The film community lost one of the masters when Sweden’s most famous filmmaker, Ingmar Bergman, passed away July 30 at age 89. Anyone who has ever studied film certainly had Ingmar Bergman 101 as a main course. My first introduction to Bergman’s films was a film appreciation course at Richard Stockton College. Many of his films were thoughtful and often pessimistic meditations on the meaning of life such as his most famous works The Seventh Seal, Persona, Wild Strawberries and Scenes From A Marriage. Woody Allen was influenced by Bergman; he has noted that The Seventh Seal is his favorite film. This reverence for Bergman was expressed in both spoofs (Love and Death) and his Bergmanesque drama Interiors. Bergman’s other films include the comedy Smiles of a Summer Night; The Silence (about the silence of God); Shame; Cries and Whispers and Autumn Sonata. The latter starred follow countryman Ingrid Bergman (no relation) in their only film together.

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As August approaches and this summer of big scale bombast movies begins to dial down the hype machine, the desire to see smaller scale movies about real people begins to dominate my thoughts. It’s why I so look forward to my annual trek to the Toronto Film Festival in September. It is also why those occasional character driven movies like the fabulous Waitress and the very funny Knocked Up are so appreciated as a summer change of pace.
As a film critic, I like to think that I don’t let too many sleeper gems, small scale films that offer the simple pleasures of real characters and emotions, slip by unnoticed. However, if I have been guilty of the sin of omission, or of living in a town that isn’t exactly a hotbed of alternative cinema, Netflix bails me out.
I’ve found several gems in my recent Netflix envelopes including Aurora Borealis, The Dead Girl and Black Snake Moan. Sometimes I’ll get the notice that a film is coming, a selection I made months ago, and I’ll wonder, what movie is that?

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Jennifer Lopez and hubby Marc Anthony are scheduled to open their joint tour on Sept. 29 in Atlantic City, at the Trump Taj Mahal. This is quite an honor for AC considering that, despite her successful albums, J-Lo has never been on tour.

Tickets for Jerry Seinfeld Sept. 8 at Resorts go on sale Saturday, Aug. 4 at 10am. He’ll be doing the same gig as last year, with an 8pm show at the Hilton, followed by an 11pm show at Resorts. Other shows just announced by Resorts are Debbie Reynolds (Aug. 27–31); the Trammps (Sept. 9–13) and the Dovells (Sept. 16–20). Hilton’s new concert announcements are a Jerry Blavat Disco Dance Party (Aug. 31); Pink Lloyd Laser Show (Sept. 2); and Lou Graham (Sept. 29). Over at the Taj, Liza Minnelli will headline on Sept. 1.

Due to illness, Etta James will not be participating in the upcoming B.B. King Blues Festival at the Trump Taj Mahal on Saturday, Aug. 4. Replacing the 69-year-old singer will be Little Richard — not too shabby. Also on the bill are B.B. King and Al Green. Tickets are $89 & $65. For more info on the concert, check out the Taj’s Web site.

I had a chance to bond with my nephew Garrett, 15, when we attended a performance by The Machine at the House of Blues, on July 20. The Machine is a tribute band that does an uncanny recreation of the music of Pink Floyd. Garrett’s love of Pink Floyd was developed and sustained by his mom, and by the look of the audience at the HOB, there are a healthy amount of baby boomers passing along that love to their children.
The teen years are tough on parents but they are also tough on aunts. While we found a lot of things to do together when he was younger, lately it has been harder to find common ground and shared interests.

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The Water Club, a signature hotel by Borgata, is topped off today in Atlantic City at 11 am. Pictured at the ceremony are, clockwise: Noelia Lopez, Joe Ballentine, Hank Andrescavage, Keith Smith (President and Chief Operating Officer, Boyd Gaming), Drew Schlesinger (Vice President and General Manager, The Water Club at Borgata), Larry Mullin (President and Chief Operating Officer, Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa), William S. Boyd (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Boyd Gaming), Vincent Fabi, John Giannini, and Janelle Hippen.

At left, the last beam is raised into place atop the new Water Club hotel tower.
The hotel, which will feature highly personalized service, is slated to open in early 2008. It will introduce a unique brand of hospitality to the resort with 800 finely appointed guest rooms and suites; a two-story spa in the sky, 18,000 square feet of meeting space, five heated indoor and outdoor swimming pools – each offering a different experience and six retail shops. The hotel is located adjacent to the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa. The Water Club is a joint venture between Boyd Gaming and MGM MIRAGE and will complete Borgata’s $600 million master plan development and bring the total investment in the resort to $1.7 billion.

Photos by Lew Steiner

I‘m a “Jersey Fresh” fanatic. One of the things I really love about living in Southern New Jersey is access to all the great summer and fall produce that our region offers, especially from farm stands and you-pick farms. Blackberries just arrived for picking and after work I drove 90 miles, including slogging through thunder showers, to pick blackberries from Mood’s Farm Market in Mullica Hill, Gloucester County. As I crawled along in the middle of the storm, I wondered, “Am I nuts?” However, once I arrived to a sunny, damp farm, and was picking gorgeous berries, I felt so relaxed. Picking fruit is a favorite activity to relieve stress from the work week. And, on the way home, I stopped at an “honor system” produce stand in Mizpah, put my $7.50 in the coffee can and took home some delicious corn, lovely tomatoes, an eggplant, cucumbers and a couple of hot peppers. Pictured is the blackberry crisp I made.

Michael Vick won’t be able to attend the opening day of Atlanta Falcons training camp. He’ll be in federal court, having been indicted on charges that he participated in dog fighting and even helped kill dogs that were not deemed vicious enough. You don’t have to be a fan of Animal Planet’s various shows about SPCA law enforcement officers to know that dog fighting is a horrifying practice. I do happen to be a fan of those shows and have seen many dogs that have survived either fights, or worse, being the “bait” animal used to get the fighting dogs in a vicious mood.
Even if Michael Vick skates around the evidence that his home in Virginia was a dog fighting operation, he has lost a hell of a lot of fans. American might love football but they love their pets even more. It is particularly horrific that Vick is accused of hanging and or electrocuting dogs that weren’t vicious enough to fight.
If Michael Vick ends up playing in the NFL this season, he had better be ready for vicious comments from the stands, none of which will be nearly as bad as what he is alleged to have done to “man’s best friend.”

Local authorities are still trying to determine if an abandoned Dodge Intrepid that was parked near Bally’s yesterday afternoon was a bomb hoax or a legitimate threat. The A.C. Bomb Squad was called in after it was discovered that the car had a red wire suspiciously running in and out of the car, which reportedly had no license plates and smelled of gasoline. You can watch NBC-40’s coverage here.

I’ll be covering my 19th Toronto Film Festival this year (Sept. 6–15) and the first few movies have been announced. I’m psyched that George Clooney will probably be in town to promote his fall film Michael Clayton. Other possible celebs going to the Festival include Jodie Foster, with her suspense film The Brave One, directed by Neil Jordan, which also stars Terrence Howard, Lost’s Naveen Andrews, and Mary Steenburgen. Reigning Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon co-stars with Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Peter Sarsgaard and Alan Arkin in Rendition, a thriller from Gavin Hood, director of the Academy Award-winning foreign language film Tsotsi. Helen Hunt makes her directorial debut and stars in Then She Found Me. Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello and Toni Collette star in the feature directorial debut from Alan Ball, creator of Six Feet Under, Nothing Is Private.
John Sayles is bringing his latest, Honeydripper, starring Danny Glover. The acclaimed new film that played Cannes from the Coen Brothers, No Country For Old Men, is also on the slate. That’s enough info for now.