Film Review -- Be Kind Rewind (PG-13)

Directed by Michel Gondry
Partizan
Released February 22, 2008

What can I say about a movie that has one of my favorite funny-men (Jack Black), one of my favorite hip hop artists (Mos Def), and fifty percent of one of the greatest cop duos since Starsky and Hutch (Danny Glover), except that these three need to work together more often. If Be Kind Rewind would have casted just one of these men, it would have been a decent movie. But if you put them all together, you have a film that is as funny as it is heart-warming.

Be Kind Rewind is the story of two friends Jerry (Black) and Mike (Mos Def) who are trying to deal with a crisis. Jerry becomes magnetized following a botched sabotage mission and his magnetism accidentally erases all of the videos in the store where Mike works. Their solution? Re-create every movie in the store every time a customer wants to rent it. These "re-makes" become so popular that Mike, Jerry and their female accomplice Alma (Melonie Diaz) become local celebrities.

The lesson in Be Kind Rewind is that it does not take a lot of special effects and a huge budget to make a movie worth watching. A good movie just needs some imagination, desire and heart. Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) definitely delivers with this movie without an incredibly confusing premise found in his other films.

Definitely check this one out, but don't expect it to be your typical Jack Black comedy. However, you will still laugh and be entertained.

3 out of 4
(Review by CMill)

News -- 2008 Academy Awards

The Oscars are now a thing of the past. This is good for everyone who is tired of wondering who will win and all the people who felt guilty and ran to the theaters to watch these old movies and made some good movies that just released see bad box office sales (RAMBO). And the winners are...

Really for me, the fact that the academy gave so many wins to No Country For Old Men is ridiculous. I loved this film, and I love the Coen's (think Big Lebowski), but I really felt that There Will Be Blood would gather more attention from the classically anti-Coen academy. However, besides my disappointment for all the snubs with Transformers (DAMMIT!), I was not very surprised tonight. I was delighted that Atonement, which sucked, won practically nothing and Juno which really wasn't THAT great, won the only award it should have (go Diablo!).

Jon Stewart is the man, Gary Busey is psychopathic and Hilary Swank is still not hot. That sums up the Oscars. Check it out next year.

P.S. There Will Be Blood won the GoodenoughFilms.com Oscar Poll with No Country For Old Men in a close second. Thanks for voting!

P.P.S. I lost my Oscar pool with 16 out of 24 correct by 1 selection and got second place for a measly 7.5 times the amount I put in (tee hee ... $$$$). I cannot believe they did Transformers so rotten! Love to Ron Fierstein for setting up the pool.

Film Review -- Meet The Spartans (PG-13)

Directed by Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer
New Regency Enterprises
Released January 25, 2008

There is nothing much to say about this movie. This was honestly the single worst movie I have ever been to. I am literally only writing this review as a warning to anyone who might get the wrong idea to go see this movie. Sit down right now and watch anything else. This movie is filth.

I only went to see it because I am nerdy enough to find things like Epic Movie and Scary Movie somewhat funny. But Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer officially should not be allowed to make these mock off movies anymore. Literally, the audience was silent for moments when ten jokes would pass. If these guys ever went to a showing of this movie, I can not imagine any reason why people would not launch soda and popcorn all over them (or tomatoes if available).

The jokes were lame, outdated and pathetic. The use of product placement was not clever and even cameos from Method Man and the fat guy in Borat did nothing. This was simply the lamest movie ever. Oh yea, the hottest thing in this movie is Carmen Electra. And if you are like me, you know that Carmen Electra is so 2002. Not hot. Old.

YUCK!!!

0 out of 4
(worst rating in site history)

Director's Chair -- Jason Reitman

As a first part in this new mini series on the site, I thought it would be cool to include more about some of the hottest directors in Hollywood right now. Director's Chair will usually be one of our writers discussing who they believe is a noteworthy director or, as in this case, a situation where a director speaks on a film recently reviewed on the site.

Jason Reitman is the director of Juno -- a very hot film this Oscar season. And although Juno was not my favorite film of the year, the opportunity to showcase this Oscar nominated director has less to do with my opinion of the movie and more to do with this unique opportunity to provide a link to an exclusive interview with him and one of my good friends at butv10.

Seeing as I help edit and get this segment online, I might be a tad bit bias. But I think he has some good thing to say, and I like to think I am involved in the content connected to this site. So check it out, Jason and Rob, in a little chat on butv10.com