B&W Reviews - Sobriety Test Movie Reviews

The 2013 Movie Bucket List and Wasted Movies List are up! Check them out to see the best and worst of the year!

REVIEW: Sherlock Jr. Delivers Silent Laughter

Posted by Zach Davis on Thursday, November 15, 2012 In : 0.00% Water

Sherlock Jr.
Zach Davis

Directed by: Buster Keaton

Starring: Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Ward Crane, Erwin Connelly, and Joe Keaton

Buster Keaton is definitely known for his amazing vaudeville routine, but his real calling card should be his innovation as a director. In his film Sherlock Jr., Keaton employs many techniques that were new at the time. For example, Keaton’s character appears to walk down the aisle in the movie house and climb right into the movie being played. Beyond th...

REVIEW: The Informer Doesn’t Keep It a Secret. This is a Great Movie

Posted by Zach Davis on Tuesday, September 18, 2012 In : 0.00% Water

The Informer
Zach Davis

Directed By: John Ford

Starring: Victor McLaglen, Heather Angel, Preston Foster, Margot Grahame, Wallace Ford, and Una O’Connor

The Informer marked the first of four Oscars for John Ford, the most won by any director. There is a very interesting flow to the movie. As talkies had only been around for a little less than a decade, sound techniques had not quite been standardized when this movie came out in 1935. When the film starts, it actually resembles a silent fi...

REVIEW: A Masterpiece Ending Could Not Alleviate the Plague of Boredom Brought on by The Third Man

Posted by Zach Davis on Wednesday, August 29, 2012 In : 0.09% Cocktails

The Third Man
Zach Davis

Directed by: Carol Reed

Starring: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, Bernard Lee

I have never before been so bored by a movie, then in an instant, thrown to the edge of my seat—an experience I’ll relate to a rollercoaster. Unfortunately for The Third Man most of the movie isn't even on the rollercoaster. It's standing in line waiting to get on the ride. As dazzling a finale as it employs, it’s just too boring to even think of sitting through...
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REVIEW: Saboteur is Not Hitchcock’s A-Game

Posted by Zach Davis on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 In : 0.09% Cocktails

Saboteur
Zach Davis

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

Starring: Robert Cummings, Pricilla Lane, Otto Kruger, and Norman Lloyd

Saboteur is a down note in the career of one of Hollywood’s greatest directors—the legendary Alfred Hitchcock. Offering little in content and spectacle, Saboteur ends up just being one big stinker of a movie. This film was shot between two other Hitchcock classics, Suspicion and Shadow of a Doubt. This might explain why his focus just wasn’t there on this project.

Barr...
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REVIEW: It Happened One Night Sparked the Dawn of the Screwball Comedy

Posted by Zach Davis on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 In : 0.00% Water

It Happened One Night
Zach Davis

Directed by: Frank Capra

Starring: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns, and Jameson Thomas

In 1935, It Happened One Night became the first film to win all five major Academy Awards: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Writing, and Best Picture. This film has long been regarded as one of the best romantic comedies of all time, earning the number three spot on the American Film Institute’s top ten list for the genre.

The film be...
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REVIEW: Topper is Almost a Classic

Posted by Zach Davis on Sunday, January 29, 2012 In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Topper
Zach Davis

Directed by: Norman Z. McLeod

Starring: Cary Grant, Constance Bennett, Roland Young, Billie Burke, and Hedda Hopper

Topper was made in the era of the screwball comedy, and it was a prime example that comedies as a medium had staying power in the film industry. The success of Topper led to two sequels, Topper Takes a Trip and Topper Returns. The story also was transcribed to television as a series in 1953.

Topper has the glitz and excess of a by-gone era. A wealthy and madcap ...
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REVIEW: Miracle on 34th Street is a Holiday Classic

Posted by Zach Davis on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Miracle on 34th Street
Zach Davis

Directed by: George Seaton

Starring: Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood, Edmund Gwenn, Porter Hall, and Gene Lockhart

Miracle on 34th Street earned George Seaton the Oscar for best screenplay in 1948. It was the first of two Academy Awards for Seaton; he would take home the best screenplay award again in 1955 for The Country Girl. Seaton was also the voice of the Lone Ranger on old radio broadcasts in the early 30’s. He then teamed up with MGM to wri...
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REVIEW: One Might Want To Be a Little Pixilated When Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

Posted by Zach Davis on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Zach Davis

Directed by: Frank Capra

Starring: Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, George Bancroft, Lionel Stander, Douglass Dumbrille, and Raymond Walburn

Frank Capra was known as the name above the title because he was the first director to earn fame such that his name was displayed on the marquee. This was no accident either as he put out many early classic movies such as It Happened One Night, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and It’s a Wonderful Life. Most of Capra’s films tak...
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