It’s a road trip in California that will see us take in Yosemite National Park and San Francisco. But our first stop is LA.

Our 20th-century masters — Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino — continue to work at a very high level, while mixing with filmmakers who got their start around the turn of the century.

Over the years, writers and filmmakers have dreamed up fresh ways of keeping audiences on their toes. Some remain ...