Rock the Kasbah (2015)

Rock the Kasbah. That three word phrase can mean different things to different people, depending on their personal pop culture awareness and even where they were born. The word Kasbah, which is sometimes spelled with a "c" and sometimes with a "q", traditionally refers to a fortress or a fortified portion of a Muslim city, but can also mean an older section of such a city. Kasbahs are mainly found in North Africa and, apparently, someone named Shareef doesn't like it when you rock a casbah. That's what "The Clash" told us in their 1982 hit song "Rock the Casbah". Those words (with that "c"-spelling) have also been used as the title of a 2013 French-Moroccan dramatic film and another from Israel in 2012. (There was also an American musical in 1948 that simply used the one-word title: "Casbah".) "Rock the Casbah" also happens to be the name of an annual star-studded L.A. party hosted by Virgin Airlines CEO, Sir Richard Branson, and his mother, Eve, to raise money for charitable work in… North Africa. So, now that we've come full circle, it's time to add another casbah/kasbah/qasbah reference to the list – the 2015 Bill Murray comedy "Rock the Kasbah" (R, 1:40), which takes place in… Afghanistan.

Murray plays Richie Lanz, a washed-up Southern California music promoter, overflowing with stories of his relationships with famous rock musicians, but short on recent success. He's even desperate enough to commit cover singer Ronnie Smiler (Zooey Deschanel), the only real client he has left, to a USO tour of American military bases in Afghanistan. Richie literally doesn't know what he's gotten himself into. When reality sets in, Ronnie leaves the country, along with Richie's money and his passport. With no cash, no identification and a two-week wait for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul to get him a new passport, he needs other American civilians living in Afghanistan to help him survive until he can get out.

The expats whom Richie meets are quite the colorful cast of characters. Popular local American-born prostitute, Merci (Kate Hudson), helps Richie outÂ… in a number of different ways. (She pronounces her name "Mercy" and is a worldly wise, but sexy-spiritual character.) Then, there's Bombay Brian (Bruce Willis), who is a cross between a mercenary and a very well-armed security guard for hire. Danny McBride and Scott Caan are ammo suppliers, named Nick and Jake, who are making a financial killing, while helping anyone with the money make some literal ones. Richie also gets some much-needed transportation services, street knowledge, cultural education and translation services (not to mention friendship and good advice) from a kind, young Disco-loving local cab driver named Riza (Arian Moayed).

Since he has nowhere to go and nothing to do at the moment, Nick and Jake literally toss Richie a pile of cash to make an ammo delivery to local tribal chief Tariq Khan (Fahim Fazli). Brian is there for security, Riza to translate and Richie for his deal-brokering experience. Richie and Riza end up spending the night in the chief's home. Late at night, while outside taking care of some personal business, Richie hears the beautiful voice of Traiq's daughter Salima (Leem Lubany) singing in the distance. She's inside a cave because women in her culture are not permitted to sing in public. Richie entering the cave scares her off, but the next morning, she hears Richie praising her voice while talkin

Fmovies: Rock the Kasbah is an upcoming American comedy film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Mitch Glazer. The film stars Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Zooey Deschanel, Kate Hudson, Leem Lubany, Scott Caan, Danny McBride, Kelly Lynch, Arian Moayed, Taylor Kinney, and Beejan Land.

Richie Lanz (Bill Murray), a has-been rock manager takes his last remaining client on a USO tour of Afghanistan. When Richie finds himself in Kabul, abandoned, penniless and without his U.S. passport, he discovers a young Afghan girl with an extraordinary voice and manages her through Afghanistan's version of American Idol.

Rock The Kasbah is surprisingly a great musical comedy.I am absolutely sure this film will achieve international success.

ROCK THE KASBAH? Heard of this one? No, you probably haven't, and there are insidious reasons why, political and social. Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson, Zoey Deschanel. Think maybe there would be some pub behind it? What's going on? The movie has been panned by critics, ignored by Hollywood mainstream and news channel outlets. What gives? It's not a great movie, but it is a good movie, with a timely plot, and a message. AND, HERE IS WHERE THE POLITICALLY AND SOCIALLY INCORRECT ASPECTS ENTER. I am ashamed to have the term 'liberal' associated with the movie industry. Ashamed of CNN and MSNBC for not picking up this theme and rolling with it. THIS MOVIE PORTRAYS Islam, THE MIDDLE EAST, AND OPPRESSION OF WOMEN IN BOTH ARENAS ACCURATELY AND THE PICTURE IS UGLY. This is why you haven't seen or heard an ad, watched the trailer, or viewed coverage by any major news outlet. Watch this film. I won't spoil it, but it centers on the true story of a female singer who simply wanted to appear on the Afghan equivalent of American Idol.WATCH THIS FILM, and wonder why the suppression has occurred.. It is a film about peace, ultimately, yet apparently is too hot and controversial for any support from Hollywood, and too accurate yet politically incorrect for mainstream news to explore. SHAME ON THE MASS MEDIA!

Rock the Kasbah fmovies. "From the moment you heard me sing. Since you found me in the cave. Since we were put here on the Earth. Everything in our lives has led us to this time, this place." Richie Lanz (Murray) is a music manager who has fallen on tough times. When he decides to take his client to Afghanistan on tour she freaks out and disappears. Unsure of what to do he thinks his prayers are answered when he hears someone singing in a cave. He really thinks she has the talent to win the Afghan Star singing competition but is hampered by the traditions of the country. This is a great movie. Just flat out great. Not only is Bill Murray good (as always) but the music is great as well. The best way to describe this is a music centered version of Good Morning Vietnam. Funny and smart with a serious topic all holding it together. This is a movie that I really enjoyed and I recommend highly. Overall, if you liked Good Morning Vietnam you will love this one as well. I give it an A-.

I think this is a film that true Bill Murray fans will love and get. Bill Murray is one of the greatest actors and comedians of the past 20 years. If you are not the type of person to understand Bill Murray's subtle comedy and charm, then you probably won't get this film.

If you see "Comedy with Bill Murray" and you expect to see The Hangover or Bridesmaids type humor, then of coarse you will be disappointed. I had about 10 big laugh out loud moments during this film.

But this movie is more than that, it had a good message behind it and for most people who do not live in third world countries this movie also provided a very interesting view of the culture in another country.

Also, there are a lot of cameos by very famous and fantastic actors that I had no idea were involved in this movie, until I watched it. I don't even want to mention those actors names because the surprise of seeing them in this movie added to the charm.

Not only that, but the cultural message behind this movie was so important, touching, and moving, and demonstrates that love and beauty will triumph over old archaic beliefs that restrict societies that have trouble letting go of the past.

As with most Bill Murray movies, it won't be an all around crowd pleaser. But there is an audience who will truly appreciate this movie as I did. I give it a 9 out of 10. I reserve 10 for movies I love so much that I want to scream it from the roof tops. This movie truly deserves a 9 out of 10 though. I think the low ratings for this movie by critics reflects an ignorance of Bill Murray's comedic style, but also a politically correct culture that is too afraid to rock the boat on issues that really matter for all of mankind. I think this movie plays out beautifully. I didn't know what to expect. I went with the only expectation being "I want to see this new Bill Murray comedy". And I think if you were to compare this to Life Aquatic or Lost in Translation, then you would be either more impressed or at least equally impressed.

I couldn't have had a better Friday night out to the movies. Thanks again to Bill for accepting a quality role in a film that he thought would be worthy of starring in.

Had some great laughs, the movie offered a positive uplifting message, and I was grateful to have seen it.

I don't see why the critic reviews for this are so low, they put me off watching it initially but I'm glad I saw it eventually. It actually starts off really strong with a great setup featuring Zooey Deschanel who I'm not the biggest fan of but her scenes were very funny and her chemistry with Murray was quite good. The plot centres around Bill Murray playing a washed up music manager who ends up booking a tour of Afghanistan with his only decent act played by Dechanel. Once they arrive in the Middle East things don't exactly go as planned and some unlikely antics ensue to varying comic effect. Bruce Willis and Kate Hudson both appear but the real star of the show is obviously Bill Murray, and while this isn't his best work he's still charming and entertaining and manages to elevate the proceedings enough to keep things fun. I laughed intermittently throughout but I did find the beginning to be the strongest and thought that by the end it had lost a little bit of steam but that didn't stop me from enjoying it. I definitely recommend giving it a watch if you like Bill Murray or if you're a fan of adult comedies that don't rely on raunchy humour for laughs.