Greg Hammond

Billy Wilder’s The Long Weekend, starring Ray Milland, is a beautifully made vision of the hell that is alcoholism.

Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), starring Michael Keaton, is a wonderful film about love, loss, fame, and fading into obscurity.

Rebecca, Alfred Hitchcock’s only Academy Award winner for Best Picture, and first American-produced film, is a showcase of the greatest talents of the era.

Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey is a top-tier entry in the Predator universe.

Jay Olivia’s Justice League Dark doesn’t earn its R-rating, but has a compelling, adult story all about demons good and demons bad.

Sam Liu’s Teen Titans: The Judas Contract is an action packed thriller with a fast script and intelligent characterizations.

Sam Liu’s Batman: The Killing Joke is a fast-paced action flick starring Batman and the Joker in a psychological thriller that drags you through a carnival of terrors.

Ethan Spaulding’s Son of Batman brings a little glimpse of family back into Bruce Wayne’s life with interesting, exciting results.

Team America: World Police is a slightly dated romp through bad taste and good humor.

Many of the jokes in South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut are still funny over two decades later, but the topical nature of some subject matter hurts subsequent views.

Blue Beetle is a wonderful superhero film about the super strength known as family.

Miroslav Sekulic-Struja’s Petar & Liza is a tender Yugoslavian romance in which broken people do their best to help each other.

All four Trip movies are good, but The Trip to Greece is, unfortunately, the weak one in the bunch.

Jaume Collet-Serra’s Orphan is a strong psychological thriller starring Vera Farmiga and Peter Saarsgard.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space, by the Chiodo Brothers, is comedy-horror at its best.

With 78 episodes and 30 hours worth of bonus features, The Powerpuff Girls: The Complete Series is all you will ever need to satisfy your Powerpuff Girls cravings.

Vitagraph Comedies collects forty short comedic films from 1907 to 1922 in black and white and tinted color.

Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998) and Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island are great bookends to 20 years of straight-to-video goodness.

William Wyler’s The Big Country, starring Gregory Peck and Jean Simmons, is a comfortable ride on a slow horse.

Ridley Scott’s White Squall, starring Jeff Bridges, is a white-knuckled actioner you don’t want to miss.

George Miller’s Lorenzo’s Oil, starring Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon, is a “hopeful” story about a dying child.

Tony Richardson’s The Border, starring Jack NIcholson and Harvey Keitel, is one long missed opportunity.

Cosmotropia de Xam’s Phantasmagoria starring Rachel Audrey and Mari K is pretty to look at but the story is nonexistent.

Both of these entries into the Mean Girls oeuvre sing beautifully.

Caye Casas’ The Coffee Table, starring Estefania de los Santos and David Pareja, is a top-notch psychological thriller / horror movie that belongs on your shelf.

John Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy, starring Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman is one of the all time great dramas.

Nicolas Cage is excellent in Ben Brewer’s competent Arcadian, but he just isn’t present enough.

Problems aside, Gigi is a great American musical classic with excellent acting, a fast, entertaining plot, and many memorable songs.

Rick Altergott’s Blessed Be is a raunchy, raucous, fun-filled story of friendship and murder.

Woody Allen’s Coup de Chance is a comedic thriller filled with charm and wit.

William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives is solid storytelling from the outset: it grabs you and never lets go.

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XVI contains Edgar Allen Poe’s The Mystery of Marie Roget, Chicago Deadline, and Iron Man.

Tim Burton’s Wednesday is yet another excellent entry into the Addams Family universe.

Pedro Almodovar’s Strange Way of Life, starring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal, is a charming romance that hits all the right notes.

James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom starring Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, and Patrick Wilson is a solid superhero film from DC.

While Good Burger 2 isn’t as funny as Good Burger, it still has plenty of heart and tons of laughs.

Beth Hetland’s Tender is psychological terror and body horror in equal, perfect doses.

Mark Doox’s The N-Word of God is an often light-hearted take on deeply serious matters, and is funny, sharp-witted, and controversially illustrated.

Migration is a funny, heartfelt attempt to tell a story that isn’t there.

Unfortunately, Contagion is really feeling its age post COVID; however, the deep characterizations and thrilling subject matter elevate it to quality entertainment.

You owe it to yourself to see Clark Gable and Charles Laughton in Mutiny on the Bounty.

Woody Allen’s Annie Hall is one of the smartest, funniest, as near to perfect, romantic comedies to ever hit an American screen.

Storm King Comics’ Dark & Twisted series continues with Bunn and Amodio’s Long Haul; a cross-country trek through lands of darkness and horror.

Sam Raimi’s Darkman, starring Liam Neeson and Francis McDormand, is a must-see for action/superhero fans.

Norman Jewison’s The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming is filled with laughs from beginning to end.

Hal Ashby’s Coming Home starring Bruce Dern, Jane Fonda, and John Voight is a not-too-subtle film with absolutely riveting performances.

Herbert Ross’s Footloose, starring Kevin Bacon and John Lithgow, is aging rapidly, but the dance sequences are still as fun as they’ve always been.

Kevin Lewis’s Willy’s Wonderland, basically a one-man show for Nicolas Cage, is a fun, fight-filled, gore-fest.

Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones mostly tells a dark and foreboding tale that is held on the shoulders of Saoirse Ronan and Stanley Tucci.

Norman Panama’s The Road to Hong Kong works all the way to the last stone on the path.