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Michael Snyder

@cultureblaster.bsky.social

Writer, broadcaster, critic, man-about-two-towns, host of Culture Blast on GABNet, pundit on The Mark Thompson Show & the infamous Coastal Commuter

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Michael Snyder@cultureblaster.bsky.social · 3d ago

The biopic #Tony looks at bon vivant #AnthonyBourdain's life before success, while the drama #LateFame ruminates over a one-time poet who never realized his dreams. These adventures on the edge of fame spurred my new #moviereviews in @TheVoiceSF.bsky.social: thevoicesf.org/learning-lif...

Learning life lessons on the periphery of fame - The Voice of San Francisco

Success is not always a component of fame, nor is fame a requisite of success — and neither one is easy to achieve. While the late celebrity chef, author, and TV personality Anthony Bourdain earned ac...

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Michael Snyder@cultureblaster.bsky.social · last wk.

A recent London performance of the Tony-winning Broadway musical #Hadestown was captured live on video, giving moviegoers a chance to see this acclaimed take on the myth of #Orpheus. Dazzled by the production, I lavish laurels on it in @TheVoiceSF.bsky.social: #SFBAFCC thevoicesf.org/a-hella-stag...

A hella stage musical gets a big-screen release - The Voice of San Francisco

One of the best known tragedies of Greek mythology tells of the doomed romance between the preternaturally gifted musician Orpheus and the beautiful wood nymph Eurydice. As befits a sad tale about the...

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Michael Snyder@cultureblaster.bsky.social · 2w ago

The ever-cranky #LarryDavid sends up and takes down notable figures and events in American history on his current #HBOMax comedy series "Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness," which I laud in @TheVoiceSF.bsky.social: thevoicesf.org/a-curmudgeon...

A curmudgeon’s lampoon of U.S. history - The Voice of San Francisco

In his capacity as a comedic performer, writer, and public figure, Larry David has made a considerable living by being cantankerous, contrary, and dissatisfied, perpetually whining about the status qu...

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Michael Snyder@cultureblaster.bsky.social · 3w ago

In a summer movie season plagued by big-budget box office flops, #TheOdyssey & #SpiderMan: #BrandNewDay are offering Hollywood hope. I analyze the situation in @TheVoiceSF.bsky.social: #SFBAFCC thevoicesf.org/odysseus-and...

Odysseus and Spider-Man to the rescue - The Voice of San Francisco

Never mind the poisonous noise from certain quarters about the nontraditional casting of the actors in filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. All the racism and transphobia and the whining about s...

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Michael Snyder@cultureblaster.bsky.social · 4w ago

After watching a few minutes of the Manchurian Cantaloupe try to put the heebie-jeebies into his ignorant followers last night, I want to point out that the first syllable in the word “conspiracy” is “con.”

Michael Snyder@cultureblaster.bsky.social · last mo.

Winsome actress #ZoeyDeutch & a roster of familiar faces including #JonHamm bring the fun to the film comedy #GailDaughtryAndTheCelebritySexPass & I register my approval in @TheVoiceSF.bsky.social: #SFBAFCC thevoicesf.org/sleeping-wit...

Sleeping with self-deprecating celebrities - The Voice of San Francisco

A young woman makes a bargain with her fiancé that would give each of them license to sleep with one famous person — presumably one time only and ostensibly with no negative repercussions on their rel...

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Michael Snyder@cultureblaster.bsky.social · last mo.

#OliviaWilde directs #TheInvite in impressive fashion & plays a main role in this savvy serio-comic movie about relationship fails & the 2nd season of #Sugar keeps things noir with a touch of bizarre. I scope out the film & the TV series in @TheVoiceSF.bsky.social: thevoicesf.org/an-invitatio...

An invitation to laugh at couples in crisis - The Voice of San Francisco

As an actress, Olivia Wilde can project fierce intellect as well as earthiness, whether she’s playing serious or silly. Those traits seem to be inherent to the woman herself and serve her well as she ...

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Michael Snyder@cultureblaster.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Legendary San Francisco band the @GratefulDead.bsky.social gets an extensive tribute at the #HaightStreetArtCenter, while some renowned music venues, including the #BottomOfTheHill, are in flux. I raise the Dead & hit the clubs in my column for @TheVoiceSF.bsky.social: thevoicesf.org/celebrating-...

Celebrating the Dead as the club scene evolves - The Voice of San Francisco

Wandering through a preview of the ornate color blast that is the Forever Grateful exhibition of Grateful Dead memorabilia at the Haight Street Art Center, I couldn’t help but reflect on the Bay Area ...

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Michael Snyder@cultureblaster.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The #BayArea #animation colossus #Pixar brings back #Woody, #BuzzLightyear & their fellow sentient toys in the touching, topical #ToyStory 5, inspiring me to opine on the film & the studio's legacy in @TheVoiceSF.bsky.social: #SFBAFCC #cartoons #sequel #playtime thevoicesf.org/toying-aroun...

Toying around with a durable franchise - The Voice of San Francisco

The release of Toy Story 5 this past weekend is yet another landmark in the saga of Pixar Animation Studios, the Emeryville, Calif.-based company that has produced 30 full-length movies since the firs...

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Michael Snyder@cultureblaster.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Reflecting all the colors of the rainbow flag, the 50th @Frameline.bsky.social festival is gracing the Bay Area with a schedule of over 140 films. I preview this edition of the long-running annual celebration of #LGBTQ+ cinema in my column for @TheVoiceSF.bsky.social: thevoicesf.org/frameline50-...

Frameline50 fearlessly focuses on the LGBTQ+ experience - The Voice of San Francisco

A welcome rebuke to divisiveness and intolerance wherever it lurks, the Frameline media-arts organization — renowned bastion and supporter of queer cinema — is presenting the 50th edition of its annua...

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Michael Snyder@cultureblaster.bsky.social · 2mo ago

#PowerBallad is the latest in Irish filmmaker #JohnCarney’s scintillating series of movies about musicians, their lives & their struggles. Motivated by this current crowd-pleaser, I write about Carney & his filmography for @TheVoiceSF.bsky.social: #SFBAFCC thevoicesf.org/delving-into...

Delving into the power and glory of music - The Voice of San Francisco

If anyone understands the glories, pitfalls, and perils of the music industry well enough to make a movie (or five) on the subject, it would be John Carney who, prior to his impressive career as a dir...

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Michael Snyder@cultureblaster.bsky.social · 2mo ago

#WidowsBay, #SpiderNoir & #Rivals -- current streaming TV shows that are willing to buck the norm and successfully shift between genres -- make for appointment viewing, as I clarify in my latest column for @TheVoiceSF.bsky.social: #SFBAFCC thevoicesf.org/a-streaming-...

A streaming trio of hybrid TV treats - The Voice of San Francisco

The barrage of content produced for the profusion of networks, cable channels, and streamers means that there will inevitably be some hits and some misses. While conventional television programs court...

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Michael Snyder@cultureblaster.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Criminal endeavors drive Bay Area filmmaker @BootsRiley.bsky.social's comedy #ILoveBoosters & award-winning documentarian #DanielRoher drama #Tuner in radically different directions & I sentence both movies to positive reviews in @TheVoiceSF.bsky.social: #SFBAFCC thevoicesf.org/boosting-and...

Capering with boosters and tuners - The Voice of San Francisco

Flagrantly distinctive Oakland, Calif.-born filmmaker, rapper, songwriter, and activist Boots Riley rails against the machine with a torrent of gags in his sophomore movie, I Love Boosters, and award-...

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Michael Snyder@cultureblaster.bsky.social · 3mo ago

In my latest column for @TheVoiceSF.bsky.social, I wholeheartedly buy into #TheAudacity -- a shrewd and satirical TV series about the movers, shakers & amoral disruptors of #SiliconValley's wildfire tech sector: #SFBAFCC @TheMTS.bsky.social thevoicesf.org/an-audacious...

An audacious TV takedown of the tech sector - The Voice of San Francisco

Depending on your perspective, the rise of computers, smartphones, and digital media can be seen as a boon or a threat, especially as AI becomes more pervasive and invasive. It’s safe to say there are...

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Michael Snyder@cultureblaster.bsky.social · 3mo ago

#TheSheepDetectives is a winning big-screen blend of comedy, mystery & humanity that stars #HughJackman & a flock of articulate, very real-looking animated sheep. It so delighted me that I bleat its praises in @TheVoiceSF.bsky.social: #SFBAFCC #moviereview thevoicesf.org/sheepish-cri...

Sheepish crime-solvers in a woolly yarn - The Voice of San Francisco

It’s almost a cheat to point out that the various wooly creatures sharing the screen with some familiar and well-regarded live actors in the whimsical mystery movie The Sheep Detectives are largely co...

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