I promise this is not just a plug to attend the Summer films at the Fox….It occurs to me, scanning the papers daily, that of course we are in the midst of the summer film desert By this I mean of course that the vast majority of films released by the studios during these hot calendar  months are aimed at generating the most money, and not the most engrossing post-film discussions. I will admit I enjoyed the “Star Trek” reboot, am hearing great things about “Up”, laughed out loud for much of “The Hangover” but was unimpressed by “Terminator Salvation” and the “X-Men” Origins film so far. Having visited the set for the upcoming “Transformers” sequel I am mostly interested in having my 12-year old son be blown away by the spectacle of it all.

It would seem a good time to remind people that there are other choices in the Tucson film world than the multiplexes which surround our City. Fine classic films will continue to be screened at the 10th annual Cinema La Placita on Thursday nights (cinemalaplacita.com) at 7:30pm. Also, the Loft, Tucson’s home for Independent CInema (loftcinema.com) has a great schedule of upcoming films that are not to be missed. And of course I have to mention the Fox, whose 4th annual summer series I have again programmed. The series (foxtucsontheatre.org) has screened two gems so far (“Best Years of our Lives” & “The Searchers”) but will screen 7 more including “The African Queen” on this Saturday – June 27th. The series ends August 15th with “Dr. Strangelove”. Films start at 7:30pm and between the ambience, great films and beverages it is a great way to beat the blockbuster blues with a classic film. Many cities do not have this wealth of “other” film options – support them if you can – you will not be sorry.