4-Star Theatre. Straight Outta Compton: In the mid-1980s, the streets of Compton, California, were some of the most dangerous in the country. When five young men translated their experiences growing up into brutally honest music that rebelled against abusive authority, they gave an explosive voice to a silenced generation. Following the meteoric rise and fall of N.W.A., Straight Outta Compton tells the astonishing story of how these youngsters revolutionized music and pop culture forever the moment they told the world the truth about life in the hood and ignited a cultural war. Daily. Listening: The award-winning debut feature from visionary director Khalil Sullins, is a psychological thriller about penniless grad students who invent mind-reading technology that destroys their lives. David, Ryan, and Jordan hope the telepathy invention will solve all their problems, but the bleeding-edge technology opens a Pandora's box of new dangers, as the team discovers that when they open their minds, there is nowhere to hide their thoughts. Secrets and betrayals surface, and the technology is stolen by a covert government agency with a hidden agenda. Daily. Kahil Gibran's The Prophet: A dissident being kept under house arrest recounts valuable lessons in a series of vignettes while a mischievous young woman causes trouble in her town. Daily. 2200 Clement, San Francisco, 666-3488, lntsf.com/4-star-theatre.html.
Castro Theatre. Lawrence of Arabia: Undisputedly one of the grandest, most compelling epics in cinema, David Lean's multi-Award winning blockbuster tells the fascinating tale of enigmatic adventurer T.E. Lawrence and his adventures in Palestine circa WWI. This glorious 70mm print captures the awesome beauty of Lean's masterpiece as he intended it to be seen. The magnetic Peter O'Toole leads the international cast featuring Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, Jose Ferrer and Omar Sharif (RIP). Fri., Sept. 18, 7 p.m.; Sat., Sept. 19, 2 & 7 p.m.; Sun., Sept. 20, 2 & 7 p.m. 429 Castro, San Francisco, 621-6120, castrotheatre.com.
Clay Theatre. Wolf Children: A staggeringly beautiful animated feature film from director/co-writer Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars). This epic cinematic achievement follows Hana (voice of Aoi Miyazaki), a woman who falls in love with a Wolf Man and gives birth to two half human, half wolf children. After the tragic death of her beloved, Hana seeks refuge in a rural town where she attempts to build a life for herself—and her children. Raising her little wild things leaves Hana bruised, scratched, exhausted and joyously overwhelmed as her pups grow stronger and wander further every day. This is a mother's journey: teach your children to chase their dreams—and smile through the tears as they disappear into the world in search of who they will become. Winner of 19 international awards, including the Japanese Academy Award for Best Animation Film. (Fully subtitled) Sept. 18-19. The Diary of a Teenage Girl: A coming-of-age story that is as poignant as it is unsettling. Like most teenage girls, Minnie Goetze (Bel Powley) is longing for love, acceptance and a sense of purpose in the world. Minnie begins a complex love affair with her mother's (Kristen Wiig) boyfriend, "the handsomest man in the world," Monroe Rutherford (Alexander Skarsgård). What follows is a sharp, funny and provocative account of one girl's sexual and artistic awakening, without judgment. Set in 1976 San Francisco, The Diary of a Teenage Girl begins at the crossroads of the fading hippie movement and the dawn of punk rock. In her feature film directorial debut, writer/director Marielle Heller brings Phoebe Gloeckner's novel to life with fearless performances, a stirring score, inventive graphic novel-like animation sequences, imagination, humor and heart. Daily. 2261 Fillmore, San Francisco, 267-4893, www.landmarktheatres.com/san-francisco/clay-theatre.
Embarcadero Center Cinema. Learning to Drive: Inspired by a true story, Learning to Drive stars Patricia Clarkson and Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley (Gandhi) in a feel-good comedy about an improbable friendship. Wendy (Clarkson) is a fiery Manhattan author whose husband has just left her for a younger woman; Darwan (Kingsley) is a soft-spoken taxi driver from India on the verge of an arranged marriage. As Wendy sets out to reclaim her independence, she runs into a barrier common to many lifelong New Yorkers: she's never learned to drive. When Wendy hires Darwan to teach her, her unraveling life and his calm restraint seem like an awkward fit. But as he shows her how to take control of the wheel, and she coaches him on how to impress a woman, their unlikely friendship awakens them to the joy, humor and love in starting life anew. Daily. Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine: In his signature black turtleneck and blue jeans, Steve Jobs' image was ubiquitous. Perhaps the most publicly revered corporate figure of the technology age, Jobs' untimely death at the age of 56 in 2011 set off a worldwide outpouring of grief from consumers who worshipped his signature products such as the iPhone and the iMac. As the co-founder and CEO of Apple, his name and image had become synonymous with the sleek, high-tech personal devices that came to define and transform the first two decades of the 21st century. But who was the man on the stage under the giant iPhones? Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) presents a critical examination of Jobs, revered both as a prophetic, iconoclastic genius and denounced as a barbed-tongued tyrant. The film is a candid telling of the Apple legend through interviews with a handful of those close to Jobs at different stages in his life. It unravels the larger-than-life myth he so deliberately crafted, and examines the enduring legacy of his values which continue to shape the culture of Silicon Valley to this day. Daily. Amy: That would be Winehouse, in case you wondered which Amy is the subject of director Asif Kapadia's uncreatively titled documentary, which refines an apparent Kapadia specialty: the intense remembrance of stars who died too young. We see the doomed chanteuse in the throes of her destructive relationships — with a responsibility-averse father, with a volatile husband, with chemicals — and hear her music remixed to highlight how it was driven by the raw power of personal-demon-indulgence. Daily. The Second Mother: Val (Regina Casé), a longtime live-in maid in São Paulo, feels almost like a part of the affluent family she faithfully serves—especially their 17-year-old son for whom she is a surrogate mother—but she has not seen her own teenage daughter for ten years. When her daughter Jessica (Camila Mardila) unexpectedly contacts her, wanting to stay with Val while applying to college, Val is excited but filled with trepidation. Jessica arrives, smart, confident and ambitious, feeling (and acting) like an equal, and throws the unspoken class barriers that rule the household into disarray. Instead of sleeping on a mattress on the floor of Val's boxlike bedroom, Jessica suggests she stay in the opulent empty guest room. Her presence upsets the status quo, testing relationships and loyalties and forcing everyone to reconsider what family really means. Casé and Mardila are wonderful together, winning a special Jury Prize for Acting at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival; funny and heartwarming, the film went on to win the Audience Award at the Berlin Film Festival. Written and directed by Anna Muylaert (co-writer of The Year My Parents Went on Vacation). Daily. 1 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, 267-4893, www.landmarktheatres.com/san-francisco/embarcadero-center-cinema.
Exploratorium. Saturday Cinema: Weekly thematic film screenings presented in the Kanbar Forum by the Exploratorium's Cinema Arts program. Saturdays. Free with museum admission. Pier 15, San Francisco, 528-4444, exploratorium.edu.
McCoppin Plaza. SF IndeFest Screening: Airplane!: Free screening of Airplane! Thu., Sept. 17, 8:15 p.m. Free. sfindie.com/. San Francisco Bicycle Rte 30, San Francisco.
Opera Plaza Cinema. Rosenwald: the incredible story of Julius Rosenwald, who never finished high school but rose to become co-owner of Sears, Roebuck & Co. Influenced by the writings of the educator Booker T. Washington, this Jewish philanthropist joined forces with African American communities to build over 5,300 schools across the segregated South during the early part of the 20th century, providing 660,000 black children with access to education. Inspired by the Jewish ideals of tzedakah (charity) and tikkun olam (repairing the world), and a deep concern over racial inequality in America, Rosenwald used his wealth to become one of America's most effective philanthropists. Because of his modesty, Rosenwald's philanthropy and social activism are not well known today, despite giving away $62 million in his lifetime. Daily. Mr. Holmes: Director Bill Condon puts a spin on Arthur Conan Doyle's most celebrated character with Mr. Holmes, which stars Ian McKellen as the famous detective. The set-up is that a now-retired Holmes, his steel-trap mind starting to fade with old age, lives out his golden years in the late 1940s. He returns from a trip to Japan searching for a plant that could slow the aging process and help him regain the faculties he knows he's lost. While there, he witnessed first-hand the result of America's bombing of Hiroshima, which has put him in a contemplative state. He lives with his devoted housekeeper Mrs. Murno (Laura Linney), and her son Roger (Milo Parker), who turns out to be of great help when the detective reopens his investigation into the case that led to his retirement. Daily. Phoenix: A spellbinding mystery of identity, illusion and deception unfolds against the turmoil of post-World War II Germany in the stunning new film from acclaimed writer/director Christian Petzold (Barbara, Jerichow). Berlin, 1945: Nelly (Nina Hoss, A Most Wanted Man), a German-Jewish, ex-nightclub singer, has survived a concentration camp. But, like her country, she is scarred, her face disfigured by a bullet wound. After undergoing reconstructive surgery, Nelly emerges with a new face, one similar but different enough that her former husband, Johnny (Ronald Zehrfeld), doesn't recognize her. Rather than reveal herself, Nelly walks into a dangerous game of duplicity and disguise as she tries to figure out if the man she loves may have been the one who betrayed her to the Nazis. Submerged in shadowy atmosphere and the haunted mood of post-war Berlin, Phoenix weaves a complex, Hitchcockian tale of a nation's tragedy and a woman's search for answers as it builds towards an unforgettable, heart-stopping climax. (Partially subtitled) Daily. 601 Van Ness, San Francisco, 267-4893, www.landmarktheatres.com/market/SanFrancisco/OperaPlazaCinema.htm.
Roxie Theater. 3 Beauties – 7th Cine Mas San Francisco Latino Film Festival: A former beauty queen, will do whatever it takes to ensure that one of her daughters, Carolina or Stephanie, is crowned Miss Republic. She will be so ruthless in his training as a drill sergeant in order to bring home the crown. Sat., Sept. 19, 10 p.m.; Sun., Sept. 20, 4 p.m. 3117 16th St., San Francisco, 863-1087, roxie.com.
The Walt Disney Family Museum. Silly Symphonies: Destino and Silly Symphony begin at 1:30 p.m., through Sept. 20 at Walt Disney Museum, 104 Montgomery St. S.F.; Free-$7; 415-345-6800 or waltdisney.org Through Sept. 20, 1:30 p.m. Free-$7. 345-6800. waltdisney.org. 104 Montgomery, San Francisco, 345-6800, waltdisney.org.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Shakey Pictures: The Films Of Neil Young: Neil Young, one of rock and folk's most respected artists for over four decades, has also been directing, producing, writing, and shooting films for almost as long under the pseudonym Bernard Shakey. This survey includes some very rare and unreleased films and offers an extraordinary opportunity to discover another side of Young's creative genius, both behind and in front of the camera. Through Sept. 27. 701 Mission, San Francisco, 978-2787, ybca.org.
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