Be Kind Rewind

A peculiar comedy, which starts surprisingly slowly, but hilariously transitions into the crazy genre with a magnetized eccentric, and concludes everything with an original variation on Cinema Paradiso. I will never see such a combination in my life again, but credit is definitely due to The Parent Trap, RoboCop, or Carrie. The film doesn't hold together at all, but it doesn't spare smiles or nostalgia. (10/21/2008)

The idea is incredibly simple, yet almost genius. Jack Black plays a weirdo who, after getting a strong electric shock, accidentally erases all the movies in his friend's video rental store. However, the customers still want to watch movies. So, the duo comes up with the idea to re-film them, but with themselves playing all the characters and adjusting the plot to their own liking. The unbelievable becomes real, and the rental store is more successful than ever before. But of course, it's not just a simple trick. The humor is quite pleasant and delightful, nothing vulgar, which is something one is used to with Black. In the main role, it's mostly Mos Def, and Black is essentially his partner. Mos Def once again shows that he is a great actor and definitely did not make a mistake by adding acting to his rap career. His role in the last season of the TV series "Dexter" fully proves that. "Be Kind Rewind" is not a big film, it doesn't try to be a big film, even though it deals with some more significant issues. It is a film for people, enthusiasts, and movie lovers. It belongs to all of us, and we should enjoy it. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/07/prosime-pretocte-fimfarum-1-2-zivot.html (02/21/2013)

It's a pity about the sometimes clumsy and heavy-handed humour, because otherwise this fourth film confirms Michel Gondry as a filmmaker whose inventiveness, combined with a kind of childlike playfulness, is unparalleled in the contemporary film world. It’s not a film for everyone, just as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or The Science of Sleep, because their unusual way of telling the story probably will frustrate many viewers, but if you accept and then love their poetics, Michel Gondry has won with you. And what's more, you can't help but love the films of a filmmaker who can solve a Rubik's cube with his feet and proudly present it on the internet :) (06/19/2008)

A pretty average American film with a unique premise and lots of familiar faces. At the beginning it didn't seem like much, but the ending was great. I have to commend the imaginative use of home-made visual effects in some scenes. Michel Gondry's previous Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was much better, but this film is still worth seeing. (01/09/2010)

A self-impressive Gondry spasm, mentally at the level of a high school party, but shows off as a praise of love for film and community creativity. At the same time, it is so brutally forced and pandering that even those few solid moments are drowning in a sea of poses and awkwardly staged allotrias. This "ostentatious intellectual child" side of Gondry irritates me. (06/24/2013)