(NAPSI)—It’s never been so easy and convenient to explore and share the inspirational, educational and entertaining Black History Month programming On Demand on cable. Whether viewed on a small screen such as a laptop, tablet or smartphone or on a big screen in the comfort of the living room, opportunities to celebrate Black History Month are taking a decidedly 21^st century turn. It’s all available, instantly, to digital cable subscribers with a push on the remote control or with a quick download.

As evidenced by this week‘s review, the quality of new wide releases appears to be dipping again — a definite disappointment, considering how strong the year started off.

February typically serves as a dumping ground for weak studio films that offer an easy alternative to “mainstream” audiences who don’t see Oscar bait, but this year has brought some welcome surprises.

Q: What type of music do you listen to?

So I was in the middle of the downtown Stockton movie theater, having just purchased a ticket for Todd Phillips’ comedy “Due Date,” when an advertisement for the Tony Scott/Denzel Washington action flick “Unstoppable” caught my eye.

It seems that I am prone to minor setbacks. These past few days, for example, I’ve been knocked flat on my butt by a flu that’s been going around, rendering me unfit to go out in public — much less sit in a movie theater for two hours, half-blind from NyQuil abuse, as all manner of improbably colored fluids are expelled from my every orifice. (Although I’ve been seeing most of my movies in Stockton these days, and such a spectacle is kinda par for the course down there.)

I hang my head in shame over my absence from Battle Royale these past couple weeks despite repeated promises of bustling activity, and I’ve no adequate excuse apart from the fact that I’ve been settling back into a 70-hour work week (split between two jobs) and have been very, very pressed for time. The election frenzy is finally over and things will calm down, and in the meantime please accept the meager update I’ve recently offered. More is coming. For reals.

It's Oscar time again, and it's got me to thinking about why we as a culture place so much importance on and devote so much energy to following the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

"The Spy Next Door"

This Thursday, Lodi Musical Theater's second production, "West Side Story," will open on the stage of Hutchins Street Square, complete with gang rivalry, 1950s dress and lively dance numbers. With 50 cast members, singers and dancers from the Lodi area, director Nicole Warren says the show is bigger than last year's Lodi hit, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," which was put on by the community theater company.

One high-ranking member of our department has a brother-in-law who is a producer in Hollywood. He developed a hard-hitting cop show for a major network that was on the air for the past two seasons.

The summer movie blues return this week, with ADD-afflicted "filmmaker" Tony Scott - who has done some decent work in the past but completely lost my faith with the one-two punch of "Domino" and "Déjˆ Vu" - once again demonstrating why he should no longer be allowed within 100 yards of a movie camera.

Director: Tony Scott

Some random thoughts and rants on the Academy Award nominations:

Some movies are destined to be worthwhile. With the right combination of cast, crew and a compelling storyline, certain films are just so pedigreed that it would take a catastrophe of unimaginable proportion to throw the project off track. Back when I first heard about "American Gangster," I knew it would be such a film.

I'm choosing not to dwell on the depressing mediocrity of the freshly wrapped summer movie season. Instead, let's look forward to the fall/winter season, and 15 movies that will hopefully prevent 2007 from being a completely forgettable year at the movies. To start, here are the five releases I'm most looking forward to for the rest of the year:

Some time ago I was swapping jokes with a co-worker when we discovered we had the same favorite. It's a lengthy joke, and for obvious reasons I won't go into it in length here. Suffice it to say that it involves a man with half an orange for a head relating the story of how he came to be this way.

Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences can breathe a collective sigh of relief.