An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Derek Malcolm's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Michel Gondry.
Cast: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Melonie Diaz
Description: Mike works in a small, New Jersey video rental store under the management of Mr Fletcher. When the boss is away, Mike will play with his auto mechanic chum Jerry, who inadvertently manages to wipe all of the tapes when his entire body is magnetized by the local power plant. With nothing but blank tapes to flog to the customers, Mike and Jerry hurriedly grab a camcorder and create budget versions of top films including Ghostbusters, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Driving Miss Daisy, The Lion King and Robocop.
Country: US. 2007. 100mins
Costume drama: Mos Def and Jack Black remake the movies they have erased
Film-makers who make movies about making films rarely have much success. And I'd be surprised if Michel Gondry will score at the box-office with this whimsical effort.
After Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and even The Science of Sleep, Be Kind Rewind is only a mildly amusing watch.
The stars are Jack Black, an actor who dominates even when he would be wiser not to, and Mos Def, who substitutes a quieter charm for Black's over-exuberance.
Def plays Mike, who works at a downtown video store in New Jersey owned by a Mr Fletcher (Danny Glover). Black plays Jerry, his best friend.
Something odd happens when Jerry gets caught in an electromagnetic field that leaves him dazed and erases every tape in the store. The pair have to make their own versions of the movies people want, such as Ghostbusters, Rush Hour, Robocop and 2001: A Space Odyssey.
This is called "sweding" for some undisclosed reason. The amateur versions are pretty terrible, but the customers, including Mia Farrow, seem to like them. The crunch comes when a lawyer (Sigourney Weaver) arrives with charges of intellectual property theft and demands the videos are destroyed.
A huge steamroller does the job but Black and Def are undeterred. They make a film about Fats Waller, who lived nearby, with the help of passers-by. Everyone loves it, though why escapes me; Black's approximation of Waller looks like Oliver Hardy playing Bessie Smith.
Either you surrender to this sort of fun, recognising Gondry's passionate feeling for filmmaking and the idea that everyone should be able to make a movie these days - or you resist the whole thing as a mess.
The choice is yours. I can't say that even Gondry, who at his best is an imaginative film-maker, swings this one.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Morning:
13°c
