Dogma

Rating:
Summary: MUST SEE DVD
Review: I bought this movie sight unseen, something which previously, I have never done. Why? Well, I'd seen Clerks and Mallrats and was only marginally impressed with them (sorry to those of you who are huge Kevin Smith fans). I've never seen Chasing Amy. I didn't really buy it for the actors (tho Kevin rounded up most of the greats, and Jay and Silent Bob ROCK). No, I bought this movie, sight unseen, because, being a "born again heathen," I wanted to see a movie that made fun of religion.

Ho-ho! No one bite off my head, because you're right. This movie DOESN'T make fun of religion, nor does it bash it or trash it. It just takes religion off it's infallible holy-holy pedestal and analyzes it critically--something that no faith I've ever been exposed to has ever done.

Though the movie assumes that there was a God and a Jesus (effectively nixing the validity of other faiths who celebrate other deities) as well as all the saints and angels and all of that, there are several moments where they ask questions some might deem silly or *gasp* blasphemous. Please, if a belief system can't stand up to a few tough questions, maybe it's not worth believing in. The characters take turns knocking religion apart and then reconstructing it in a way that just kinda makes you say, "Hey, yeah!"

Now, I'm not Catholic and never will be. As far as God and Jesus are concerned--maybe it really happened that way and maybe it didn't. I'm not going to argue that point. But as far as the philosphical points that were made in the course of this movie, I was constantly nodding my head in agreement. You don't HAVE to be holier than thou to be a good person. You don't HAVE to go to church to prove you have faith. Ideas are better than beliefs, because ideas evolve better than dogmatic rhetoric. Many of the key points in this movie should make ALL people, regardless of race, religion, or cultural background, nod in agreement.

Oh, and in response to someone who was disappointed about some scene that ran ten minutes long and was bored by that. Try putting your stopwatch away and actually ENJOY the movie you're watching. If you don't enjoy it, turn it off, but don't gripe. I was loving this movie so thoroughly, I didn't bother looking at a clock--who needed to? Apart from stopwatch guy and all those people taking notes only about things which seemed questionable so they could whine about what a horrible, religion bashing movie Dogma is. Give me a break!

I loved this movie so much, I'm thinking about giving some of those other movies another watch.

I **highly** recommend this movie to one and all who come with an open mind and are mature enough to consider things you were never taught. All you closed-minded, immature people... stay at home and play with your stopwatches.

Rating:
Summary: Original and funny movie, but the DVD is empty.
Review: This movie deserves more than a featurless DVD with only a theatrical trailer as an extra, hopefully someday a special edition will come out.

This movie is very original and very funny. Weather you are religious or not, you will enjoy the fantasy and comedy this movie has to offer. Some may not like the over abitious style of the story, because it is controversial as most of Kevin Smith's films are, but just watch it with an open mind, and you'll enjoy it. If you are not a Kevin Smith fan however, look the other way.

Rating:
Summary: Great Portrail of God
Review: I loved God as a being involved with and loving Her/His creation. The Sion and The Voice were great. So were The Muse, The Apostle, The Demon and the fallen angels. The prophets had their moments, especially the silent one. Together though the film was a little too dumb guy for me. Once nice thing about DVD's is that I can skip some of the trashier moments and enjoy rewatching this film.

Rating:
Summary: A movie to make you think.
Review: Kevin Smith does it again. All of his movies make you use your head for more than just something to keep your Nike hat on, but this one combines great humor, awesome philosophy, and killer bud. You can't go wrong with a trio like that! Kevin Smith is a modern Jonathan Swift, and as long as he keeps making these movies, I'll keep watching them.

Rating:
Summary: Holy Bartender!
Review: This movie is about two angels that found a way to reenter into heaven(thanks to a new catholic campaign The Catholisism WOW! ),but if they do that proves that GOD is wrong(because GOD said they were not going to be able to enter again)so it would be the end of the world.

To prevent this Bethany(a catholic that lost her faith)has to stop the angels with the help of two prophets,the 13th apostle,Metatron(the voice of GOD)and Serendipity.

The two angels have some helpers too:Azrael(a devil that knows how to make a holy bartender), the Golgotha demon and the Stygian Triplets.

This movie has accion,adventure,comedy and suspense and all that is greatly excecuted.

If you lke movies that make you laugh with a brilliant script look no further,this is it,go and buy this DVD,NOW!

Rating:
Summary: The most original and halarious film of the year
Review: Dogma was really entertaining. It's completly smart and down right funny. Kevin Smith is the master of all comedies!

Rating:
Summary: Raw Comedy or Slap to the Face?
Review: Kevin used an aggressive approach to his newest release Dogma. Coming out of the movie theater people had mixed reviews. Lets not kid ourselves...any movie about religion is going to offend some people. Just take the film as to the context in for which it was meant for and you get a superbly done comedy filled with an all-star cast of up and coming actors and established talent. Well written and great camera shots. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Rating:
Summary: Great movie, weak DVD -- wait for the next release
Review: Note that there are NO EXTRAS on this DVD. (I don't count trailers)

For Kevin Smith fans this is a HUGE letdown, especially considering all the stuff they even managed to cram into the Mallrats DVD.

According to director Kevin Smith on his View Askew website, later this year (2000) will see the release of a fully-loaded DVD with all the extra goodies DVD owners have to demand, especially for quality movies.

As for the film itself, this is a brilliant movie for those of you that choose to look towards western, organized religions (regardless of the denomination) with a questioning glance. If you're not the one that can take "isms" lightly -- in this case sarcasm, symbolism, criticism, witicism -- then why bother watching?

But if you can watch a movie objectively and listen to the point of view it's taking, you'll be at the very least by Dogma's very original look at the Catholic church and what drives the followers of Catholicism (and for those of you out there that think Smith is a heathen, be aware that he is Catholic, goes to church every week pays his tithe on a weekly basis).

And if you were already fan of any of the original Jersey Trilogy (Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy), you'll be delighted by Dogma. It's as fresh and blunt (oh, a pun!) as Clerks, as biting and sterotype-smashing as Chasing Amy, while still building on the heroic qualities [smirk] of Jay and Silent Bob from Mallrats.

Rating:
Summary: DON'T BUY THIS VERSION OF THE DVD!
Review: View Askew is putting out a more fully loaded version of Dogma later this year with commentary, deleted scenes, etc. So rent this DVD if you must, but don't buy it.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: Kevin Smith is great. Every movie of his that i released, I see right away and this one is no exception. Dogma was a really interesting movie, and although some of it went over my little 16-year-old head, i enjoyed this movie a lot. Chris Rock was hilarious and Jason Mewes as Jay was great as always. Religion has always been a very touchy subject, so kudos to Smith for going through with this amazing movie.