Blake Hightower

American Gun -- Seemingly disparate portraits of people -- among them a single mother, a high school principal, and an ace student -- distinctly American -- all affected by the proliferation of guns in American society.

Jack Black and Mos Def star in Be Kind Rewind, a unique comedy from Academy Award-winning writer/director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). Black stars as a lovable loser stuck in a life that's too small for his big dreams. But when he unintentionally erases all the tapes in a video store where his best friend works, he devises a plan to satisfy the store's few loyal customers by re-creating and re-filming every movie they decide to rent.

When Jerry unintentionally erases all the tapes in a video store where his best friend Mike works, they devise a plan to satisfy the store's few loyal customers by re-creating and re-filming every movie they decide to rent.

A Virgina gun store owner Carl (Donald Sutherland) sidesteps controversy while running the shop he loves. His new employee, granddaughter Mary Ann (Linda Cardellini) has been pressured to join the family business. Curiosity overcomes her as she becomes seduced by the weapons. In Oregon, Janet (Marcia Gay Harden) suffers through a TV interview marking the anniversary of her older son's high school shooting rampage. She worries for a younger son, now the same age as his brother when he attacked. On Chicago's gritty west side, principal Carl (Forest Whitaker) struggles to keep his high school from exploding as his wife fears for their son. When ace student Jay is caught with a gun, both he and Carl must face choices they never wanted to make. Nominated for 3 Independent Spirit awards, AMERICAN GUN director Aric Avelino "shows an almost tender restraint in his story-telling, not pounding us with a message but simply looking steadily at how guns have made these lives difficult." - Roger Ebert