All the Colors of the Dark: Painting By Titles with Film Noir

by Rosalie Lewis

“There’s no sign of the morning coming; you’ve been left on your own like a rainbow in the dark,” belts Ronnie James Dio in his 1983 metal anthem. His colorful evocation conjures the atmosphere of dread and tarnished dreams film noir is known for. Elsewhere in the song, he mentions “an image caught in time,” perhaps like one of many moments lost like tears in rain.

Johnny Showtime: THE GREAT GATSBY (1949)

 by JB

Found my Gatsby!

Reserved Seating: OUT OF THE PAST

The review duo who are tying up loose ends to secure a future with Virginia Huston.

Noir City Chicago 2024: Darkness Has No Borders

by Rosalie Lewis

Get excited! Noir is back at the Music Box starting Friday, September 6th!

Johnny Deadline: THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI

 by JB

I recently plugged a hole in my film knowledge bucket.

Coldest Stories Ever Told

 by Rosalie Lewis

"In the Noirvember movie milieu, the characters fall into two separate yet equally important groups: the detectives who investigate crime and the lost souls or heartless dames that perpetrate them. These are their stories. (dun dun)"

Born to be Murdered: Revisiting THE THIRD MAN

 by Rosalie Lewis

This past summer, a work trip took me to Munich for a few days and I decided to tack on a few personal days at the end to explore the Austrian cities of Salzburg and Vienna as well. I was curious about these places for the regular touristy reasons, but if I’m being honest the real motivation was movies.

An Ode to Noirvember

 by Rosalie Lewis

Dear #ScaryMovieMonth,
It’s been fun, don’t get me wrong, but we both knew this wasn’t meant to last. The leaves have fallen, the Spirits have closed, and it’s just about time to wind those clocks backward to the 1940s when shadows contained gunmen, not ghouls. The stage is set for someone new, someone dangerous, someone duplicitous to take the spotlight for the next 30 days. So take a bow, au revoir til next year.

It’s #Noirvember, baby.

Noir City 2022 Recap

 by Rosalie Lewis

As you may know, my wretched life has been devoid of meaning for the last several years. Why? Well, because the only film festival that matters, Noir City, has been absent from the Music Box Theatre in Chicago all because of a dumb little disease and its status as public enemy number one. Not anymore, I’ll tell ya. The sour little apple of my eye returned at last, and I was there! I saw it all! You can’t make me hold my tongue, er, pen any longer! The world will know, by golly, if it’s the last thing I ever tell ‘em.

Running from August 26th – September 1st, the extravaganza featured a whopping 21 films hosted by the Film Noir Foundation’s Eddie Muller and Alan Rode. Read on for the highlights and low downs.

Noirvember 2021: Reporting from Week One

 by Rosalie Lewis

It’s arguably the best month of the year for noir fans: Noirvember! And already, I feel behind.

Movies is Good: CROSSFIRE

 by JB

A film noir favorite finally makes its way to Blu-ray disc.

Noir-o-scope: Your Astrological Guide for What Film Noir to Watch Next

 by Rosalie Lewis

Do you ever have trouble picking what movie to watch next? I’m here to provide some noir and noir-adjacent recommendations—this time based on your astrological sign! I turned to the experts at www.tarot.com to peep what’s happening horoscope-wise for each sign, and then paired that bit of fortune-telling with a movie whose characters take a similar journey. Let’s get started!

The Lineup: A Summary of My Noirvember Week One Viewing

by Rosalie Lewis

There’s a rumor going around that I like film noir. I don’t know who started it, but I’m here to tell you not a word of it is a lie. That’s why November has become one of my favorite months--because to classic film fans, it’s known as Noirvember.

Noir City Couch-y : A Film Noir Festival You Can Attend From Home

by Rosalie Lewis

Take me down to the film noir city
Where the lights are neon and the dames are witty
Oh won’t you please take me home?

FTM 546: DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS

Patrick and JB walk real cool and catch everyone's eye.

Choose Your Own Noirvember

by Rosalie Lewis

We wrapped up #ScaryMovieMonth a little over a week ago, and now we’re on to a month of celebrating films of another type: #Noirvember, started ten years ago by the lovely Marya Gates (formerly of Filmstruck, currently of Netflix). I’ve loved seeing new converts to this celebration of all things film noir (both classic and neo varieties), but sometimes it can be hard to narrow down the viewing options. So to help solve this problem, and because frankly I can’t stop myself from writing about this genre, I’ve devised a little viewing guide/choose your own adventure extravaganza.

Dispatches from Noir City (Days 4-7)

by Rosalie Lewis

The final curtain has fallen on Noir City Chicago 2019 at the Music Box Theatre, and I’m already pining for next year’s festival lineup. I’ve already shared my thoughts on the first three days of the fest -- now let’s dive into the rest of the week’s offerings.

Dispatches from Noir City (Days 1-3)

by Rosalie Lewis

What do you do when you’ve spent the last three days at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre watching 10 film noir movies amidst hundreds of other lovers of all things hardboiled and historic? Naturally, you come back for four more days of mesmerizing, crime-filled cinema! It’s only fitting that I’m currently holed up in the Music Box Lounge as I write this, tickets in hand for the next double feature. Let me tell you about what I’ve watched so far, so that you can follow along at home.

NOIR CITY CHICAGO Preview

by Rosalie Lewis

He drew his trench coat around his lean frame and lowered his hat as he stepped out of the shadowy portico and braced against the frigid rain. Deep down, he knew this dame was bad news, but something about her shapely countenance and coy desperation kept pulling him deeper into the sordid underworld she inhabited. He should have known how all of this would end...

Thrills, Chills, & Spills: GUN CRAZY (1949)

by JB

I love films that go all shooty shooty shoot and pow pa-pa-pow pow pow pow!