My family liked it ...!
Added 1/17/2010
Myself, my wife, my 14-year-old son and 11-year old daughter all liked this movie. (A rare event these days! :-D)
My thoughts ...
-- Danny Glover and Mos Def were wonderful. I get hot and cold on Jack Black, and mostly he left me cold in this movie (although, surprisingly, he warmed up in the "making of" documentary that was included on the DVD. Perhaps he should've been more himself in the movie.)
-- It was also fun to see Mia Farrow as a crazy neighbor lady. And with the lampooning of "Ghost Busters", the tongue-in-cheek casting of Sigourney Weaver as a corporate lawyer was perfect!
-- Casting aside, I thought the pacing of this movie was a bit uneven. The trailer presents it as a straight-forward comedy, but it is far more than that. The connections, relationships and community in this movie were sweet to watch.
-- There were one or two gross scenes (Magnetic body fluids? Seriously?) that could have been left out.
-- Being a jazz fan, the whole Fats Waller thread was fun to watch as well.
Not the best movie in the world, but a sweet movie. That, and the fact that my family all liked it, counts for something.
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Be Kind Rewind
Added 12/30/2009
When Elroy Fletcher(Danny Glover), owner of Be Kind Rewind video rental store, goes out of town he leaves Mike (Mos Def) in charge with one rule: Keep Jerry (Jack Black) Out! But when Jerry becomes magnetized trying to sabotage the local electric plant he makes his way into the video store and erases all the video tapes in the store. Finding that none of the local video stores carry video tapes having switched to the more popular DVD, and with customers threatening to call Elroy, Mike and Jerry take matters into their own hands and start recording their own versions of popular movies. Claiming that the versions are imported versions of films from Sweden, their "Sweded" films become popular amongst the citizens of Passaic, New Jersey.
French director Michel Gondry is a very unique director, taking a look at his 2004 masterpiece Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and you can see that this isn't your average director. Having amassed a body of work that doesn't just stop at film (he played the drums on Kanye West's Diamonds From Sierra Leone) Michel Gondry has become something of an underground sensation. He created effects that would eventually be used in high profile films such as The Matrix, and was the first to use morphing technics in a video clip. Put him together with rap phenom, as well as Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor Mos Def and rock star/ comedian Jack Black and what do you get?...
A great and heartfelt movie that's a love letter to film, an ode to the classic DIY spirit, and a reminder of the importance of history and the ability to change it and make it our own. Written by Michel Gondry based on an idea he got from directing Dave Chappelle's Bloc Party, Be Kind Rewind is a movie that mixes heart with comedy in a fashion that never seems schmaltzy and is very original. And the atmosphere of the movie is infectious, as the duo begin inviting others to help in making the "Sweded" videos you feel drawn in as if you're part of the process. This movie has also sparked something of a revolution, look up Sweded on Youtube and you can find other people Sweded versions of movie and movie trailers.
With actors like Danny Glover and Jack Black you expect a mixture of good acting and well played out comedy in this movie, and in casting Mos Def and Jack Black the casting directors definitely made the right choice. Jack Black is of course Jack Black, which doesn't always work in every role he plays, but here he understates slightly, dialing down his tendencies to overact on occasion. Mos Def, as always, proves masterful playing the straight man to Jack Black's crazy, perfectly filling out the bromance. Of course, you can never count out Danny Glover who is the most tortured soul in the movie as a man set in his ways realizing that he has to change with the times if he wants to keep his business, and he greatly excels at making you feel and understand the emotions of the character.
If the movie fails in one thing, it's at the very beginning. The set up for the grand scheme of the plot is not very well thought out, and a little awkwardly executed. While on paper the idea of Jack Black's character becoming magnetized and demagnetizing every movie in a video store looks great on paper (and does make for a few hilariously great slapstick moments), the execution of him becoming magnetized is even a little too quirky for this quirky comedy and throws off the pacing for a few moments near the early parts of the movie. Gondry quickly gets back on track though, but at the same time the movie feels a little cramped with everything he's trying to throw at you. The movie is filled with a lot of great ideas, and at times it can feel a little cramped with everything that's been put in there.
All in all, I would highly recommend the movie, and this is definitely a movie that takes more than one viewing to fully appreciate it. At a time when everything being cranked out of Hollywood is either a remake, adaptation, or a sequel this ode to originality is definitely a breath of fresh air.
4/5
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Gung-ho comedies
Added 12/27/2009
Elroy (Danny Glover) temporarily entrusts his rundown New Jersey VHS video store into the hands of Mike (Mos Def), whose pal, Jerry (Jack Black), unintentionally brings the business into near complete disarray. Together, Mike and Jerry - with the eventual help of enthusiastic VHS devotees among locals -, they find a way to make good, irresistibly so that the audience willingly suspends disbelief. In writer-director Michel Gondry's 'Be Kind Rewind' lives the best tradition of American movies about the never-say-die spirit of pride, identity and comradery. It matters not that issues such as the threatened enforcement of city ordinances are not fully resolved. Excellent cast: Mos Def is (perish the thought) endearing; Glover provides solid grounding to the tale; Jack Black greatly redeems himself from recent career misjudgments, with Mia Farrow and Sigourney Weaver making great cameos. A top-flight comedy from director Gondry.
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Loved It!
Added 8/16/2009
This movie is fun and inspiring and one I've watched several times. Watching the 'sweded' movies within the movie is the real treat in repeat viewings and makes you think every Hollywood movie should be sweded rather than made on big budgets. If you liked Science of Sleep than this is another inventive Gondry film.
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Ok, Silly and Disappointing for A Jack Black Comedy!
Added 8/16/2009
I finally bought this movie after waiting forever for it to come on cable. I've wanted to see it since it came out and I finally got the chance. Now I don't know why the heck I was rushing!
I feel the movie trailer cheats people. It makes you think this movie is hilarious when it's only funny in "some" spots and those spots aren't that great. I expected drop dead, nonstop laughter after seeing the ads for this movie. What I got was a chopped up script, goofy acting and straight silliness. I expected a lot more from a Jack Black comedy.
The main thing that got to me was how unrealistic it was. And I'm not talking about the "sweded" movies. I'm talking about the fact that it is 2008 and people are still renting VHS tapes?!!!! Come on! Who is still renting VHS tapes in this day and age? That's why this film was ridiculous. Who only rents VHS now? Do they still make movies in VHS anyway? Please! I know this was just so they could have a way for the movies to be erased but this is something I could not get over. I especially couldn't get over it where Craig and his crew was concerned. Do you think these young, modern guys would be renting video tapes? I don't know if that was an inside joke or what but that's the main question going through my head.
There were too many things unexplained. How did they get the money for remaking all these movies? When Mike and Jerry first begin this caper, they worked with what they had. As they begin to make more movies, they start having props, costumes and hiring people to be in the film. With what money? Also, wouldn't Mr. Fletcher had heard that this was happening in his video store even if he were out of town? I think two idiots making films over would have been national news, seeing how they did copyright infringement, etc.
I don't know why Jack Black was in this film. I couldn't tell if it were independent or low budget after a while. I surely didn't understand why Mia Farrow, Danny Glover and Sigourney Weaver would even fart anywhere near this movie unless they were paid millions.
This is the most disappointing movie I've seen in a while. Maybe my hopes were too high and maybe I relied on the trailer too much. It's not terrible but it sure as heck isn't great and the funniest parts are the shortest. I also think they could have picked more interesting movies for the characters to create and the film would have been funnier. It's funny when the Ghostbusters and Rush Hour 2 segments are created but after that, Be Kind Rewind goes downhill fast.
I really don't know whether to recommend it or not. It's your call.
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My family liked it ...!
Added 1/17/2010
Myself, my wife, my 14-year-old son and 11-year old daughter all liked this movie. (A rare event these days! :-D)
My thoughts ...
-- Danny Glover and Mos Def were wonderful. I get hot and cold on Jack Black, and mostly he left me cold in this movie (although, surprisingly, he warmed up in the "making of" documentary that was included on the DVD. Perhaps he should've been more himself in the movie.)
-- It was also fun to see Mia Farrow as a crazy neighbor lady. And with the lampooning of "Ghost Busters", the tongue-in-cheek casting of Sigourney Weaver as a corporate lawyer was perfect!
-- Casting aside, I thought the pacing of this movie was a bit uneven. The trailer presents it as a straight-forward comedy, but it is far more than that. The connections, relationships and community in this movie were sweet to watch.
-- There were one or two gross scenes (Magnetic body fluids? Seriously?) that could have been left out.
-- Being a jazz fan, the whole Fats Waller thread was fun to watch as well.
Not the best movie in the world, but a sweet movie. That, and the fact that my family all liked it, counts for something.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Be Kind Rewind
Added 12/30/2009
When Elroy Fletcher(Danny Glover), owner of Be Kind Rewind video rental store, goes out of town he leaves Mike (Mos Def) in charge with one rule: Keep Jerry (Jack Black) Out! But when Jerry becomes magnetized trying to sabotage the local electric plant he makes his way into the video store and erases all the video tapes in the store. Finding that none of the local video stores carry video tapes having switched to the more popular DVD, and with customers threatening to call Elroy, Mike and Jerry take matters into their own hands and start recording their own versions of popular movies. Claiming that the versions are imported versions of films from Sweden, their "Sweded" films become popular amongst the citizens of Passaic, New Jersey.
French director Michel Gondry is a very unique director, taking a look at his 2004 masterpiece Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and you can see that this isn't your average director. Having amassed a body of work that doesn't just stop at film (he played the drums on Kanye West's Diamonds From Sierra Leone) Michel Gondry has become something of an underground sensation. He created effects that would eventually be used in high profile films such as The Matrix, and was the first to use morphing technics in a video clip. Put him together with rap phenom, as well as Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor Mos Def and rock star/ comedian Jack Black and what do you get?...
A great and heartfelt movie that's a love letter to film, an ode to the classic DIY spirit, and a reminder of the importance of history and the ability to change it and make it our own. Written by Michel Gondry based on an idea he got from directing Dave Chappelle's Bloc Party, Be Kind Rewind is a movie that mixes heart with comedy in a fashion that never seems schmaltzy and is very original. And the atmosphere of the movie is infectious, as the duo begin inviting others to help in making the "Sweded" videos you feel drawn in as if you're part of the process. This movie has also sparked something of a revolution, look up Sweded on Youtube and you can find other people Sweded versions of movie and movie trailers.
With actors like Danny Glover and Jack Black you expect a mixture of good acting and well played out comedy in this movie, and in casting Mos Def and Jack Black the casting directors definitely made the right choice. Jack Black is of course Jack Black, which doesn't always work in every role he plays, but here he understates slightly, dialing down his tendencies to overact on occasion. Mos Def, as always, proves masterful playing the straight man to Jack Black's crazy, perfectly filling out the bromance. Of course, you can never count out Danny Glover who is the most tortured soul in the movie as a man set in his ways realizing that he has to change with the times if he wants to keep his business, and he greatly excels at making you feel and understand the emotions of the character.
If the movie fails in one thing, it's at the very beginning. The set up for the grand scheme of the plot is not very well thought out, and a little awkwardly executed. While on paper the idea of Jack Black's character becoming magnetized and demagnetizing every movie in a video store looks great on paper (and does make for a few hilariously great slapstick moments), the execution of him becoming magnetized is even a little too quirky for this quirky comedy and throws off the pacing for a few moments near the early parts of the movie. Gondry quickly gets back on track though, but at the same time the movie feels a little cramped with everything he's trying to throw at you. The movie is filled with a lot of great ideas, and at times it can feel a little cramped with everything that's been put in there.
All in all, I would highly recommend the movie, and this is definitely a movie that takes more than one viewing to fully appreciate it. At a time when everything being cranked out of Hollywood is either a remake, adaptation, or a sequel this ode to originality is definitely a breath of fresh air.
4/5
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Gung-ho comedies
Added 12/27/2009
Elroy (Danny Glover) temporarily entrusts his rundown New Jersey VHS video store into the hands of Mike (Mos Def), whose pal, Jerry (Jack Black), unintentionally brings the business into near complete disarray. Together, Mike and Jerry - with the eventual help of enthusiastic VHS devotees among locals -, they find a way to make good, irresistibly so that the audience willingly suspends disbelief. In writer-director Michel Gondry's 'Be Kind Rewind' lives the best tradition of American movies about the never-say-die spirit of pride, identity and comradery. It matters not that issues such as the threatened enforcement of city ordinances are not fully resolved. Excellent cast: Mos Def is (perish the thought) endearing; Glover provides solid grounding to the tale; Jack Black greatly redeems himself from recent career misjudgments, with Mia Farrow and Sigourney Weaver making great cameos. A top-flight comedy from director Gondry.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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