‘X’: Ti West’s horror film proves that ‘the good ole days weren’t always good’

“X” – The year is 1979.  Leonardo DiCaprio was five years young.  The Seattle Supersonics won the NBA Title.  “The Dukes of Hazzard” kicked off its first season.  The OPEC crisis gripped the nation, and gas at the pump rose to 81 cents a gallon.  (To be fair, 43 years ago, $ 0.81 was a lot of dough.  Perhaps, $5.50 in today’s dollars?) Well, writer/director Ti West sets and primes his new slasher film between two classics of the genre, 1978’s “Halloween” and 1980’s “Friday the 13th”.  “X”, however, doesn’t…

Movies of the Week: William Hurt Triple-Feature

William Hurt sadly passed away on Sunday, March 13, at just 71 years young.  This Oscar-winning actor had classic good looks and a matching, magnetic panache, and one could easily see this Washington D.C. native choosing a career as a U.S. Senator or a television anchorman, which of course, he famously once played. AHFW wanted to feature a William Hurt film as our Movie of the Week, but we couldn’t decide, so we landed on three of our favorites…from one of our favorites. “Body Heat” (1981) – Writer/director Lawrence Kasdan…

‘Compartment No. 6’ offers a winning cinematic journey

“Compartment No. 6” (2021) – “No spitting on the floor.” A train conductor warns Laura (Seidi Haarla) – a Finnish woman studying in Moscow – about this spewing statute as she boards a train.  Good to know because Laura was about to reach for a pinch of chewing tobacco. No, not really.  However, this 30-something is heading on a 1,200-mile journey almost due north from Moscow to Murmansk.  By car, the trip would take 23 ½ hours straight, but this railway carriage makes stops along the way, including an overnight…