Among the great artists who’ve called Boston home is the martial arts master Bow-sim Mark, who in 1976 founded the Chinese Wushu Research Institute, one of the first tai chi schools in the United States. Sifu Mark remains active to this day from her home in Newton. One of her sons is international movie star Donnie Yen. To celebrate the institute’s 50th anniversary, the Brattle Theatre has programmed a weekend-long program of films featuring Yen. Friday’s selection is Yen’s breakout film, “Drunken Tai Chi” (1984), directed by storied fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping. Yen choreographed his own fights in Saturday’s film, the Wilson Yip-directed “Kill Zone” (2005). Both films will be accompanied by a live martial arts demonstration, and screened in double feature with one of Yen’s highest-profile Hollywood pictures: “John Wick: Chapter 4” (2023). Yen’s performance as blind martial arts master Caine nearly steals the spotlight from Keanu’s legendary killing machine. It’s an overdue tribute to an undisputed local legend.
The action will be different at the Somerville Theatre, which has a full docket of repertory screenings. Friday offers a rare 35mm screening of “Alien3” (1992), David Fincher’s stylish and grimy entry into the venerable horror-sci-fi franchise. Saturday brings its “Kurt & Jodie” series to a grim but gripping close, with Russell in a 70mm version of Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight” (2015), and Foster in Roman Polanski’s “Carnage” (2011). Saturday evening brings Frank Henenlotter’s horror-comedy classic “Frankenhooker” (1990), tied to GASH’s Villain’s Ball at the Crystal Ballroom. Finally, Saturday’s Midnight Special is a 35th-anniversary screening of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991), which postulates a gloomy outcome for AI. Putting together these films in just over 24 hours is a testament to the Somerville’s ace programming team.
Or, you can get out of the air conditioning and into the fresh air, thanks to a pair of outdoor screenings of modern family classics. On Friday, MIT Open Space, in association with the programmers at the Brattle, presents Wes Anderson’s stop-motion masterpiece “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (2009), kicking off a biweekly summer series titled “Animated Animals.” Next Thursday, SomerMovieFest brings Richard Linklater’s “School of Rock” to Somerville’s Lincoln Park, starring Jack Black at his guitar-wailing best. Both films are free and, of course, open to cinephiles of all ages.
For those who prefer their cinema under the radar, a pair of locally programmed showcases fits the bill. On Friday and Saturday, the Somerville International Film Festival takes up residence at the Rockwell. Highlights include “Blood & Guts” (2025), a documentary about the husband-wife-daughter horror filmmaking collective The Adams Family; Spike Kittrell’s Boston-shot indie “All My Friends” (2026); and a slew of international short films. Then, on Thursday, the stalwarts of Grrl Haus Cinema return to the Brattle for a New England Local Showcase, a collection of 11 shorts by local women, trans, genderqueer, and non-binary filmmakers. Whichever program you attend, you’re guaranteed to come across something you’ve never seen before.
In an ongoing astonishment of movie riches, there’s also an homage to Roger Ebert’s Stanton-Walsh Rule: “No movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad.” To celebrate what would be Stanton’s 100th birthday, the Brattle kicks off on Sunday a new week-long series titled “The Stanton Rule: A Harry Dean Stanton Centennial.” The series begins on Sunday with a double feature of two of Stanton’s earliest roles, in Monte Hellman’s neo-western “Ride in the Whirlwind” (1966) and the Paul Newman hit “Cool Hand Luke” (1967). Stanton won over a new generation of fans in 1984 as the hilariously hard-nosed mentor to Emilio Estevez’s snotty antihero in “Repo Man,” screening Monday through Wednesday. Part of Stanton’s appeal was his tendency to pop up in unexpected places, like the ‘70s downer gem “Cisco Pike” (1971, screening Tuesday), which casts him opposite Kris Kristofferson, Gene Hackman and Warhol superstar Viva, and the oddball indie sci-fi comedy “UFOria” (1984, Wednesday). The first leg of the series is rounded out by Stanton’s final film (and only his second leading role), the charming and affectionate “Lucky” (2017). The first, and many others, will screen next week. True to Ebert’s word, there isn’t a missable film in the bunch.
Finally, on Thursday, the Somerville Public Library Central Branch welcomes the experimental New York electronic ensemble Apostrophebeats for a live score to a silent classic. “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1920) is an early masterpiece of horror cinema, a German expressionist nightmare about a sinister hypnotist who holds a village under his thrall. The film’s hand-painted sets remain striking, and its allegory of creeping fascism is, sadly, as relevant as ever. The film’s woozy surrealism will surely only be enhanced by the Apostrophebeats’ score, which the band describes as “unique, one-time-only improvisations of experimental soundscapes and motivic variations.” By the end, you may feel as dazed as Dr. Caligari’s notorious sleepwalker himself.
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