In the meantime, I've been going over my book reading habits for the month, and it seems that I've only read three (!!) books this month. Couldn't figure out why my book reading was at such a low, but it finally came to me... I've been watching a lot of film noir movies this month so far, partly due to the fact that I'm running The Edge of Midnight rpg, and this is cutting into my reading time somewhat. The last two movies that I watched, The Woman in the Window and The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, were two of my favourite movies of the last little while.
I have come to the conclusion that I really do prefer many of the old black-and-white movies of the 30's and 40's to the modern day stuff. Part of this is due to the nature of storytelling in the old movies, and the sheer quality of the stars of these films. Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Lizabeth Scott, Van Heflin, Barbara Stanwyck, Kirk Douglas (back in the early days), Bogey, Bacall, and a host of others were just so...captivating, so filled with that je ne sais quoi that the silver screen's stars had back then. Stories were told that didn't rely on special effects, and of course, the strong suit of noir films was the unpredictable elements and plot twists that these films were known for, as well as their visual aspects.
Anyway, enough of my rambling. Back to the grind, and a cup of herbal tea.