I Found It At The Movies: Film Noir Reviews

INTRODUCTION

I wrote these reviews, because I'm a huge movie fan. It was my dream for a time to write film reviews for a living. This was back when I attended college, where I majored in journalism. My boyfriend at the time (to whom I'm now married) and I would go to the movies often. I also took several classes related in one way or another to the film world, including classes on film criticism and the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Now, I've written six published novels (three of which are being reissued) and am working on a seventh. But I've also taken up screenwriting, which is, in many respects, tougher. However, my desire to review movies hasn't waned. In fact, if anything, it's grown stronger.

Just as one learns to write prose by reading books, one must also watch movies and read scripts in order to understand how to make them. Movies have shaped my life in so many ways. Films have actually inspired me to take action and shaped my values in myriad ways.

Throughout my life, I've seen many films in a variety of genres. For those of you who know and love classic movies, too, consider this a round-up of favorites and what they've meant to me. For those of you who've never seen these, I hope this book will guide you, even if my opinion isn't entirely favorable.

This book is the first of a series I plan to release, with each one having a different focus. I chose film noir initially, because so many of the books adapted for that genre or style have inspired my own writing.

I chose the book's title as an homage to one of my favorite movie critics, Pauline Kael. She was an outspoken woman, who had definite opinions about movies. Not all of which were shared by her peers.

Certainly, I can't claim to match the wit and wisdom of Pauline Kael. But if you like reading the honest opinions of a true movie lover, I hope you'll enjoy this book.