to die in an icy crevice on a barren planet, he says, “Nice knowing you, have a nice death” — before adding, “See you tomorrow.” Mickey (Robert Pattinson), you ...

Q: “In the Upper Room” is widely performed by American Ballet Theatre, Miami City Ballet and other companies, but two years ago you brought it back with your handpicked ensemble. And now you’re ...

If you’re at all involved in the theater scene, you may have heard of the name Betty Shamieh. A celebrated Palestinian American playwright, Shamieh is the author of 15 plays, including the sold-out ...

This novel is a rewarding endeavor, especially for readers familiar with Han’s oeuvre who can recognize it as a mosaic that artfully pieces together her long-simmering ideas on reckoning with ...