Be Kind Rewind | 
 enlarge | Director: Michel Gondry
Actors: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow, Melonie Diaz
Studio: New Line Cinema
Category: Movie
Buy New: $3.99
Rating:  80 reviews
Sales Rank: 2226
Genre: Comedy
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: Video On Demand
Running Time: 101 Minutes
ASIN: B001B6PBLU
Theatrical Release Date: February 22, 2008
Release Date: October 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Synopsis:
Jack Black and Mos Def star in Be Kind Rewind, a unique comedy from Academy Award-winning writer/director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). Black stars as a loveable loser stuck in a life that's too small for his big dreams. But when he unintentionally erases all the tapes in a video store where his best friend works, he devises a plan to satisfy the store's few loyal customers by re-creating and re-filming every movie they decide to rent. |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 75 more reviews...
 Lovable indie film celebrates innovation, artistic freedom, and the neighborhood November 16, 2008
Scott Schiefelbein (Portland, Oregon United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Michel Gondry ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"} wrote and directed this little slice of indie-film magic, starring Mos Def, Jack Black, and Danny Glover (among others). A mere plot summary does not do justice to the quirky charm that makes this movie so darn fun - it has to be experienced.
But this is a review, so here goes nothing. Elroy Fletcher (Glover) runs a run-down video store on a run-down block of run-down Passaic, New Jersey. (OK - that last bit is redundant.) He goes on a scouting mission to modernize his store, leaving Mike (Def) in charge, with one basic rule: don't let Jerry (Black) in the store. Mike can't figure out the message at first, but he already kinda knows that Jerry never had screws in the first place, much less screws that are loose.
Jerry still manages to get into the store after having magnetized himself in a raid on a local power plant. The details of this "raid" shouldn't be spoiled, but I will say that it involves the most brilliant set of urban camouflage ever used. Jerry demagnetizes all the tapes, and in order to keep their few customers happy, Jerry and Mike begin filming their own versions of "Driving Miss Daisy," "King Kong," "Rush Hour 2," etc. The movies are marketed as special versions that have been "Sweded," and the customers go bonkers for them.
So what was first a bizarre character study gradually evolves into a paean to the magic of the movies. The movies help us create our own little truth, even though every movie involves a thousand lies. Who cares if a certain musician wasn't born in Passaic? If there's a movie about the musician and it says he's from Passaic, that's all that matters.
All the actors play their parts marvelously, with a lot of charm. Even Black, who has enough zany energy to overwhelm a movie like this, works well within the ensemble. I love Jack Black, but a lot of his movies ("School of Rock") work because the other actors get out of his way. Here, the other actors work in balance with Black and the result is a movie that stars Jack Black but isn't a "Jack Black movie."
Innovative camera work and a touching script make "Be Kind Rewind" one of the best feel-good movies from the last year, and over time this movie could evolve, a la "Shawshank Redemption," into a modern classic. I only give it four stars now because I think it might even be better on repeated viewings, at which time I will amend this review. Watch this movie.
 A surprise film October 21, 2008
Robert A. Reid III (Dublin, CA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I saw this film in the theater on a whim and was simply amazed. While the film functions quite well as a simple comedy, scholars of film will see many homages to older films and directors. Be Kind, Rewind is a cinematic celebration of the magic of cinema and will be enjoyed by any film fan. If you love film see this movie.
 Okay movie, but beware the Hollywood Propaganda October 14, 2008
Thomas M. Sipos (Santa Monica, CA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is an entertaining, albeit overlong, film. And nowhere near the classic that was Jack Black's previous NACHO LIBRE.
Others have reviewed the plot, so I'll focus on a bit of Big Studio Hollywood propaganda in this film.
The characters in BE KIND, REWIND "reenact" studio films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Ghostbusters. Then studio lawyers come and bust them for "copyright infringement."
The end credits even say: "Reenactment Rights copyright and licesed from Ghostbusters, etc."
HUH? "Reenactment rights"? The characters in this film were in effect creating PARODIES. Parodies are protected by Fair Use. What these characters did was perfectly legal; no permission needed from the Big Studios.
Thus, the film lied on that point. The Big Studio lawyer characters should have been proven wrong in the film. But Big Studios don't want to release films that inform viewers about their legal rights to create parodies.
BE KIND, REWIND is still entertaining, though it could have been funnier. It felt long. But I liked the cast, and it had heart. It was also nice to see it filmed in Passaic NJ, not a town that's been much filmed.
Too bad the Big Studio lawyer characters weren't shown to be legally wrong.
Be Kind Rewind - Blu-ray Info October 14, 2008
LGANS316 (Tokyo Japan)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Version: U.S.A / Region A
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
VC-1 BD-25
Average video bit rate: 16.00 Mbps
Running time: 1:41:43 (h:m:s)
Movie size: 16,81 GB
Disc size: 23,06 GB
DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 English
Subtitles: English SDH / Spanish
#The Making of Be Kind Rewind (SD - 33 minutes)
#Booker T and The Michel Gondry (SD - 7 minutes)
#A Conversation with Jack Black and Michel Gondry (SD - 6 minutes)
#Fats Waller Short Film (SD - 12 minutes)
#A Tribute to Fats Waller: LIVE! (SD - 6 minutes)
#Jack Black and Mos Def Improvise Songs (SD - 5 minutes)
#Fats Waller Short Film (SD - 12 minutes)
different from what i thought it would be September 27, 2008
B. Wigginton (ri, usa)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
the trailer makes this movie look like a jake black free for all comedy. i am not a big fan of j. black but i was looking for a stupid movie to enjoy while a little drunk. i really enjoy mos def's character in 16 blocks so i was happy to see him in something different. my problem with this movie is that its actually a warm felt movie with a different plot and very moving performances. it was a good movie just different from what the trailer looks like
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