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I'm not exactly what you would call a sentimental kind of person, and I tend to get a little 'gaggy' when it comes to the so-called touchy-feely things in life. But if there is one thing that makes me feel like a big old softy, it would be Dave Chappelle's Block Party. Now this is what I call a call a 'feel good movie' with everyone from the lady behind the counter at a liquor store to a *high-school marching band packed with Chappelle's fans and admirers, he puts them at ease while bringing them out their comfort zone, and most importantly: he leaves him laughing.

The 2005 documentary was written and hosted by Chappelle with Michel Gondry behind the camera, and even if you aren't the biggest fan of soul and hip-hop music, you can't deny that you can practically feel the joy that seeps through every frame. The musical line-up included artists like Mos Def, The Roots, Common, Jill Scott, and Erykah Badu. Chappelle even pulled off the impossible by getting The Fugees to perform onstage together for the first time in seven years.

*Correction: the marching band Chappelle brings along is the celebrated College band, The Central State University Marching Band.

Some of us abhor vacuums, while others merely ignore them. Either way, those gaps tend to fill themselves, so that the willing world may indeed discover what a musical set to the tunes of ABBA must look like, or even how an urban answer to Guy Ritchie's twisty comic-violent crime capers would turn out.

Enter Benny Boom, a music video director with the most explosive name this side of Olivier Megaton and his sights set on transplanting one of those topsy-turvy capers from the underbelly of London to the shadier side of Philadelphia. It's a capable, if unremarkable relocation, because Next Day Air does exactly what a Snatch-savvy crowd would expect -- introduce maybe a dozen greedy criminals to one botched crime and let them fall all over each other to get the goods and get out alive -- and not much more.

(The following review ran during the Sundance Film Festival, but we're re-posting it now to coincide with the film's theatrical release.)

In Passaic, New Jersey, the thrift store and video rental emporium Be Kind Rewind offers customers their choice of films to rent, if by 'choice,' you mean 'VHS only.' But while owner Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) is away, his counterman and almost-son Mike (Mos Def) lets Jerry (Jack Black) into the store, against Mr. Fletcher's instructions not to. Jerry is normally a walking disaster -- a dreamer of a mechanic, obsessed with the belief that the power plant he lives near is flooding him with radiation. A failed attempt to sabotage the power plant leaves Jerry energized and magnetized to such a degree that his mere presence wipes all of Be Kind Rewind's inventory. When loyal customer Ms. Kimberly, tasked by Mr. Fletcher to check in on the store while he's away, comes in to rent Ghostbusters, Jerry and Mike's solution to the crisis is hardly logical, but certainly inspired: Produce and shoot a replacement version of the film within 24 hours so she'll be none the wiser about the store's ruined inventory.

But Ms. Kimberly shows the film to some of her foster children, who can recognize that Jerry is not quite Bill Murray, and that Mike is not quite Ivan Reitman, and that holding the right-hand side of Hieronymus Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights" up to the camera is not quite a special-effects shot of a demon-haunted landscape. The foster kids -- thugs and toughs to a man -- come around Be Kind Rewind the next day. But they're not mad; they're curious: "That was pretty good. What else you got?" And other customers are curious about the store's new selections -- which, it's explained, come from Sweden, which is why they cost $20 and you have to request them 24 hours in advance. ...

Written and directed by Michel Gondry, Be Kind Rewind is as much a work of creativity and passion as the re-shot, cut-in-camcorder, home-brew "Swedish Import" re-made Hollywood blockbusters that it revolves around. And, much like Jerry and Mike's re-shot versions of Driving Miss Daisy or Rush Hour or The Lion King, Be Kind Rewind is a film where the plot is less important than panache, where the lack of elegance is made up for by an excess of enthusiasm. Jerry and Mike aren't just shooting day for night; they're shooting day for night, male for female, white for black, Jerry for Jackie (Chan, that is). Aided and abetted by Alma (Melonie Diaz), an early recruit to their shooting requirements (they need a girl for Rush Hour), the store's new offerings rapidly become a sensation, as customers line up to request new films they want to see the 'Sweded' versions of and rent the rest of Jerry and Mike's oeuvre as soon as other customers bring them back. This not only makes Jerry and Mike celebrities (or, more correctly, sub-lebrities) in Passaic, but also may raise the money that Mr. Fletcher's store needs to come up to the building code and avoid being shut down. ...

A brand new trailer for Be Kind Rewind has arrived online, and I'm ashamed to say this may be one of my favorite trailers of all time. It has nothing to do with the actual movie, mind you, but I love it because Michel Gondry runs around like a loon. Yes, this is a "sweded" version of the actual trailer -- meaning Gondry messed up the film reel and had to re-create his own trailer using whatever props he had on him. Confused yet?

See, Be Kind Rewind stars Jack Black and Mos Def as two guys who run a video store and accidentally erase all the tapes. So, in order to save their business, the men need to re-create all of the classic movies using cheap props they collect themselves (this process is called "sweding"). So now imagine if the film's entire trailer was "sweded" by director Michel Gondry, and that's what you'll find above. Gondry plays all the roles, and he's an absolute riot (partly because we have no idea what he's saying half the time due to his pretty thick accent). When he sang the Ghostbusters theme to himself, I just about lost my sh*t. Gotta watch it now! Check out James' Sundance review of Be Kind Rewind and his interview with Gondry; Be Kind Rewind hits theaters on February 22.

Writer-director Michel Gondry's Be Kind Rewind follows two small-town friends, Jerry (Jack Black) and Mike (Mos Def) as disaster at a VHS-only video rental store forces them to try to replace the wiped tapes ... by re-shooting the films they once contained. When their ultra-low-budget, ultra-high-spirit remakes of films like Ghostbusters, King Kong and The Lion King become hits with customers (who are told the tapes are Swedish imports), Jerry and Mike's absurd yet logical attempt to save the store becomes an unexpected starting point for their own artistic journey -- and a celebration of movie making and movie watching. Gondry brings Jerry and Mike's collaborations to life with the mix of big-idea film making and intimate wonder he's demonstrated in all his work, including Human Nature, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep and Dave Chappelle's Block Party. Be Kind Rewind will premiere at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival; Gondry spoke with Cinematical about everything from the joy of creation, racism in film and popular culture, and how Sundance feels different from other film festivals: " (At Sundance) ... I felt encouraged to continue; in Cannes, I felt really like people were asking me to stop doing my job."

(The audio file of this interview, like all of Cinematical's podcast offerings, is now available through iTunes; if you'd like, you can subscribe at this link. Also, you can listen directly here at Cinematical by clicking below: )



Cinematical: I guess the first, and easiest question is where did the idea behind Be Kind Rewind come from for you?

Michel Gondry: It comes from a utopia I had -- do you say 'having a utopia?' -- a belief I have that people can create their own entertainment. I always wanted to create this community that would come and tell their own story, shoot it -- and watch them. The idea is to not have one entity who creates the work, the project, and another entity who consumes it; the idea is people create their own work, like somebody cultivating his garden.

Cinematical: And in the film, we see the characters go from imitation to actual creation; that was always part of the idea?

Michel Gondry: Yes; it's very important to me that they go through this journey; I don't want to advocate imitation; I want to encourage creation. In this case, they start with imitation because their goal is not being creative; they don't realize they're being creative until they become successful and they are forced to be creative. And actually Alma (Melonie Diaz), who's sort of the smarter, the smartest guy of the band -- she's a girl -- tells them that they are much more creative than what they think they are. And then they realize that they don't have to copy movies; they can create their own. And I think it's very important that people not just make their own entertainment, but that they create it, that they really invent the story.

We're already well aware at how nutty some studios are getting with regards to marketing certain movies. Seeing the Empire State Building lit up yellow in honor of The Simpsons Movie DVD release was just one example of where movie marketing is heading in 2008. Some might feel all the viral websites, phone numbers and staged events are a little too much, while others welcome the additional moviegoing experience with open arms. Personally, I'm somewhere in between: The viral sites and videos are good time wasters so long as they don't ruin the film, but I'm not crazy about plastering an entire city with posters and images in order to promote a film people were already well aware of. That said, New Line is currently right in the middle of a fun promotion for Michel Gondry's Be Kind Rewind, and according to an article in the LA Times, the marketing for that film is about to get a lot cooler.

Be Kind Rewind stars Jack Black and Mos Def as a couple of guys who attempt to re-create a bunch of classic movies after the VHS tapes at the video store they run are destroyed. This process of re-creating a piece of work using whatever crap one has stored around the house has been given the name "Sweding." While explaining "Sweding," Gondry says: "I wanted a name that meant nothing. I had in mind, like, the suede shoes -- a fake velvet. A sort of ultra-suede? But I always get the word wrong because I'm French." Fans already have a chance to "Swede" a whole bunch of stuff over on the film's official website, but New Line is taking it one step further by transforming a New York City art gallery into a "Sweding" studio for roughly a month, beginning January 24 -- one day before the film hits theaters. Here's how it's explained in the LA Times:

"Groups of people walk in and will have access to a workshop," Gondry explained. "There is a very simple protocol: You shoot in camera, edit while you shoot -- which means you stop the camera when you want to go to the next scene, you don't edit. Story lines last five to 10 minutes. And most of the exhibition will be a mini back lot with 15 little sets."

That sounds like all kinds of awesome. Additionally, while at the Sundance Film Festival (where Be Kind Rewind is set to have its premiere), Gondry will be on hand to perform music from the movie along with Mos Def and Jean-Michel Bernard (both of whom wrote the film's score). The LA Times also says that New Line will open up a "Sweding suite" on Main Street where folks can stop by and "participate in Sweding, such as inserting themselves into photos from the film."

[via Slashfilm]

When it comes to Michel Gondry films, I guess the wackiness just never stops. Cinemablend is now hosting the first poster for the comedy fantasy Be Kind Rewind and it's everything you would expect from the director who seems to have 'whimsy' as a middle name. Starring Jack Black and Mos Def, the film centers on two local video store employees who have to re-create an entire video store worth of films when Black accidentally erases all the tapes after a bout of 'personal magnetization'. Rounding out the cast is Mia Farrow as one of the store's most dedicated customers and Danny Glover as the owner of the struggling shop.

The first trailer for the flick arrived in August, and so far most of the marketing for the film has been stressing that same message of a fantastical 'DIY culture'. I guess in the end that is what I've always thought Gondry's movies were about; if you aren't happy with the way things are then create your own reality until you are. The official site for the film even gives you the opportunity to cut and paste your own face into some famous movie art. Ever wanted to be on the cover of Die Hard? Well, here is your chance. There is even a pretty elaborate gag involving a "homemade Internet". The poster for the film seems to keep the same feel as the website and even looks like it was made on the cheap with markers and pencil crayons -- but as anyone in the design business knows, sometimes it's the 'cheap' look that costs you the most. Be Kind Rewind opens in theaters on January 25th, 2008.

Check out the full-sized poster after the jump ...

The official site for Michel Gondry's latest movie, Be Kind Rewind, has every trademark touch you would expect from the whimsical director. There is plenty of style and plenty of silly. Rather than just your typical site with trailers and downloads (and don't worry this site has plenty of them if that's your thing) the site presents us all with a truly frightening concept: what if someone wiped out the internet? I won't ruin if for you, but let's just say that it involves rebuilding Google with some string and a bunch of wood -- it's kind of hard to explain, but trust me, it's pretty darn cute.

Besides the usual offerings, the site gives you the chance to 'Swede' yourself into a few flicks. That's right; Gondry has even invented a new word for the movie. The word 'Swede' pops up a lot on the site, in fact, and a quick Wikipedia search provides this definition: "the practice of re-creating something from scratch using commonly available, everyday materials and technology. Items that are 'Sweded' look distinctively homemade, often bearing only the slightest resemblance to the original. While naively rendered, 'Sweded' items are usually charming and highly amusing".

Rewind stars Jack Black as a video store employee who accidentally magnetizes himself and when he comes to work the next day, manages to wipe out the store's entire collection. Trying to save their jobs, Black and his friend (and co-worker) Mos Def, set out to recreate the movies that were lost. OK, so the story might seem a little wacky for an entire movie, but Gondry is the master of leaps of movie logic so I still have faith. Be Kind Rewind is set for release on January 25th, 2008.

As if five projects wasn't enough for Mos Def's docket, Variety is reporting that he's got a sixth on the way -- Bobby Zero, which he will star in and executive produce. Def plays the lead, "a down-on-his-luck social satirist who gives up his artistic aspirations to work at an advertising agency." He's also the romantic lead, but there's no word on who his character is itching to get groinal with. The script was written by Markus and Mason Canter, who are apparently known as "The Flying Canter Brothers." They've only got a sports doc, and short film on their resume, so I've really no idea what this means for the film. But Mos Def usually picks some good material, so it should be decent, at the very least.

In the meantime, we've got to wait until December to check out Be Kind Rewind, the flick that has him and Jack Black acting out classic movies after accidentally destroying an entire video store's worth. (By the way, Film Ick put up the most recent leak the other day -- the pair doing Driving Miss Daisy.) After that, we've got the six films he needs to shoot, and it's a pretty decent collection -- Stringbean and Marcus, a film about broken romance between Black Panther members that teams him with Sophie Okonedo, a part in Toussaint, the biographical drama about the man who led the slave rebellion that sparked the Haitian revolution, the William H. Macy-helmed Keep Coming Back, about a kid with a heart condition who enters AA to stalk the stripper he has a crush on, Little Scarlet, the Walter Mosley adaptation that has Def co-starring with Jeffrey Wright and finally, The Brazilian Job, the follow-up to The Italian Job.

What hasn't Michel Gondry done, except for plain, mainstream fare like action movies and typical romcoms? There have been split-screen studies of going forward and backward in time, men carrying cars, dancing people skeletons, civilizing a man raised in the wild, another who tried to wipe his love from his memory and yet another guy whose hands can grow really big. He'd done everything except, of course, a magnetic brain, which he's now got covered with Be Kind, Rewind. Cinematical has been telling you about this film for ages, and if you haven't been paying attention yet -- you really should because if there was ever a Gondry film for everyone, I'd say it's this one.

The peeps over at Twitch have posted a photo from the film, which has Mos Def and Jack Black wrapped in tin foil stuck together with silver duct tape, with black straps to a backpack or something running under their armpits. Any guesses on the movie? Obviously, that isn't their normal attire, but their costumes for one of the films they re-create. If you haven't heard Rewind's premise yet -- it's about this guy named Jerry (Black) who becomes magnetized while trying to sabotage a power plant he thinks is melting his brain. When he accidentally erases all the tapes at the video store his friend Mike (Def) works at, to keep Mike's job and the sole regular, old lady customer, they decide to recreate every movie she decides to rent. (Because in Gondry's world, that's easy than buying the flick elsewhere.)

Part of me wishes they'd been releasing pics from each of the pair's adaptations are promo material, but at the same time, I'm sure that could spoil the funny shock of seeing what they come up with on the big screen. Hunting around to see if there were any others, I found some other photos lurking, which you might have missed if you don't haunt Jack Black fan sites or Filmwad. Both those links have a slew of pictures up with Black in period garb, farting around on a large, black and yellow train. Man, Mike and Jerry have a great production budget!