Many folks look at summer as a time to indulge in cinema that is fun, thrilling and large. Unfortunately though, somewhere along the way this came to mean cinema that is fun, thrilling, large and NOT VERY GOOD. Our summer blockbusters, minus a few, have, in this blogger’s opinion, consistently been going downhill and also it seems, getting made at a much more rapid pace. Leaving us with a lot of crap to choose from for our frivolous summer movie fun. Not to mention that ticket prices are constantly on the rise, with a typical summer movie now costing 12 dollars here in New York City.

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Are you a Bond fan? What do you think of how the next chapter in the series looks?

I am personally excited to see Mathieu Amalric play the bad guy - he’s good in everything he does!

Be sure to takepart and read up on one of his more issue based films, Heartbeat Detector

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The Supreme Court opened fire on gun control laws declaring that a sweeping ban on handguns in the nation’s capital violated the Second Amendment right to bear arms. In a 5-4 ruling, this landmark decision states that the Constitution protects an individual’s right to have a gun.

Wow. Is it just me or does this seem like an awful idea? Here are 10 films that make a strong case for gun control:

1) Bowling for Columbine

Michael Moore’s controversial documentary about the roots of America’s predilection for gun violence

2) Bullets in the Hood: A Bed-Stuy Story

Terrence Fisher, a teen living in a housing project in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, had seven of his friends shot and killed by a gun. Terrence is not a gang member or a drug dealer he is just a normal teenager who likes making hip-hop with his friends. What could Terrence do to stop gun violence in Bed-Stuy before losing another friend, or his own life? Terrence and a fellow teen filmmaker, Daniel Howard, picked up a camera to tell the story about gun violence in Bed-Stuy.

3) A History of Viloence

A mild-mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence, which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to its very core

4) Unforgiven

Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner and a young man.

5) The Outsiders

When two poor greasers, Johnny, and Ponyboy are assaulted by a vicious gang, the socs, and Johnny kills one of the attackers, tension begins to mount between the two rival gangs, setting off a turbulent chain of events.

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Monday night the film Emile Norman: By His Own Design debuted on PBS. Emile Norman is a self-taught California artist, who at age 90 is still working on his craft. 

The film tells the story of Norman’s independent spirit—how it developed from his early days on a walnut ranch in the San Gabriel Valley and brought him success in New York City in the 1940s and

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Matt Harding’s 2006 YouTube video “Where the Hell is Matt?” was seen by over 10 million people.  Stride gum recently came calling and paid him to do the whole thing all over again, and this time he invites his fans.  In less than 4 days, his most recent video has over 2 million views. Watch Where the Hell is Matt 2008:

Want to more about Matt, read on….

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Everybody was Kung Fu fighting….

To escape some of the extreme heat yesterday, I ventured to an air-conditioned movie theater to see Kung Fu Panda. 1 word my friends: amazing. Pandas are adorable and Jack Black as a panda, is even more fabulous.

This DreamWorks animated picture is about a panda who wants to be a kung fu master had a lot of positive messages and here are my top 6 takeaways:

1) You are the secret ingredient and if you believe in yourself, you can do anything.

2) Don’t eat when you are angry; only eat when you are hungry

3) Find your motivator (in this case of the Panda it was almond cookies and dumplings) and use it.

4) Get exercise. Take the stairs, walk to work, lift some weights. You never know when you will be called on to resuce an entire village from a kung fu master.

5) “One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it.” Whoa.

6) Never Give up.

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I’ve been wanting to see the film “Waitress” since it first came out last year and Thursday night I finally got the chance to watch this delightful film. It shares the tale of Jenna, an unhappily married waitress and amazing pie maker who is saving money to escape her troubled marriage and enter a pie baking contest. In the midst of her plans she becomes unexpectedly pregnant and starts a love affair with her new doctor. The film really explores the desires of women, especially those trapped in a failing and/or abusive relationship and those terrified of motherhood ( a topic not often discussed in film). I loved this movie. “Waitress” not only inspired me as an actress and writer but also made me feel comforted about my own fears regarding love and motherhood. Sadly the films director, writer and co-star Adrienne Shelly was murdered in 2006. Following her death, Adrienne’s husband Andy established the Adrienne Shelly Foundation. Here, Waitress star Kerri Russell shares more on the Foundation’s mission:

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Pressure Cooker is premiering tomorrow at the LA Film Festival.

This inspiring and thrilling documentary profiles the lives of three Northeast Philadelphia high school seniors, each from different backgrounds with unique hardships, but with the shared goal of winning a citywide cooking competition for a scholarship to one of the country’s best culinary schools. Their unlikely hero is the unorthodox teacher, Mrs. Stephenson, who tests their limits and inspires their personal growth in the classroom and at home.

Are you in Los Angeles? Join us for a screening!

Saturday, June 21st 7:30pm
Mann Festival Theatre

Tuesday, June 24th 7:15pm
The Landmark

Wednesday, June 25th 1:45pm
The Regent

Get more information on the film and the screenings at the LA Film Festival website.

takepart with the Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP).

Juneteenth is an annual holiday that commemorates the abolition of slavery in Texas. On June 19, 1865,- two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect- Union soldiers sailed into Galveston, Texas, announced the end of the Civil War. They read aloud a general order freeing the quarter-million slaves residing in the state and that day has become known as Juneteenth.

Top 10 Films to Watch on Juneteenth:

1) To Kill A Mockingbird

Based on Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize winning book of 1960, this film tells the story of Atticus Finch, a lawyer in a racially divided Alabama town in the 1930s. He agrees to defend a young black man who is accused of raping a white woman.

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Lifetime Networks invites female filmmakers to submit their original short films at http://www.mylifetime.com/sweeps/ewfc/submit.php.  In 2006, women comprised only 15 percent of all directors, executive producers, writers, cinematographers and editors working on the top 25 domestic-grossing films. Lifetime Movie Network — the only movie channel dedicated to women and the #2 network for women, second only to Lifetime — is working to change those statistics by offering you, the next generation of female filmmakers, the chance to be discovered.

So takepart and visit http://www.mylifetime.com/sweeps/ewfc/submit.php to submit. Deadline for entries is July 8. The winning contestant will have their short shown on Lifetime Movie Networks and receive a cash prize of $5,000 plus the opportunity to attend networking events and festivals.