Totally sick of hearing about the end of the format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD? And totally sick of having to think about when you'll have to start buying Blu-ray discs instead of DVDs? Escape with Michel Gondry's Be Kind Rewind — a whimsical film and welcome departure from the high-tech rat race that's going on.

I've long loved Gondry for his use and of high and low-tech in his films — usually in terms of special effects (if you haven't seen Science of Sleep, get thee to your Netflix queue), and this time, for Be Kind Rewind, in subject matter as well. For more on Be Kind Rewind, read more

The movie is about two video store clerks (Jack Black and Mos Def) who accidentally de-magnetize their VHS tapes and must re-record them by acting them out themselves. The shop owner (Danny Glover), meanwhile, struggles with the resistance to make the move to DVD.

Of course, after the film I thought: What about Blu-ray? There's no reference to it at all in this film, even among discussion of switching formats. If this film had been shot a year later, would it have warranted a mention? But this movie retorts, what about Blu-ray, indeed.

Be Kind Rewind chastises us for our quick abandonment to newer and better technologies, and celebrates the films and movie-making, regardless of format. By then end of this movie, I even missed my VHS tapes. Sigh. . . I still haven't replaced Reality Bites.

Photos courtesy of New Line Cinema