Once the days of color movies were well established, a few directors returned to black and white - either for effect, or sometimes even cost. This list is a summary of the best work produced in black and white in modern times. By modern I mean movies that were made using black and white for effect even though color was the most common film format. Films that use splashes of color are allowed, but films which use a lot of full frame color are not (this excludes Pleasantville and American History X). Many thanks to Blogball for suggesting this topic in the forums. NOTE: This list includes only one film per director - for that reason you may find one or two you love missing.

Down By Law is an independent film which tells the story of the arrest, incarceration, and escape of three men from prison. Slow moving camera work captures the environment in which they find themselves (New Orleans and the Bayous) beautifully. The film focuses on the inter-relationships between the men, as opposed to the standard jail type films which tend to focus on the mechanics of the escape. A nice bonus for this movie is that it stars singer-songwriter Tom Waits.

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Everyone loves a good shootout - and some of the greatest directors around have filmed some stunning ones. This list comprises the best of the best - the shootouts that really get the adrenaline pumping.

The creators of this bloody cult favorite set out to create a unique gunfight sequence in an otherwise well-worn genre. The violence is taken out of the usual urban context and set in an eerily familiar suburban neighborhood. And how many gunfights involve a cigar-chewing, scripture-spouting Billy Connolly (yes, that Billy Connolly) as a grizzled hitman?

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Every now and then, certain movie characters (and the actors that played them) come along and capture the heart and imagination of millions of viewers worldwide. Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker; Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa; Mel Gibson as William Wallace, along with many others, have changed everything we think about movie characters. These characters have been emotionally imprinted upon the Hollywood landscape, inspiring thousands of writers, directors, and actors to contribute to the entertainment industry with excitement, passion, and vigor. This list, however, has nothing to do with such impactful characters.

This list is about the characters that we all hate. Characters that bring nothing more than noise and distraction to the movie screen. Characters that try their best to drown out the performances of the other actors on screen, selfishly upstaging the film with their annoying banter and garrulous eccentricities. Characters that, when they appear on the screen, make you want to stuff Sour Patch Kids into your eyes and ears.

Just a side note: These are mostly sidekicks from action/adventure movies, with a couple of exceptions. I could easily make a list of 100 annoying characters from comedies or dramas, but comedy is usually something of a subjective market. So I decided to pick annoying sidekicks from seemingly serious and epic movies, because they just drain the life right out of the scene when they appear. Enjoy.

I included Bubba on this list for only a couple of reasons. I recognize that Bubba from Forrest Gump is a pretty popular character from a very popular movie. But I feel that his speech impediment, his uninspiring speeches, and his lead in the endless “shrimp” scene, warranted his inclusion in a list of annoying movie characters. Most of the scenes involving Bubba are usually dominated by Tom Hanks’ Forrest Gump character anyway, leaving the viewer wondering why we really needed another slow, confused, southerner with a speech impediment.

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The Devil has been playing with our minds for centuries. No matter what you call him, The Prince of Darkness, Lucifer, Old Scratch, Beelzebub, Mephistopheles…The Devil has been deeply rooted in our psyches since childhood. Modern conceptions of the Devil include the concept that it symbolizes humans’ own lower nature or sinfulness. From Dante’s Inferno to Goethe’s Faust, the Devil is a firm character in the literature, religion and culture in almost every society on Earth.

He spans every genre, comedy, satire, and drama and is a great foil for any hero or anti hero. Now in the age of visual media, the Devil still hasn’t lost his charm. Here is a list of the Top 10 depictions of the Devil in Television and the Movies.

Silly movie, WONDERFUL devil! You’ve got to love female Satans. She offers Brendan Fraser’s character wishes so that he can land the girl of his dreams. But this is Satan we’re dealing with, she traps and tricks him as we would expect nothing less from the Prince, or Princess of lies.

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