Best of Summer

How about sending me your list of the best summer films so far. The Hangover gets my vote as the funniest movie of the summer, if not the best there is. Transformers stands out. I'm not that crazy about Public Enemies. Harry Potter is Harry Potter.

Explicit Ills on DVD

Explicit Ills, which closed last year's Downbeach Film Festival, is now available on DVD. The movie, directed by Mark Webber, stars Rosario Dawson, Paul Dano, Lou Taylor Pucci and more. Pick it up at the local video store or through Netflix

My personal wish list for the remainder of the year:
Clint Eastwood agrees to star in and direct my comedy script, Knit One.
My detective series finds a publisher
I find the resources to produce my short, Santa Killer.

Night at the Opera Rocks

I switched the channel today just in time to watch the stateroom scene in the Marx Brothers' Night at the Opera. Even my daughter laughed at the snide jokes and the strong finish. One of the funniest movies in the Marx Bros' canon. One of the funniest ever. Let me know what your favorite Marx Brother movie is.

The Downbeach Film Festival in October wants to raise money. You can become a patron for $100 or $50. The $100 level gets a free festival pass for the event, October 16 to 18. The $50 level, gets you admission to the opening or closing night. To join, please send a check or money order payable to Downbeach Film Festival to Downbeach Film Festival, 401 Berkshire Drive, Ventnor NJ 08406.

Bare Knuckles turns martial arts on its head.

Eric Etebari's look at girl fighting in Bare Knuckles is a stunner in the sports movie genre. Stunt woman, Jeanette Roxborough, a newcomer to acting, plays the lead role Samantha. Longtime character actor, Martin Kove, plays her manager, Sonny Cool. Cool.

Thumbs up for Night Shift

DVR'd Night Shift the other night. It's an underrated film from 1982 with great performances by unheralded TV stars, Shelly Long and especially Henry Winkler, and a rollicking role played by Michael Keaton. The movie also introduced Rod Stewart singing Burth Bacharach's "That's What Friends are For."