Rating: 
Summary: Too Tense
Review: It was painful for me to sit through this movie. I really didn't know what to expect I knew the movie was full of talented actors and gave it a chance.Brooke Shields plays a documentary filmmaker and Robert Downey Jr. plays her gay husband. This dynamic was clever as these types of relationships do exist in society. It was refreshing to see it portrayed on the big screen. Shields performance was the better of the two, although it was lost on this movie. There are many stories weaving through this screenplay, many to do with race or sexual relations. However, it was not as tight as it could have been and I lost interest, and got lost along the way. I have to admit, throughout my life I have seen many white teenagers emulating the Hip-Hop culture. I never had a problem with it as I am on the flip side of that coin. However, this movie was just to annoying in bringing this to light. Bijou Philips performance as one of the white teens was the most irritating. I believe if they had a different actress playing it, it might have went over better. Elijah Wood plays her boyfriend who is rather timid and a bit too understanding and at times I wish he would have just popped her one...but there was already enough violence in this film, though not nearly as much as other movies. The contrast between the race relations just confused me here. At some points they seemed to 'tolerate' one another and at other times they were beyond hostile. I could have also done without the tonsil hockey between Shields and Woods at the end. OK we get it, they hook up, do we have to watch two minutes of them slobbing each other down? I feel it was a nice attempt at showing this side of life, but it fell short of entertaining. Growing up in and around this culture this movie seemed to tense for reality.
Rating: 
Summary: A unique examination of race relations
Review: It's the rare film that takes such an ambitious view of race relations. I've always been a fan of James Toback's work, and the themes he's chosen to explore really are condusive to his skills as a director. His writing is sharp, if a bit messy at times, and his hand with actors is sure. This is one film where things are not as simple as, well, black and white. The world Toback illustrates is one where races prey off one another, in a synergistic relationship that he argues might be necessary for survival. A very worthwhile film.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but not brilliant
Review: Just watched Black & White and I gotta say, 1st of all that it was worth watching but it couldn't really make it's mind up what type of a movie it was. There's some big names in there and a weird mix of actors which they could of made better use of. The storyline was all over the place and this pi**ed me off. Apart from that, it was o.k.
Rating: 
Summary: Black and White? Nothing but tripe...
Review: My God! My eyes are open! I finally see through the lies of the media! Thank you, Toback! Now I know that all black culture is little more than rap, drugs, murder and basketball! How unenlightened I've been! I now see that the white upperclass of America really is falling prey to the hiphop culture of the street!
What? This isn't true? REALLY? Well, you wouldn't know from Black and White, a by-the-numbers "tell-it-like-it-is" of the true state of the American way of life. Every stereotype of Griffith's Birth of a Nation is present, albeit from a differing angle. I guess this is why so much indie culture comes out of the midwest (the whitest of whitebread); they can say these things in their craft, and everyone here is duped by the result. I grew up in the South, where people of color actually live in large numbers. Not only did I KNOW a black guy, not only did I have black friends, but actually, I lived in (gasp!) a black neighborhood! I sat in classrooms which were...predominantly black! However, after coming to the midwest and teaching four years in the university here, I have had one, ONE black student.
This can be the only reason that Black and White is actually highly regarded. This movie is Tripe (with a capitol T). Oh and one more thing: white critics of America, stop falling for this "commentary" on racial relations in America. Maybe then, we can get something with a LITTLE realism!
Rating: 
Summary: WHAT! MEDICATION! WHAT MOVIE DID YOU WATCH??
Review: Ok, this movie was wierd and it was like a kid with ADD who skipped his medication just to spite himself. I liked Ben Stiller, but what in the...the...can I call it a story line??? I'm sure I couldn't do better myself, as I have skipped my medication for years( if I had meds) but I guess the one good thing that came of this movie was the Kissing climax with Brooke Shields and the 18 year old fly boy, Lij. Good job, and the song they played at the end was cool, but in general I think rap (which is a story theme) is too redundant except for old school Beasty Boys...am I dating myself? Sorry, I hope teenage girls don't get any ideas...stay away from Central Park, Ladies!!!
Rating:
Summary: What The....
Review: Ok, this movie was wierd and it was like a kid with ADD who skipped his medication just to spite himself. I liked Ben Stiller, but what in the...the...can I call it a story line??? I'm sure I couldn't do better myself, as I have skipped my medication for years( if I had meds) but I guess the one good thing that came of this movie was the Kissing climax with Brooke Shields and the 18 year old fly boy, Lij. Good job, and the song they played at the end was cool, but in general I think rap (which is a story theme) is too redundant except for old school Beasty Boys...am I dating myself? Sorry, I hope teenage girls don't get any ideas...stay away from Central Park, Ladies!!!
Rating:
Summary: BLACK & WHITE IS ENLIGHTENING
Review: One of the few enlightening films I've ever seen, BLACK AND WHITE taught me about another kind of culture and society. Something I've never taken the time to care about enough to look into is thrown at me with a real interesting streak to it. Maybe it's because it has a definative white feel or maybe I liked the white characters. This film teaches us, "We're not as different as we think".
Rating:
Summary: Watchable film.
Review: Race, class & Sexual boundaires blur in this voyeuristic tour of modern manhattan in which privileged white kids & reinvent themselves as gangstas and African american thugs morph into recording artists. The problem with the plot, it`s starts out as a fascination between the White culture & Black culture and then at the last half hour turns into an weak cop thriller. The film helps by a good cast. Well directed and written by James Toback (Two girls & a guy). Super 35. Grade:B.
Rating:
Summary: Watchable film.
Review: race, class & sexual boundaires blur in this voyeuristic tour of modern manhattan in which privileged white kids & reinvent themselves as gangstas and African american thugs morph into recording artists. The problem with the plot, it`s starts out as a fascination between the White culture & Black culture and then at the last half hour turns into an weak cop thriller. The film helps by a good cast. Well directed by James Toback(Two girls & a guy). Super 35. Grade:B.
Rating:
Summary: Not to be Taken Seriously!!
Review: Silly movie, that starts off focusing on Bijou Phillips' fascination with African American culture, especially the teenage hip hop phenomenon. Her parents are perplexed by her sudden change in attitude and behavior. Opening scene starts off with Phillips engaged in a menage-trois with Rich,(Power Grant)in the heart of Central Park. Rich, could be the confirmed main character if this convoluted story made any sense. Since it doesn't we are forced to make sense of this foolish movie. Phillips, who's silly rebellious nature allows her to "mix it up" with her fellow renegade "wiggers" and attempts to ingest the most out of "black life". The story starts out with good intentions, but ultimately takes a twist focusing on murder, point shaving, corruption, and you could include a love story. This movie could have received three stars if the following actors were not included; Claudia Schiffer, Alan Houston and Ben Stiller. Schiffer and Houston can be excused since they are not full time actors. But, Stiller has no explanation for being involved in such a project. An actor with such a solid body of work, shouldn't sell himself so cheap in this movie playing a detective/con-man. After seeing the movie I still don't really know what the Stiller character was. Robert Downey Jr. is excellent as always as Brooke Shields's homosexual husband. Mike Tyson, has a short speaking role in this movie, and a scene involving the troubled boxer and equally troubled actor is "hilarious". But besides these small funny moments, this movie is an awful depiction of a growing craze. During the movie, Power asks. ...."What do you think these people want from us"? He should have known....."A DECENT SCRIPT!!!!
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