June 21, 2021, MONTCLAIR, NJ- Montclair Film, New Jersey’s leading film non-profit, today announced that it has signed a long-term agreement to operate the Clairidge Cinemas, a six-screen cinema located at 486 Bloomfield Ave in downtown Montclair, NJ. The agreement was signed today by Montclair Film @ The Clairidge LLC, a single member, non-profit LLC wholly owned by Montclair Film, and Dick Grabowsky, owner of the Hinck Building in which the Clairidge Cinemas operate.  Montclair Film has enlisted award-winning architect Rachael Grochowski of RHG Architecture+Design to renovate the 12,700 square-foot facility with the goal of creating a safe, welcoming, inclusive,...

How exciting that we're entering our first year with ten nomination slots on the Oscar ballot, thus expanding the race significantly. We have on paper a long list of films that are to be released this year, give or take. There are always many films that come from places unknown as the year goes forward. The various film festivals will begin after Summer. However, in looking over the list of release dates, we have a rough sketch of the movies that are coming out. The voting and tabulation will be different this time around because choosing five and counting out...

From minute one, everything feels just a little bit off in John Lee’s False Positive. The first act lives in a heightened satire of Manhattan privilege, taking digs at excitement over Dig Inn orders while Lucy (Ilana Glazer) and Adrian (Justin Theroux) struggle to conceive in their fiercely lit triple height penthouse apartment that peers over the streets like the Tower of Terror. The grim lower perspective on their building echoes the way Mia Farrow stared up at the gothic architecture of her character’s home on the same island in Rosemary’s Baby. Lee’s film, on which he shares a screenwriting...

Director Josh Ruben and screenwriter Mishna Wolff wear their influences on their sleeve with Werewolves Within. The horror whodunnit, based on a video game of the same name, entered production in the wake of Knives Out’s success, trapping a group of people with diverse political leanings in an inn during a snowstorm, during which a supposed werewolf has taken out the generators keeping the lights on. The comedy, meanwhile, as it pertains to the genre elements, aspires for something closer to Shaun of the Dead, but the film just isn’t fast or smart enough to get these jokes to land....

The Daily Wire, the conservative website run by Jeremy Boreing, Ben Shapiro and others has picked up another film property after it was mysteriously dropped from Amazon during Black History Month. What's odd about it is that it was already released theatrically and aired on PBS. According to the Wall Street Journal: The documentary began airing on PBS in May 2020 and streaming on Amazon in October. But it was taken down by Amazon on Feb. 8, according to the director, Michael Pack, and he has never been told why. “Our distributor, who’s the one who made the deal with...

Disney/Pixar's Luca tells the story of two young sea monsters who break out on their own and venture into a nearby seaside village thanks to an overwhelming need for adventure. Trouble is, they become fully human when dry, but whenever they encounter water, they transform back into sea monsters. Adolescence is hard enough for humans. Try hiding the fact that you're a sea monster. To play the two boys - Luca and Alberto - Disney/Pixar chose Jacob Tremblay (Room) and Jack Dylan Grazer (IT). Their strong vocal talents overcame the fact that they'd never actually met through the process of...

Movies, like everything else, can serve many different purposes at once. Some of them are meant to mirror back our lives in a realistic way. Some are meant to take us away for a couple of hours, as we blot out the harsh reality of our lives and escape into fantasy.  The one thing that has never changed since movies were invented is that they are transformative experiences that take us to a different place from the one where we live. There is a reason the big screen has always been a place for gods and goddesses. We "project" our...

As readers of this site know, or maybe know, or probably don't know - there is a special place in my heart fo pigs. They are smart, sensitive, shy and treated probably worse than any other animal in agriculture. History will not be kind. And history should not be kind. Here is the trailer for Pig, starring Nicolas Cage. https://youtu.be/-4nRpdONaAA  

Barry Jenkins has long been a friend of the Telluride Film Fest and now he will serve as Guest Director for the 2021 fest, September 2-6 in Telluride Colorado. The fest lineup isn't announced until the day before and usually we've all more or less sussed out the list in advance! We'll keep you posted on that if we do. The festival was cancelled last year due to COVID so we're all looking forward to heading back to the beautiful little town for the best film fest in the world. Here is the press release. Los Angeles, CA – Telluride...

NEW YORK, NY) Broadway Live Cinema Festival, the new film and live performance event honoring Broadway and movie musicals, has announced the lineup of artists set to perform live at the inaugural festival this summer at AMC Empire 25 Theater in Times Square (234 W 42nd St, NYC).  In celebration of the highly-anticipated re-opening of Broadway theaters this fall, the four-week 2021 festival runs from July 15 – August 8, and will feature the award-winning classic films Chicago, West Side Story, The Wizard of Oz, Little Shop of Horrors as well as the critically-acclaimed new release In The Heights.  Each film will be presented as an immersive theatrical experience with...

New York, NY (June 17, 2021) -- The Golden Trailer Awards (GTA) today announced their 21st annual awards ceremony will be live streamed from the Niswonger Performing Arts Center (NPAC) in Greenville, Tennessee. The GTAs is an unconventional ceremony that honors excellence in movie marketing, and this year is dedicated in appreciation of all the medical professionals, first responders and frontline workers who kept the country functioning throughout Covid’s economic shutdown. The ceremony will be livestreamed for industry and film fans alike. The organizers chose the unique location of NPAC in idyllic Greeneville, TN as the location for the 21st...