Somebody must have been breaking out the bubbly early because yesterday's Chron had a big, lead story by Carl Nolte saying that we here in SF are living a "Golden Age." According to him, things are better here than ever and someday, folks will be talking about SF during the aughts as "the good ole days." As Nolte puts it, San Francisco these days "looks like a small polished gem." ...

Say what you will about Zhang Yimou's previous two swords and kung fu flicks, but they sure were pretty. Lots of luscious colors and tableaus straight out of paintings. But they also weren't the most exciting films you’ve ever seen. You either gasped at the prettiness and rolled with it or you said nice shot and hoped for something else to happen. For us, Hero was the one that blew us away, the use of color so dazzling and original it left us awe-struck. House of the Flying Daggers, however, didn't do it for us. ...