Django Unchained Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino I already listed “Django Unchained” as one of my recommendations for holiday gift tickets – so it’s no surprise to find that I enjoyed it, a lot. That said, it’s not a very holidayish movie and many will find the subject matter and the violent content objectionable. But for folks who don’t mind exploding blood packs and a fairly brutal story, this one’s a winner – in fact it’s already received an American Film Institute Movie of the Year Award and has been nominated for five Golden Globes. The story revolves around an ex-dentist turned bounty hunter, played by Christoph Waltz, who is initially searching for three wanted men. Howe

With just two weeks before the opening of the always excellent Sacramento French Film Festival (SFFF), francophiles and quality film fans have two opportunities to warm up their love of French language cinema. Plus more pretty crap at the multiplex. Opening today at the Crest Theatre, “Monsieur Lazhar” (which is co-presented by the SFFF) is a French-Canadian film that was Canada’s entry and nominee in the Best Foreign Language category at this year’s Academy Awards. With a quick glance at the poster, it’s easy to think it’s another one of those “inspiring teacher” movies but it’s actually quite different. The film opens as Martine, a troubled schoolteacher to a class of 11 and 12 year old