The Mercury News Weekend

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- — Randy Myers

“Into the Inferno”: As the title promises, Werner Herzog’s latest globe-trotting adventure plunges us into the bowels of the Earth. But there’s more at play than surreal images of lava spewing: The versatile filmmaker connects how volcanoes have shaped history, cultures and our environmen­t. Herzog fears nothing but boredom, and he and volcanolog­ist Clive Oppenheime­r, author of 2011’s “Eruptions That Shook the World,” take us on a wild tour of volcano hot spots, where we hear from inhabitant­s living in fear of nature’s unsparing force and meet the curious researcher­s in locales that include Indonesia, New Zealand and Iceland. Watch for an appearance by UC-Berkeley’s palaeoanth­ropologist Tim White in East Africa. (Netflix) 1:44

“Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai GuoQiang”: The Chinese-born artist generated many oohs and ahhs worldwide with his controvers­ial fireworks ceremonies at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In director Kevin Macdonald’s gorgeous documentar­y, we see the incredible depth of his creativity and hear what compels him to follow such ambitious pursuits. Macdonald dedicates most time to showing Cai’s grand spectacles, including a massive operatic fireworks display that mirrors the dawn of creation, and then on to his fiery 1,650foot ladder. (Netflix) 1:26

“Blue Jay”: When two high school sweetheart­s (Mark Duplass and Sarah Paulson) reconnect 20 years later, the attraction’s still there, as are the emotional wounds. Shot in black and white and staged like a two-character theater piece, this talky adult drama works because the talented twosome understand the nuances of Duplass’ painfully realistic script. (Amazon Prime, Fandango Now, $4.99) 1:20

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