The Boston Scifi Film Festival continues through the weekend at the Somerville Theatre with more wild and wonderful genre offerings. Highlights of the second half of the fest include everything from out-there comedies (“Tired of Being a Nerd,” the world premiere of “Time Helmet”) to documentaries (the sweet LARPing story “Saber,” the strange-but-true music doc “The Ether Ship”) and everything in between (for full schedule and ticket info, check out the fest’s official website). As always, the fest culminates Sunday with a 24-hour marathon of repertory favorites. The centerpiece of this year’s marathon is a 70mm print of David Lynch’s “Dune” (1984), which has seen a wave of reappraisal following both the director’s passing and Denis Villeneuve’s blockbuster update. The remainder of the lineup is as eclectic as ever, with old favorites like “Forbidden Planet” (1956) and “Attack of the 50-Foot Woman” (1958) alongside such modern classics as “Under the Skin” (2013) and Jordan Peele’s “Nope” (2022). Once your eyes readjust stumbling into Monday’s morning light, you’re bound to keep watching the skies.
Valentine’s Day is on Saturday, which for many local moviegoers means one thing: “Casablanca” (1942) at the Brattle Theatre. The Brattle’s association with the Humphrey Bogart classic is the stuff of legend; the theater was ground zero for the film’s rediscovery as an antifascist classic among college students in the 1960s, and it has been a staple of the Brattle’s February programming ever since. It screens Friday through Sunday, but be sure to order in advance, as all are likely to sell out. If you’re looking for something a little more contemporary for your Valentine’s date, the Brattle has some alternatives lined up for the late shows. On Friday, catch the sick and twisted slasher classic “Bride of Chucky” (1998), starring a never-better Jennifer Tilly as the killer doll’s better half, Tiffany. Saturday brings the beloved “Dirty Dancing” (1987), which, in addition to its timeless dance sequences between Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, presents a startlingly forward-thinking take on class, gender, and abortion access. The weekend closes on Sunday with the inspired choice of the Pamela Anderson vehicle “Barb Wire” (1995), the plot of which is a gender-swapped, cyberpunk riff on “Casablanca” itself. As Bogie might say: We’ll always have Cambridge.
On Friday, the Harvard Film Archive kicks off yet another amazing series, this time in showcasing 2026 McMillan Stewart fellow Alain Kassanda. Only three films into his career, the Congolese French filmmaker has made a name for himself as a keen documentarian, looking at African life and history with a humane and anthropological eye. The HFA will screen all three of Kassanda’s films this month, beginning on Friday with 2020’s “Trouble Sleep,” which follows a taxi driver and a transport union agent through the busy streets of Ibadan, Nigeria. Kassanda’s film is in good company among the HFA’s other ongoing series. The “From the Collection” tribute continues Saturday with Michelangelo Antonioni’s “Le Amiche” (1955) and Ermanno Olmi’s “A Man Named John” (1965), plus encore presentations of Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Spider’s Stratagem” (1970, screening Friday) and Antonioni’s “L’Avventura” (1960, Sunday). Then, on Monday, the Complete Stanley Kubrick continues with the director’s harrowing anti-war epic “Paths of Glory” (1957), whose questions of abuses of power in the chain of command are all too relevant in 2026.
Next week marks February vacation for many local schoolchildren, and those looking to get their rugrats out of the house have plenty of options in local cinemas. Saturday kicks off the Brattle’s annual Bugs Bunny Film Festival, which runs through the following Sunday with yet another program of vintage Warner Bros. cartoons on beautiful 35mm. The Somerville, meanwhile, has a double dose of classic Muppets, with “The Muppet Movie” (1979) on Tuesday and “The Muppets Take Manhattan” (1984) on Thursday. Lastly, on Wednesday, the Kendall Square Cinema hosts the 2026 edition of the New York Cat Film Festival, bringing 21 of the year’s finest cat videos to the big screen. It’s never to soon to get your little ones into the habit of moviegoing, particularly when they have the chance to see some all-time classics.
On Tuesday, the Kendall turns its Filmmaker Focus on the great New Zealand director Peter Jackson’s underappreciated horror comedy “The Frighteners” (1996). Mainstream audiences, of course, know Jackson for his groundbreaking “Lord of the Rings” trilogy (2001-03), while cult movie fanatics cherish his outrageous early works like “Meet the Feebles” (1989) and “Dead Alive” (1992). “The Frighteners” is a bridge between these two poles, marrying the sheen of Jackson’s later output with the attitude of his early films. Michael J. Fox plays ghost-hunting con artist Frank Bannister, who really can see dead people, but is in cahoots with them to stage his own hauntings. When the ghost of a 1950s serial killer (Jake Busey) escapes his bonds, however, Bannister must rush to stop him from adding to his body count. “The Frighteners” failed to find an audience upon its release, but it’s everything you could ask for in a Hollywood horror comedy, and a pivotal film in its director’s filmography.
In these, shall we say, unsettled times, it’s a good bet that many are turning to comfort films as a form of escape. To that end, the Somerville Theatre kicks off a new series, self-explanatorily titled Feel Good Films. Each Wednesday through mid-April, the Somerville brings to the screen a big-hearted classic sure to bring a smile to your face. The series kicks off Wednesday with Rob Reiner’s timeless “When Harry Met Sally…” (1987). There are many reasons why Reiner’s film remains the quintessential romantic comedy: the effortlessly charismatic performances by Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal; the keenly observed screenplay by rom-com queen Nora Ephron; the jazzy score by Harry Connick, Jr., and Mark Shaiman; and, of course, that legendary diner scene. It all adds up to the very definition of a comfort movie, one which fits like a favorite sweater no matter how many times you revisit it.
Oscar Goff is a writer and film critic based in Somerville. He is film editor and senior critic for the Boston Hassle and his work has appeared in the monthly Boston Compass newspaper and publications such as WBUR’s The ARTery and iHeartNoise. He is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, and the Online Film Critics Society.
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