Not Worth the Silver: ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’
The gripping true story of Fred Hampton’s final days gets a dull adaptation that does the story no justice.
Bore-antine Streamin’: ‘Radioactive’ / ‘Chemical Hearts’ / ‘Let Him Go’ / ‘Come Away’
Pandemic lockdown has forced first-run films online. Here are four I probably would have skipped anyway.
The ‘Things’ We Say have Meaning: ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’ Bay Area Premiere at SF Playhouse
Cheryl Strayed’s tenure as an advice columnist makes for an excellent 2020 opener for the Playhouse.
Life is a Circus: ‘Pippin’ at the Berkeley Playhouse
Stephen Schwartz’s musical fantasia gets a rousing production at the Playhouse.
The Forest for the Trees: ‘The Jungle’ at The Curran
Before The Curran becomes Hogwarts, it hosts an excellent production of another hit British show.
Making it Happen: ‘On Your Feet!’ at the SHN Golden Gate Theatre
An energetic all-Latinx cast bring life to this paint-by-numbers bio of Gloria and Emilio Estefan.
Ladies’ Nights: ‘Revolt. She said…’ at Crowded Fire and ‘Kursk’ at Theatre Lunatico
A feminist manifesto play and a gender-swapped submarine drama make for two bold (if uneven) evenings of female-driven theatre.
Baldur’s #GamerGate: ‘Non-Player Character’ world premiere by SF Playhouse
Toxic masculinity is taken to task in this SF Playhouse world premiere dramatizing the #GamerGate controversy.
New Hero, Same Story: ‘Bilal – A New Breed of Hero’
Trying to stuff an epic tale into a relatively short film keeps this animated adventure from truly taking off.
X-mas Day Quadruple-Feature: ‘The Last Jedi’; ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’; ‘The Shape of Water’; ‘The Disaster Artist’
Jedis, jungles, fish-man junk, & James Franco.
All but the last made for a great day at the multiplex.
The Thinking Man's Idiot (Charles Lewis III) 