12 days of not-so-Christmassy Christmas movies

Every December, our stockings are stuffed with festive Christmas movies, like “A Christmas Story” (1983), “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946), “Scrooged” (1988), and other versions of “A Christmas Carol”.  Well, AHFW is looking back at movies that feature the seminal holiday too. The only difference is that our picks aren’t traditional Yuletide affairs. For most of these flicks, Christmas isn’t the central focus, or in some cases, Dec. 25 is barely mentioned.  Still, each picture is technically a Xmas film, so enjoy our walk through 12 not-so-Christmassy Christmas movies, and…

Movie of the Week: ‘Away We Go’

“Away We Go” (2009)– “Relationships are hard.” – Everybody “Life is hard.” – Almost everybody For Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph), their relationship and life in general are hard, but more the latter. Burt sells insurance, but not straight-up medical, auto, or home.  He sells insurance futures.  What?  (Yea, he explains it, but I still don’t get it.) Anyways, he’s struggling to earn a lucrative salary, which becomes problematic when his long-time girlfriend, Verona, becomes pregnant. Since they’re 33 years young and “don’t have basic stuff figured out,”…

Movie of the Week: ‘Without Limits’

“Without Limits” (1998) – Steve Prefontaine is one of the all-time great American long-distance runners, but in 2021, some may not have heard of the man nicknamed Pre. During the early 1970s, however, he was the University of Oregon’s favorite son, and he probably still is. The UofO has held the annual Prefontaine Classic meet on campus for 46 years running (pardon the pun). Director Robert Towne is no stranger to the sport. He wrote and directed “Personal Best” (1982), a film about a pair of female athletes training for…