The Toronto Film Festival has announced some more films, several of which will be on my “must see” list when I attend the fest which runs from Sept. 4-13.
In the Midnight Madness category, my favorite guilty pleasure, Jean-Claude Van Damme, a.k.a. “the Muscles From Brussels,” stars as himself in JCVD, a tale about an action film star caught in the middle of a real life heist. What will JCVD do when the bullets are real?
As a fan of Aussie cinema, I can’t wait to see Not Quite Hollywood. (Pictured is a scene from Max Max included in the film.) A documentary on Australian genre cinema of the ’70s and ’80s. The film features Jamie Lee Curtis, Dennis Hopper, Stacy Keach, Quentin Tarantino and other celebrities sharing their love and memories of an unjustly forgotten cinematic era.

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Left: DSO rhythm guitarist Rob Eaton

On Wednesday night, July 30, Dark Star Orchestra (DSO), a talented band from Chicago that recreates Grateful Dead concerts with Martha Stewart-like meticulousness, visited Showboat’s House of Blues in Atlantic City for the first time since May 2006. DSO formed in 1997 and has played over 1,500 gigs around the country and in Europe, announcing the date, city and concert venue they replicated at the end of each show. They arrange the stage in a mirror image of how the Dead had it, and seek out equipment appropriate for whatever their prototype’s era was at that time. Like the Grateful Dead throughout its history (1965-95), DSO tries to never duplicate the same set list twice. A capacity HOB crowd witnessed DSO reenact with its own element of improvisation the Dead’s April 4, 1988 concert at the Hartford, Conn., Civic Center. Three of the first four songs in the set were first sung by the Dead’s Bob Weir, including “Promised Land,” “Greatest Story Ever Told” and “Little Red Rooster.” His DSO counterpart, rhythm guitarist Rob Eaton, bears a striking physical similarity to Weir in both voice and appearance. Lead guitarist John Kadlecik looks nothing like the late Jerry Garcia, but his virtuosity with a guitar is comparable and his voice is eerily similar. The three-hour show (with a half-hour break) included one of the first songs the Dead ever performed, “Cold Rain and Snow,” as well as two Bob Dylan numbers, “Memphis Blues” and “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.” Rob Barraco, a former member of the Zen Tricksters (a band that now includes ex-Dead vocalist Donna Godchaux) and Phil and Friends (fronted by ex-Dead bassist Phil Lesh) showed some incredible expertise on the keys throughout the evening. A rather surreal side to DSO, besides the fact that they were established in the city where Garcia played his last show in 1995, is that one of its founding members, keyboardist Scott Larned, passed away suddenly in April 2005 while on tour. An element that permeates the Grateful Dead’s mystique is that the band lost four keyboardists to sudden, untimely demises throughout its 30-year history.

According to the FAA, a plane has crashed in Minnesota this morning killing seven passengers. It is believed the plane was en route from Atlantic City. According to a KARE-11 report out of the Twin Cities, “Early indications are that the victims are two pilots and five passengers.”
The report goes on to say that the plane was a Hawker 800 series, “filled with customers for a company called Viracon out of Owatonna.”

I’ve been laying low on the political front, taking off until the conventions, but this AP story got my attention. Our two presidential candidates will become comic book crusaders October 8. It was announced that Barack Obama and John McCain will be immortalized in comic book biographies, released by IDW Publishing. On October 8, the books will be released in comic book shops and go on sale online and for reading on cell phones.
According to special projects editor Scott Dunbier, “I think comic books really do have the great potential to inform and teach and do more than just standard superhero comics.” In other words, perfect for voters who find reading the morning newspaper too much of a strain. Go here for the full story.

Tickets for the recently announced Oct. 11 Lindsey Buckingham concert at the Trump Taj Mahal’s Xanadu Theatre go on sale Friday, Aug. 1 at noon. Those who purchase tickets online ($48.50 & $38.50) are entitled to receive a free copy of Buckingham’s new album Gift of Screws for each pair of tickets ordered. Visit Buckingham’s official Web site for more information.

Caesars will celebrate secret agent Bond, James Bond, with a 007 Dinner Double Feature on Thursday, Aug. 14. The evening’s events include a 007 Theme Dinner at Phillip’s Seafood in the Pier Shops at Caesars, followed by screenings of the films Goldfinger at 7pm, and Casino Royale at 10pm in the Circus Maximus Theater.
It’s a great double bill since these are two of the best flicks in the series. In my AC Weekly review of Daniel Craig’s Casino Royale (2006) I noted that, “In over 40 years of Bond movies, the style has often been reshaped to fit the times. As promised, Casino Royale returns to the Bond we remember from the Ian Fleming novels and the early Sean Connery era, someone who shoots first and asks questions later. There is no gadget master and no ridiculous stunts from moving planes.”

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An episode of Animal Cops has broken out in A.C. A dog was thrown from the overpass near the A.C. Expressway earlier this week. Local animal activists are offering a $2,500 reward to help smoke out the killer of “Angel,” a Boston terrier puppy thrown to its death. The dog died from massive head injuries. A driver heard a thump on his car and stopped to investigate, finding the dog. It is bad enough to see how animals are abused on the numerous episodes of Animal Cops on Animal Planet, but to have such a vicious act take place in our neighborhood is horrifying. Several animal-rights organizations have banded together to pool their reward money. A private citizen put up $1,000 with additional funds coming in from New Jersey Aid for Animals, the Animal Law Coalition and Pawtographs of Cherry Hill. Read the full story here. If you know something about this vicious act, call the local S.P.C.A.

I was delighted when I saw the cover of Sunday’s Philadelphia Inquirer and saw my Atlantic City High School classmate, Jane Golden, on the cover. She was profiled as part of a series called “Defining Lives,” portraits of people who “distinguish our region, for the nation and the world. I won’t go into all the details (you can read the story here) but Jane Golden is an artist who specializes in murals. For the past 25 years, Golden has been in charge of a program called Mural Arts, an art program for inner-city kids. Golden helps organize local kids who paint murals in the city. Golden, who grew up in Margate, did a local mural that is unfortunately, no longer around. When the Frank Theatres has a movie theater in Somers Point, she did a movie themed mural. Pictured is a section of that work. Go here for a video of Jane.

The inaugural Cherri Kravitz Scholarship Foundation’s Memorial event celebrated Cherri’s life tonight at Maynard s Café in Margate. From Left, Rich Maffei, Zach Kravitz, (grandpa) Pinky Kravitz, Olivia Kravitz, Rebecca Kravitz, Morgan Maffei, DJ Sparkles and Katrina Kravitz drew the winning numbers for the door prize and auction winners.
Pinky and Janet Kravitz joined by their children, Jeff and Julianne from California and Greg & Jamie who live in this area and their children joined with local leaders, and friends of Cherri who was a teacher in the Atlantic City Public Schools, most recently at the Richmond Avenue Elementary School.
The celebration was held to raise funds to carry on Cherri’s goal of aiding Atlantic City High School graduates and a Richmond Avenue Elementary School graduate to continue their education.
(Photo by Lew Steiner)

Although it’s subject to change, the schedule for the Atlantic City Airshow, to be held on Wednesday, Aug. 20, from 10:30am-3pm, has been released. The full schedule appears on our A.C. Visitor’s Guide

The Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority has provided the following information:

“The Atlantic City Airshow is free to the public. However, for those looking for a front row seat, Flight Line Club tickets are available for purchase. Tickets cost $20 per person and feature premium
seating for the best view of the airshow. Food and beverages can be purchased a la carte. Beach chairs and umbrellas are not permitted.

Flight Line Club tickets are available at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling 800-736-1420 or online. Tickets are based on a first come first served basis. The Flight Line Club is located on the beach to the south of Florida Avenue.

Presented by Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, the Atlantic City Airshow “Thunder Over The Boardwalk” is a community partnership between the Greater Atlantic City Chamber; the 177th Fighter Wing of the N.J. Air National Guard; South Jersey Transportation Authority; FAA William J. Hughes Tech Center; The Atlantic City International Airport; David Schultz Airshows, LLC; the City of Atlantic City; and the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority.
For more information, visit www.atlanticcityairshow.com.“