Rating: 
Summary: Pointless, depressing and discusting
Review: First of all, I'd like to establish that I am a great fan Of Elijah Wood, am not a teenage girl, and have followed his career since he was a child. In my opinion, his greatest films to date have been TLOfT Rings( of course!) and The War. Elijah has a rare talent and has the makings of Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck, and the looks and charm of a Carry Grant. I've just dated myself! To you teens that expression means my reference to these past great actors lets you know how old I am. Yes, I am a baby-boomer. I have never compared any of the new generation actors to the three I've mentioned. So, by comparing Elijah to them is quite a completement to his talent, ability, and charm.
This film Black&White was awful! As was THe Ice STorm (Horrible) And believe me I lived through both of those times and neither of them were real or true to the times.
I finally was able to purchase a recent film that was not released in this country for awhile, All I Want, formerly Just Try 17. Now, I know why it was not released here. It should have been called JUst Try zero. Tell me Why 3 talented actors, Elijah Wood, Mandy Moore, and Franka Potente, would waste their time and talent on such mediocrity? THe story was bland, the writing boring, the characters did not engage you, inspire you, make you feel sad, mad,or anything. No, that's not true, they made me feel impatient for this dull, sad excuse of a story to be over. Why am I reviewing this film? IT wasn't listed and people should be warned.
Please, Elijah, after the masterpeice of Lord of the Rings Trilogy, be choosier in the roles you accept!!! I know there'll never be any film to top LOTR but that doen't mean you have to find the worst scipts out there to waste yourself, your talent and your reputation doing!! I haven't seen The film with Jim Carey yet. I hope it is worthy of you. We shall see.
Rating: 
Summary: edgy, searing study of race relations
Review: "Black and White," as the title implies, is an ambitious attempt to explore race relations in contemporary urban America, without resorting to the shibboleths, sugar-coated platitudes and pat answers one generally finds in more mainstream films on the subject. Setting his tale in New York City and employing an intriguing mix of established and first time actors, many of them playing themselves on screen, writer/director James Toback explores the ways in which both sides of the black/white equation are essentially attempting to achieve the same basic goal: to gain acceptance in the other side's territory for reasons of either financial gain or personal validation. Here we have, for example, a group of white, upper middle class high school students, disillusioned by the empty materialism of their family and home lives, so drawn to the contemporary trendiness of the black hip-hop culture that they end up emulating and adopting its fashions, its terminology and its angry, anti-establishment attitudes. Yet, acceptance is not a guarantee in any area of life and what these youngsters do not realize is that they are perceived by the blacks as little more than pathetic hangers-on, cultural nomads to be exploited for their willingness to perform sexual favors or rituals of bloodletting when it is most convenient to the users. Conversely, the blacks find themselves doing virtually the same thing, in this case, cowtowing to the white record industry executives who in turn exploit them for success and profit. Here we have gangster rappers attempting to go "straight" in order to achieve acceptability in the high-class world of the corporate entertainment elite. Toback explores this often confusing but always fascinating world by laying out its topography in a non-linear fashion. The "story" consists of interlocking and overlapping characters culled from a wide range of social strata. Like a fine jigsaw puzzle, the film reveals a full panoramic picture as the assorted pieces fall nicely into place. The most morally complex plot strand involves a shady undercover cop (Ben Stiller), his ethically ambiguous ex-girlfriend and her new black, basketball star boyfriend. The first two characters in particular so thoroughly defy conventional pigeonholing in terms of moral consistency and clarity of motive that they keep the audience off balance and questioning throughout. In fact, it is this very refusal to simplify the moral (or perhaps amoral) complexities of the world he is showing us that makes Toback's document such a fascinating one to watch. One could quibble with a few editorial choices, of course. The use of Brooks Shields and Robert Downey Jr. as a couple of bizarre documentary filmmakers seems a bit forced as a way to get the "outside world" into the proceedings. Some of the acting seems a bit amateurish, to say the least, and the dialogue occasionally sounds stilted and poorly rehearsed. And the use of Mike Tyson, appearing as himself, is positively surreal in its effect as we see him beating up a man who has made a sexual advance on him and advising a buddy to commit murder as an act of retaliation. How Toback got Tyson to agree to such an unflattering and downright damning portrayal of himself is truly beyond imagining. Despite its few weaknesses, "Black and White" provides a searing look into the world of racial relations in this country. For its honesty, bravery and refusal to compromise, this is a film well worth studying and applauding.
Rating: 
Summary: A haunting juxaposition of racial and sexual poltics.
Review: James Toback gained critical attention a few years back with the release of the undeservedly contorversial Two Girls and a Guy, a humerous, yet flawed, character study starring Heather Graham and Robert Downey Jr. The film garnered a newfound appreciation of Toback, yet it is Black and White that makes this appreciation justified. The film's first act introduces a sordid tapesty of characters: a rap group, a reporter and her gay husband, a group of middle class white teenagers who emulate black culture, a basketball star, and an undercover cop with alterior motives. While all the characters are connected to each other, it would detract from the films impact to expound upon their intentions. The film gradually unfolds into a taut blend of intensity and resonant social comentary that was ignored by unqualified critics and ignorant audiences earlier this year. Toback also succeeds at mixing professional actors with media icons as the varied list of performers include Marla Maples, Allan Houston, Brooke Sheilds, Bijou Phillips, and Robert Downey Jr.-giving one of the best performances of his career. An abbreviated summation of the film could be described as a Robert Altman film interpreted by Spike Lee. Black and White does what all films should do: it leaves you thinking long after the film has ended.
Rating:
Summary: SADLY MYOPIC VIEW OF RACE RELATIONS IN U.S.
Review: Although I had a feeling this film was going to be "bad news", I decided to watch it anyhow. After watching it (looking for something redeeming), I found very little. For the most part, it was pointless. However, I will attempt to elaborate on why I didn't like "Black and White"... As I watched the film, I got the feeling that Toback meant to use hip-hop (rappers) to represent "Black" culture, and upper-middle class white teens, their families, and various other adults to represent "White" culture. I have two problems with this: #1) There is an imbalance of cinematic representation: on the Black side, we see rappers, two athletes, and just one Black female (Kidada Jones). On the White side, we see teens, their parents (including a District Attorney), a police officer (Ben Stiller), an anthropological student (Claudia Schiffer), studio owners, lawyers, a teacher (Jared Leto), and two documentary filmmakers (Brooke Shields and Robert Downey Jr.). Put concisely, I feel Toback's assertion that Black people as a whole can be defined by solely "hip-hop" culture is just plain silly, and incredibly stereotypical. #2) Hip-hop, while it has roots in African-American tradition, is no longer the "Black" artform or culture that it once was. Like Jazz and Rock'n'Roll music before it, people of all races (Def Jam Germany anyone?) are currently participating and excelling in their study, appreciation, and performance of hip-hop. A more accurate description of hip-hop music now would be to call it a "youth culture" music. The fact that some White youths tend to look outside their "culture" for a sense of identity is nothing new, and is definitely not limited to just "hip-hop" culture. Sociologically speaking, some segments of White culture have always been fascinated with the idea of appropriating aspects of foreign cultures (both domestic and international) for their own uses - from Madonna's late '90s fascination with Eastern religions, to Paul Simon's Graceland album. Really, this is nothing new. I think the conflicts (and shocking sex scenes) in this film will only help to crystallize racial divisions in our society. There are no solutions proposed, let alone explored. The only redeeming performance in this whole film was Robert Downey Jr -- he never seemed to take himself too seriously, and this worked brilliantly well considering the pathetic context of this film. C.H.R.
Rating: 
Summary: A great cast but Toback could have done better!
Review: Black and White initially has the potential to be a great movie -the cast is stunning, but the story itself is a real disapointment. It follows a group of teens who act and want to be black and a couple who are making a film about them. There are other small stories going on as well but even they can't save the movie. I think if Toback had used a better story this would have been a success. But all we have is a great cast and really great characters who are wasted on the story. There are some good performances from Robert Downey Jr, Bijou Phillips and Brooke Sheilds. I think Toback is similar to Larry Clark (director of Bully and Kids) in the sense that he shows reality as it is. There is an opening scene of a three-some in the park and the scenes on the streets of New York are shown with as much reality as possible. Maybe if Toback concentrated more on the story than the cast - he could have made a real thought provoking and entertaining movie.
But hey it is watchable and if you like the cast then you will find Black and White okay for a boring saturday night.
Rating:
Summary: A slept on film
Review: Black and White is a true unique social film that explores the effect of hip hop of white rich kids, sports corruption and dirty cops. The film has a great cast with a great perfomance from Bjiou Philpps as a white girl who's a sex toy to Power. You really have to see the film to fully understand it.
Rating:
Summary: BLACK and WHITE
Review: During most of the scenes in Black and White I was mixed, laughing, and above all shocked. But that's good though. It gave me plenty of room to think. The story line was really profound and interesting. I believe that the best thing about Black and White is its dialogue. Now, the acting was really terrific too. I was really impressed by every cast member's preformance. In conclusion, Black and White is NOT for everyone. I highly recommend this movie to those who enjoy John Singleton's films. Even though this film is not guaranteed to satisfy it is still thought provoking.
Rating:
Summary: A Waste of Celluloid
Review: I bought this movie; I watched this movie; I threw this movie away.
If you like films that cram in as many famous faces as possible, you may enjoy this one. I didn't; a celebrity does not necessarily translate into a good actor/actress by any means (e.g. Claudia Schiffer, whose performance in this film is laughable at best). There's no real structure or plot that unites this film; it's merely a haphazard collection of scenes that, ultimately, fade out into a pathetic ending, a forced conclusion most likely caused by exceeding the film's budget from all the cameos and little else. It's not a realistic look at the issue of hip-hop influence on culture, but rather a manifestation of every stereotype possible about the lifestyle, packed into 90 minutes of poor acting, bad direction, and frivolous dialogue... an utter waste of film if you ask me.
Rating:
Summary: Absolute garbage!
Review: I can pretty much say that I hated Black & White. Just what is this movie trying to accomplish? Here we have hip-hop artists WITH MAIN ROLES who've incoherently mumbled throughout the entire movie. Then there is the all-star cast that did the best that they could with their halfassed roles. Finally, we've got the various subplots that ran together to form a zestless and witless version of "Pulp Fiction". This all results in a mess of a film that I knew would only be praised by a bunch of "deep thinkers" as insightful art. Want to see a good movie about race relations in young America? Rent "Zebrahead" and forget this drivel!
Rating:
Summary: Demeaning, dirty sex scene.
Review: I enjoyed the demeaning and dirty sex scene at the beginning of this film. My god, imagine if Kurosawa had introduced one of his movies with two gangsters getting their kicks in the middle of central park from two "wigged-out" white girls. Man, and they call Kurosawa a master. Apparently the great works of James Toback have gone completely unnoticed by the filmgoing community. It's a shame really. Here's to more "wigged-out white girl-on girl in front of gangsters in a park" action. Ahhh, now off to film school with me so I can mimic the greats.
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