A freak accident erases the video tapes of a rental store. How does an employee save the failing store? He remakes the movies with his friend and rents them out to the neighborhood. The problem? Infringing on anti-piracy laws and pissing off the FBI.

Michel Gondry writes us a good story in this movie. Gondry gave us Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and some gems in music videos with Björk and Daft Punk. He does a fine job with Be Kind Rewind.

Jack Black is good in the movie. The character he plays is different than what you have seen in The School of Rock, Nacho Libre, and Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny. He is big on screen without stealing the stage too much.

Mos Def is a good pick for this movie. He is definitely different than what he gives you in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and The Boondocks. Mos Def is working hard at the acting gig after his accomplishments hip-hop.

Be Kind Rewind has an independent feel to it. Watch out, the ending will get to you. This is a good movie you should definitely consider.

This Tuesday brings us new DVD releases. Check them out.

Superhero Movie
10,000 B.C.

This Friday gives a good round of comedy. Check your local listings and grab your car keys.

Get Smart
The Love Guru

This Tuesday has the perfect DVD release.

Be Kind Rewind

A single VP of a health food chain cannot get pregnant. Her solution? A surrogate mother. What happens when the straight laced business woman opens her home to the fast and loose surrogate mother? Answer: Baby Mama.

Baby Mama has all the ingredients a producer could ask for: good actors (Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Steve Martin, Romany Malco), funny preview jokes, topical story, and a little heart. The movie has the potential to earn an A+ rating. But the main fault falls on the writing.

Baby Mama strives to hit the smart comedy mark. That specific niche requires a fairly fast paced story. Michael McCullers falters a bit in this area. It seems like he was able to come up with good ideas for the previews, but it was challenging for him to create a steady story to connect all the points. Perhaps McCullers does better with a team of writers (as his former days on SNL) rather than striking it out on his own. But he does a good job explaining technicalities without bogging down the rhythm too much.

Tina Fey does well as an actress in Baby Mama. She is capable of juggling her executive producer/writer/actress roles for 30 Rock and still strike out for other projects to deliver a good performance. Tina Fey is fun to watch on screen even if all she shows us as an actress is the smart business type. However, I am willing to let that slide considering she does so much behind the camera.

Amy Poehler give a good performance as the foil to Fey’s straight-man role in the odd couple paring. Poehler proves she has more range than her five minute SNL sketches allow. She can give us the devious antagonist in Blades of Glory, the sarcastic office drone in The Ex (aka Fast Track), and the creepy backstage mother in Mean Girls. Poehler can do it all.

It is good to see Romany Malco in the mix. He offers down to earth views on social issues to keep everyone grounded. His potential shines threw the bit parts tinsel town throws at him. I look forward to see what he can do in The Love Guru.

Steve Martin proves his comedic genius in the small role he plays. He plays Fey’s egocentric new age boss in a subtle way. He offers quite a bit with his character without stealing the screen.

The soundtrack is less than desirable. I do not normally comment on the composition music, but it sticks out like a sore thumb in Baby Mama. The composed music sounds like something from a canceled 80’s sitcom. This undercuts the story to make the movie feel campy. Jeff Richmond does a good job composing for 30 Rock. But that series is quick and Richmond’s work does not mesh well with a slower movie.

It is a joy to see Tina Fey and Amy Poehler headlining in Baby Mama. However, Baby Mama lags a little too much in between jokes wasted on the previews. Leaving the theater, I cannot help but wonder if this movie would be better if Tina Fey had the time to write the script herself. But you must admit, Baby Mama is the smart comedy heads and shoulders above a Harold and Kumar sequel.

This Friday brings you some action and a little horror. Check out these movies this weekend.

The Incredible Hunk
The Happening

Your local listings may differ.

Here’s to hoping that you are on a first name basis with your local rental store employees. Check out these Tuesday releases.

Jumper
Other Boleyn Girl

Otis

And you thought the Last Crusade was the final Indiana Jones movie. Silly you. Nineteen years later, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas come together to give us the fourth Indiana Jones movie.

You cannot look at the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as another adventure movie. When you do that, you will start to compare KCS with current action movies. That perspective will make you hate KCS.

You cannot assume Spielberg or Lucas took the last nineteen years mulling over a spectacular story. That expectation will make you walk out of the theater and ask for your money back.

You should view KCS in the same light as the previous Indiana Jones movies. KCS has the same feel and the same comedy as the other movies. Some of the plot takes you by surprise while other points may be predictable.

Harrison Ford plays the same role we are familiar with. Cate Blanchett comes off as a real version of Natasha from the animated series The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle. Shia LaBeouf shows us he is a capable actor but not amazing.

Indian Jones and the KCS can be a fun movie as long as you do not expect too much. The little ones will like the action and adventure as you loved when the previous Indiana Jones movies came out. There is the classic humor you have come to expect from the other Jones movies. The KCS definitely leaves room for Shia LaBeouf to carry on the torch.