Greg Hammond

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.

Harry Horner’s Red Planet Mars is brought to its knees by its blatantly religious messages.

John Payson’s Joe’s Apartment is a musical black comedy that is neither very musical nor blackly comedic.

A treat for lovers of short graphic – in all senses of the word – stories from the ’50s to the ’70s.

Errol Morris’ American Dharma is an excellent exposé on the man who may have had the most impact on the 2016 American presidential election, Steve Bannon.

Strong bonus features and a strong second half make Tom Holland’s Thinner worth the watch.

Smoking Kills by Thijs Desmet is an outstanding graphic novel that will keep both teens and adults enthralled.

Micheal Winterbottom’s The Trip to Italy, the second in The Trip quartet, and starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, will keep you laughing from start to finish.

Michael Ondaatje and Anthony MInghella’s The English Patient is that very rare specimen – a movie that is nearly perfect in every way.

Michael Winterbottom’s The Trip, starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, is a delightful master class in improvisational comedy.

Randall Wallace’s The Man in the Iron Mask is a watchable popcorn feature.

Errol Morris proves his mastery again with the heart-wrenching Standard Operating Procedure about the detainees and the photographs that depicted their torture at Abu Ghraib prison.

Lewis Milestone’s All Quiet on the Western Front was the first movie to win best picture based on a novel, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque.

John Woo’s Face/Off is an exciting adventure sci-fi that comes into its own by the power-house performances of John Travolta and Nicolas Cage.

It doesn’t matter how many times you bury Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, nothing can bring this corpse to life.

Delbert Mann’s Marty, starring Ernest Borgnine, is a must see Oscar Winner for Best Picture that will leave you rooting for the good guy.

Grant McPhee’s Far from the Apple Tree is visually stunning while it struggles with its story.

James Cameron’s Titanic gets the 25th anniversary treatment with more content than you can shake a stick at.

Daniel Attias’ Silver Bullet has a few good scares to tide you over on a dark, fall night.

Milky Way by Miguel Vila and produced by Fantagraphics is a quiet erotic thriller that will keep you turning pages.

The Last Tycoon with Robert DeNiro and directed by Elia Kazan is an uneven film that is still worth watching.

Andrew Davis’ The Fugitive is a non-stop roller coaster starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones in superlative roles.

The documentary marks the first time Joyce Carol Oates has been extensively interviewed for a documentary and the results are enlightening.

John Schlesinger’s Marathon Man is a true thriller and a bonafide classic. Olivier and Hoffman are at the top of their form.

The Marx Brothers’ Duck Soup, directed by Leo McCarey, has some of the best gags of their run and the triumphant return of Margaret Dumont.

The Marx Brothers’ Horse Feathers, directed by Norman McLeod, has some of the best gags of their career.

The Marx Brothers’ Monkey Business is their third foray into full-length feature films, and their first to show the absolute importance of Margaret Dumont.

Find the Xenomorph will bring hours of puzzling fun.

The Marx Brothers’ Animal Crackers, directed by Victor Heerman, is where the brothers really start to take off.

The Marx Brothers’ first Hollywood movie, The Cocoanuts, is showing its age while still making us laugh.

James L. Brooks Terms of Endearment is a master-class for great writing and acting.

Richard Donner’s Scrooged is a comedic mess that is only worth watching for purposes of eighties nostalgia.