(RED BANK, NJ) -- The Count Basie Center For The Arts hosts a conversation with John Cusack following a screening of the eighties classic Say Anything on Sunday, September 16 at 7:00pm. Tickets range from $49.75 to $69.75.... READ ON

(NEWARK, NJ) -- On July 12, 2018, Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka and Newark International Film Festival Founder Kenneth Gifford announced that the third annual Newark International Film Festival will be held this year at a press conference in the City Hall Press Room. The festival will run from September 6-9.... READ ON

Whitney, Academy Award®-winning director Kevin Macdonald's highly anticipated documentary about the life and career of legendary superstar Whitney Houston opens in the United States on July 6th. The film is the intimate, definitive account of the superstar's life and career. It is the third collaboration between Roadside Attractions and Miramax. ... READ ON

(TRENTON, NJ) -- On July 3, Governor Phil Murphy signed Senate Bill No. 122, the Garden State Film and Digital Media Jobs Act, after the Legislature concurred with recommendations that he made to the bill. The bill provides film and television production companies with business tax and gross income tax credits for certain expenses incurred while filming in New Jersey. The legislation will encourage production companies to locate in New Jersey, spurring economic growth and industry development.... READ ON

(NEWTON, NJ) -- Once upon a time… or maybe twice… there was an unearthly paradise called Pepperland, 80,000 leagues under the sea it lay, a place where beauty, happiness, and music reign supreme. But this peaceful harmony is shattered when the Blue Meanies invade with their army of storm bloopers, apple bonkers, snapping turtle turks, and the menacing flying glove in an attempt to stop the music and drain Pepperland of all colour and hope.  So it’s The Beatles to the rescue, as our animated heroes team up with Young Fred and the Nowhere Man and journey across seven seas to free Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, make peace with the Meanies, and restore music, colour, and love to the world. ... READ ON

(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- The Paramount Theater at The Asbury Park Boardwalk presents an evening with Comedy legend John Cleese on Friday, July 20th at 7:30pm. Cleese is heading in your general direction for this live and truly unforgettable afternoon of hilarity, featuring a screening of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Tickets range from $57 to $247.... READ ON

(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- For those who love dogs and cats, a special weekend of films is taking place in Morristown, NJ. The NY Dog Film Festival™  (July 21) and The NY Cat Film Festival™ (July 22) will be showing at the Bickford Theatre at the Morris Museum.   The festivals are each a celebration of the love for dogs and cats, illustrated through film. Unlike Internet video festivals, these programs are works of art, thoughtfully curated by pet wellness expert and champion, Tracie Hotchner.... READ ON

(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- Montclair Film has announced the July and August 2018 film lineup for Cinema505, the organization’s home at 505 Bloomfield Ave in downtown Montclair, NJ. The films join the previously announced free outdoor screenings of MONTEREY POP, COCO, and BLACK PANTHER scheduled for the summer season.... READ ON

I recall hearing an anecdote concerning a society of pranksters in 1970s London who would take trips en masse to the cinema, only to walk out when or if the title of the movie in question was spoken by a character. That lot would get their money’s worth with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, as it’s not until the closing minutes that a returning original cast member (in a blink and you’ll miss it cameo) informs us that we’re now living in a “Jurassic World.” It’s the sort of cringeworthy moment that would normally cause me to groan, but I was so broken down by the laziness and ineptitude of this fifth installment in the franchise that I couldn’t even muster a sigh by that late point.... READ ON

One of the great under-rated horror movies of recent years is Jackson Stewart’s Beyond the Gates. Two of the stars of Stewart’s movie, Graham Skipper and Chase Williamson, reunite for Sequence Break, written and directed by Skipper and starring Williamson in the lead role. Both films make for a dove-tailing double bill of horror movies that employ the genre, and the current obsession with all things 1980s, to explore the dangers of nostalgia and seeking sanctuary in the comforts of your childhood.... READ ON