Year: 2022

‘Scream’: Nostalgia is a double-edged knife

Jeff Mitchell

“Scream” (2022) – In 1996, Wes Craven’s “Scream” changed the rules of slasher films because its characters actually state the rules of slasher films.  Remember Randy’s (Jamie Kennedy) three-part edict? “Number One, you can never have sex.  Sex equals death, okay?” “Number Two, you can never drink or do drugs.” “And Number Three, never, ever, ever under any circumstances say, ‘I’ll be right back.’”  There you have it!  Randy, a teenage cinephile, accurately recites warnings that anyone living through 80s and 90s horror films had observed for years. When on-screen…

Movie of the Week: ‘Whiplash’

Jeff Mitchell

“Whiplash” (2014) – J.K. Simmons has 217 acting credits, according to IMDb, which is a remarkable feat, since this 67-year-old started his movie career 28 years ago in “The Ref” (1994).  That’s almost 8 projects per year.  The man might be best known as J. Jonah Jameson, a Spider-Man nemesis, but J.K.’s crowning achievement is his work as Terence Fletcher, a tireless maniac of a jazz band instructor at NYC’s Shaffer Conservatory, the leading music college in the country.  Simmons won the 2015 Best Supporting Actor Oscar, and although you…

AHFW’s Top 20 Films of 2021

Jeff Mitchell

Like most folks, 2021 was not our easiest year on record, but we did return to movie theatres!  For that, we’re infinitely grateful.  Let’s hope for more progress and less heartache in 2022 and for three steps forward to combat the inevitable two steps back.  Speaking of numbers, we caught plenty of flicks – via film festivals, frequent trips to local cineplexes, and streaming at home – and revisited the annual puzzle/beloved exercise of narrowing down our lengthy list of favorite films to just 20.  Here they are: Art House…