The Chris Moeller Archives

Black cinema

I trekked to "The Black Dahlia" last night-- in theaters near you beginning this weekend. You'll get a lot of bang for your buck if you choose to attend-- every actor in it seems to be starring in his or her own movie. I feel like I watched about eight in all.

Like Kenneth Turan of the LA Times, I'll turn out to see anything noir-ish, especially if the film is set in the golden era and location of that genre itself-- 1940s & '50s Hollywood. (The CM Top 50 films, posted on this blog 12/05-2/06, include "Double Indemnity," "The Big Sleep," "White Heat," "Chinatown," and "L.A. Confidential.") I love that Mitchum line quoted by Turan, "Cary Grant and all the big stars at RKO (Studios) got all the lights. We lit our sets with cigarettes."

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Still with the LA times, they got "Deadwood" creator David Milch together with Sean Penn to talk about the legacy of author Robert Penn Warren and his play, "All the King's Men."

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Sprinkling some fairy dust: Like Warren and Milch, one of our contributors, Aaron Moeller, is a product of the writing programs of the University of Iowa. Aaron's been published elsewhere this week,having begun submitting concert reviews to music-nerd websites.

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My stepmother, Ksenia Nosikova, has been added to the prestigious roster of Steinway Artists, by that premier manufacturer of pianos.

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I've been blithering on this week about these and other family members, but I've avoided telling you about my 2-year-old sister, Katya. We're not on speaking terms right now due to her plans for a Halloween costume this year. I think a pumpkin outfit would be cute, but she plans to go dressed as one of the Pussycat Dolls. They grow up so fast.

posted by CM @ 10:12 AM