Dogma

Rating:
Summary: "Even God has a sense of humor"
Review: This is a smart comedy about religion and the Church. We find a great cast of different stars playing God, angels, demons, muses, prophets and apostles. I can understand that for some people religion is a very serious issue and that these individuals may take offense in this movie. However, if you do no belong in this group, I highly recommend you to watch this film, since I am sure you will have a great time.

The Church is in a renewal process and seeking to attract people to enlarge its flock. Some of the changes involve revamping the depressing image in the crucifix for a smiling, winking and thumbs-up Christ. Also, a Church in New Jersey decreed a day in which everyone that passes through its gates will be cleansed of all sins and forgiven by God. Loki (Matt Damon) and Bartleby (Ben Affleck) are two angles that have incurred in God's wrath and therefore were expelled from heaven and condemned to live in Wisconsin from the rest of their eternal lives. They see this as an opportunity to be forgiven and allowed to return to heaven.

The path to their destination is not an easy one though, since by achieving their forgiveness they would prove God wrong, and existence will cease because it is based on the fact that God is always right. Therefore, Loki's and Bartleby's journey affects a large number of people and other mystic figures. There are two sides to the conflict, those that want to prevent them from getting to their destination, and those that want to help them and create chaos. Among muses, demons, the thirteenth apostle and a Golgothan, which by the way is super gross, we find a woman named Bethany (Linda Fiorentino). She is at a tough stage in her life and has almost lost her faith, but is requested by Metathron, the voice of God, to stop the two angels in their quest.

The way in which the film questions some of the beliefs of religion is smart and funny, and the talented cast help make this a very pleasant experience. For example, Chris Rock in his role of the thirteenth apostle is hilarious, showing his usual sense of humor with quick and witty jokes. I also found interesting the questioning of God's sex and Jesus race, which I think spices up several scenes throughout the movie and allows for some very funny moments.

Rating:
Summary: DOGMA: A Preview of Hell
Review: DOGMA has scores of "comedic moments" pumped into it. The problem is, none of them are the least bit funny.

Example: Rock flops down and is asked if he knows Christ. Rock replies, "Hell yeah, nigga owes me fi dollas!" I kid you not.

At one point, a Sh*t Monster appears. No, I don't mean Alanis Morrissette. An actual creatue made of feces shows up for our "amusement." Are you starting to see a pattern?

DOGMA tries desperately to push all the comedic buttons it can, but each attempt yields nada. The cast can't save this ungodly flop. Neither can the so-called "message." Hell, I don't even think the God it claims to glorify could make this film watchable.

If DOGMA doesn't make you an atheist, nothing will.

Rating:
Summary: Catholic Parents: This is a must see movie (no joking)
Review: I wish I could rate this two ways. I believe it should get 5+ stars for it's illumination of one modern Catholic's mindset, but must give it 1 star for how wrongheaded the enterprise was written and directed. The director, Kevin Smith, has called this film "...my love-letter to God and to faith - which is about the only thing we really truly have in life."

This should surprise a great number of the critics of this film who wrongly believe Smith is slamming the Church. He further states, "Faith is the glue that holds us together and binds us (kind of like the Force). It's something we all have in common - even if you're not a religious person." Clearly this shows he is NOT the faithless iconoclast as portrayed by the good-hearted but misguided efforts of the Catholic League, but rather this is a man whose movie is a statement of his faith as he understands it. And while it is intentionally satirical of many things, if viewed not as a slam but as a love-letter, a well catechized Catholic can gain some pretty incredible insights from it.

I'm not promoting this movie in regards to how well it expresses the Catholic Faith - far from it. It is wildly inaccurate and largely ignorant of history or of the arguments that underlie fundamental beliefs of (most) Catholics. But there is a payoff.

Watch this movie and realize something: this is a product of a mind formed by a lifetime of Catholic schools. Smith himself has said that the inspiration for this movie came from a nun who taught religion.

This man's imagination was formed by those whose grasp of the truth of the gospels and the church were as murky and erroneous as they were (doubtless) devout and sincere. It's simply bad modernist theology played out on the big screen. This is perhaps the key to Smith's confusion on the part of orthodox Catholics who take umbrage to his opus. He isn't the devil incarnate, a ridiculing and blasphemous jerk who's trying to take a stab at the religion and faith of millions. Rather, Smith simply doesn't get it. And though we are all responsible for our own actions, take heed of this example and feel pity for this man who has been sold a theological bill of goods that doesn't quite add up in the light of day. See this film; discuss with others its merits good and bad. But above all, make sure you know what your own children are taught as regards their faith. Don't depend on a school's clout or reputation - see what's going on with your own eyes. Finally, pray not only for Smith, but for schools that market themselves as Catholic. Pray that they become capable once again of teaching leaders of tomorrow like Smith to once again be unabashedly, unashamedly, and unambiguously Catholic.

Rating:
Summary: Very Funny!
Review: I can certainly understand why some people wouldn't like this film. Taken at face value, it is a rude and crude comedy. Going one layer deeper, it is an unsubtle attack on organized religion. However, if you were lucky (or unlucky) enough to have been raised as a Catholic, this movie is an absolute must-see. The film runs like a continual inside joke. It cranks out constant humor at the expense of the church, but at the same time validates the church's teachings. It is the mad-magazine version of the 6th-grade catechism; the national lampoon version of the stations of the cross. Yes, there is a lot of profanity and some of it comes across as gratuitous. But if you can put that aside, this movie provides a very moral tale not so different than the ones that Sister Barnabus used to tell in grade school - but a lot more fun.

Rating:
Summary: Dogma is a movie with real ups & downs
Review: Downsides: Kind of noticeably low budget, and affleck & damon are particularly bad in this movie.

Upsides: (1) The plot, as it's presented, isn't totally horrible (yes, that sounds slightly bad, because it kind of is in an absolute sense, but relative to affleck & damon's acting it's actually an upside for this movie), and (2) bethany, jay, silent bob, & the 13th apostle actually are pretty darn good.

Rating:
Summary: ...and a third of the angels were cast out with him
Review: The original meaning of the word was "that which seems good", and hence it was applied by classical authors as a technical term either to the distinctive tenets of the various philosophical schools or to the decrees of public authorities.

So, what does this have to do with the movie? Ironic as it seems for such a bizarre film, it all turns on a minor dogmatic point -- accepting that Roman Catholic dogma is the operative framework for the entire existence of the universe (something even I have yet to meet ANYONE who holds true), a logical inconsistency would render the universe inoperative, and thus it would blink out of existence.

In an attempt to 'update and popularise' Catholicism, a bishop in New Jersey (George Carlin, of all people) introduces a new campaign that includes a papal indulgence, which will absolve those who walk through the archway of a particular church. The angels discover this, and are determined to exploit this papal pronouncement to their benefit -- in dogmatic terms, whatever the pope says on earth is binding in heaven (not quite, but that's what the movie presents) -- and thus God cannot refuse them re-entry. This sets up the logical problem.

The heavens charge a particular woman Bethany, (Linda Fiorentino), who turns out to be the last descendent of Jesus Christ's family (of course, the Bible left out the details of his family), with stopping the angels from reaching the church. In the course of her charge, she encounters the Voice of God (Alan Rickman) who appears as a flaming, burning-bush type of phenomenon, and promptly uses a fire-extinguisher to put out the flames.

Azrael (Jason Lee), a minor leader of demons, has command of agents to try to stop the Last Scion from stopping the angels. Why? Well, I cannot tell you. This would give away too much of the film. But, suffice it to say, the forces of evil seem to want the angels to prove God wrong (or, at least some of the forces of evil want this). By the way, I am inclined to agree with this demon on at least one point -- central air conditioning is one of the greatest things in creation

Rufus (Chris Rock), the thirteenth apostle (also left out of the Bible, because of his race) appears to the Last Scion and the Prophets to help them in their quest.

Bartleby, who had normally been the voice of reason against Loki's brash fire-and-brimstone approach (well, he was the Angel of Death, after all), becomes upset at the efforts being used to stop them, and turns into a Satan-esque figure bent on opposing God.

But, where is God? We find out that God is missing (something that many in many religions can relate to much of the time, alas), only to discover that God likes to take the occasional holiday. The angels and the choirs of heaven are worried that Bartleby and Loki will succeed in destroying the universe while God is away from his(her) desk.

Oh, ye of little faith. God in the end, in the form of Alanis Morrisette, does show up to save the day, in more ways than one.

Lots of people were very offended by this film (just as some might be offended by this writing!). It does poke fun (scathing, caustic wit is more like it, in truth) at religion in general, Christianity in specific, and the Roman Catholic church in particular. As a priest, I thought there were some questionable scenes and would have preferred a little less foul language; but overall, I thought the premise and the storyline were creative and inventive. I'm quite surprised, actually, that it became a controversy -- I would never use this film for a catechism class, but my fellow seminarians and I had quite productive discussions talking about the topics brought up in the film.

With a fair share of language and violence, this film is not for school age viewers. As a focus point for discussing religion or the growing problems of society, this film will give abundant fuel. This film is uniquely weird, but filled with brains and thought provoking in-your-face statements. A certain cult-candidate.****

Rating:
Summary: Its Just a Movie (Although a Really Funny One)!!
Review: First off, Dogma isn't supposed to be takin seriously. None of Kevin Smith's movies are, for that matter. So, for all of you naysayers who do nothing but harp on this movie, please, do all the fans a favor: GET OVER IT, AND DON'T WATCH IT!!! Now, that's been said, on to the movie. This was the first Kevin Smith movie I had ever viewed, and from the get go, I liked it. The acting, for all characters, is enjoyable. You can believe the actors are there characters (which is kind of the point, right?). As a Catholic myself, I was apprehensive of this film, until I realized that it is just a movie. If you're the type of person who can watch a movie, and not take all of its messages to heart, please, view this one. Actually, there is one good idea that this movie brings to light. There is a line in the film that says "So you believe now?" "No, but I have a pretty good idea." This line refers to the thought of religion, and if you are one those fanatics, then maybe it isn't your flick. But maybe, just maybe, you can walk away laughing, and even thinking, which I believe was Kevin Smith's main idea.

Rating:
Summary: Top Notch DVD
Review: As with all Smith movies, this DVD delivers the goods.

First, the movie. It is one that needs to be viewed as a "thoughtful comedy" to be appreciated. It deals with some heavy duty material, but is done so in more of a "what if" manner. This is not to be taken as the absolute truth. Anyone who thinks that this is an indication of how things are needs their head examined.

Acting wise, Matt Damon, Chris Rock, and Jay Mewes shine. Even Ben Affleck is quite entertaining. In all honestly, Linda Fiorentino is the only disappointment. Everyone else pretty much NAILS their roll.

And of course, the commentaries are great. The actor one barely mentions the film, which is actually very amusing. And the deleted scenes are great, though somewhat frustrating without the play all button. This was fixed with Jay and Silent Bob Strike back though.

Check it out.

Rating:
Summary: one of the best movies ever
Review: at first i thought this movie was making fun of christian views but it actually is a great movie and has some many issues that they address such as god actually being a girl instead of a guy...all the actors do a great job in this movie esp. jason mewes...who i happan to be obbessed/in love with...lol...its a must see for teens like me

Rating:
Summary: Stupendous
Review: Time and time again, Kevin Smith demonstates his brilliance. This movie is definitely his most thought provoking. Sure no one knows everything about the true nature of God. Like many great intellects of the best, Smith realizes that simple Faith is the answer to some many of the Big Questions. Sure He can sometimesbe vulgar, but all his movies are excellent in one way or another. Being a young catholic, I do find this to be my favorite.