Tag: Tom Cruise

12 days of not-so-Christmassy Christmas movies

Jeff Mitchell

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: ‘Collateral’

Jeff Mitchell

Tom Cruise turned 59 years young on July 3, and AHFW is celebrating with a fantastic Cruise performance in director Michael Mann’s thriller, “Collateral”. “Collateral” (2004) – Mann’s crime story runs all over the vast, sprawling City of Angeles into the wee hours of the evening, but at its narrative’s core, the film pits two men in a taxing confrontation, who sit just a few feet from one another. A cab driver, Max (Jamie Foxx), picks up a real estate executive, Vincent (Tom Cruise), in front of a towering downtown…

12 days of not-so-Christmassy Christmas movies: ‘Eyes Wide Shut’

Jeff Mitchell

“Eyes Wide Shut” (1999) – Christmas in New York City brings images of Rockefeller Center, ice skating and shopping on 5th Avenue.  Stanley Kubrick’s last film takes place at Christmastime, but this “holiday story” explores infidelity, visceral temptations, frank conversations between spouses, and sexual masquerade parties where mistletoe is not required. Not the “exactly” same. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were married in real life at the time, as they play a couple questioning their relationship during the most wonderful time of the year.   Just wondering how much will they…