Dogma

Rating:
Summary: Everything that you could jam into a DVD, and a fruit pie.
Review: I love Kevin Smith. I mean, LOVE him. His movies are the greatest contributions to human society since electricity. And I'd love to say "Hey this DVD BLOWS!" because firstly I love trashing movies, and secondly, I love the sound of my own voice. But sadly, this is the best movie I've seen in a LONG time. Not just the movie is good, so's the DVD.
Kevin's movie itself, "Dogma" is an awesome story about two renegade angels named Bartleby and Loki (played by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon respectively) who may un-make existance if not for the help of a simple lowly human (played by Linda Florentino)who turns out to be more important than she had imagined. To top it all off, who do you think shows up but a couple of prophets, namely Jay and Silent Bob, also known as "Kevin Smith's cash cows #1 and #2".
If the quality of said movie isn't enough for you, the DVDs are awesome. You won't want to throw the second one away after one viewing like some special edition DVDs I've watched. There's TONS of deleted scenes, outtakes, storyboards, bios, and then my favorite part, the commentary. Kevin Smith's commentaries are always entertaining, and I end up watching them as much as the movie. If you have the video and you're thinking of buying this, don't hesitate. Trust me.

Rating:
Summary: One of a kind comedy with Mature Humour.
Review: There is some people, i know didn`t like the film at all. It was too much for thier taste. This is one of those film, you don`t have to take it seriously for the unusual plot. Highlights of the comedy is actors in the movie, which are a great cast:Linda Fiorentino, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Scene stealing-Alan Rickman, Chris Rock, Salma Heyek and Jason Lee. Some another surprising camoes. I don`t really know is Jason Mewes, which is a funny guy with vulgar jokes. Director Kevin Smith, he also give himself a supporting role, did well making this crazy satire work. It has some tasteless scene and gags, one of them is really gross. At times the film goes a little too far, especially the last fifteen minutes, which is okay for this kind of movie. What i liked about the film is story, is clever and silly at the same time, it also about different kinds of faith and religion, doesn`t always make sense, but it paid off well. Of course, the film is not for all taste and don`t look too hard at the film plot, you will enjoy it more and be surprise at this wild film, which is going soon to be Cult-Classic. Grade:A-. Super 35.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Have For Kevin Smith Fans
Review: If you are obsessed, as I am, with the works of the very underrated Kevin Smith, then you can enjoy this Collectors Edition with no worries about lack of content or even worry about having seen everything that there is to see in the movie Dogma.

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: Kevin Smith is Brilliant
Review: A quick primer -- Kevin Smith is the tiny indie director/comic book fan who managed to land deals with Miramax and Universal and has made five of the best, funniest movies of the past decade.

Dogma is the fourth of these five films, and is every bit as good as anything Smith has ever done. The story focuses on a pair of fallen angels (Affleck and Damon) who find a loophole to allow them to get back into Heaven -- which, of course, will unmake all existance. (It makes sense in context, trust me) It's up to Linda Fiorentino to stop them -- with the help of a muse (Salma Hayek), the 13th Apostle (Chris Rock) and a pair of unlikely prophets in the form of Smith's constant goofball heroes, Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Smith himself, respectively). Alan Rickman also does a great turn as Metatron, the voice of God.

A lot of people griped about this movie, saying it was anti-Church, anti-Catholic... but as a practicing Catholic myself, let me tell you, this is perhaps the most faith-AFFIRMING movie I've ever seen. While this movie certainly isn't for everyone, anyone who appreciates Smith's sense of humor will love a movie that leaves you feeling that God exists, God is good, and if we'd all just lighten up things would be a heck of a lot better in this world.

This special edition makes the movie even better, letting you see the stuff Smith (wisely) left on the cutting room floor. A lot of it is great stuff, but it simply would have disrupted the flow of the movie. Still, the "Fat Albert" deleted scene alone is worth the price of the set.

Oh -- and good luck finding the two hysterical Easter Eggs -- "How Mewes thinks Kevin directs" and "How Kevin actually directs."

Rating:
Summary: Kevin, you've done it again.
Review: As far as movies about fallen angels finding a loophole in Catholic dogma that would get them back home to Heaven go, this is the best one of the pack.

Seriously, though, this is the best movie of 1999, right in front of "South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut" and "American Beauty."

Look for cameos from View Askew regulars, such as Walt the Fan-Boy and Steve-Dave (Walt Flanagan and Bryan Johnson) and "Clerks"' Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson.

Now, onto the DVD. The 2:35 transfer is great and the sound is superb. For those of you misguided souls who don't like widescreen, there's a full screen version of the flick on the flip side of the disc.

Unfortunately, though, this is only the bare bones disc, but the special edition should be coming out in October.

According to Kevin Smith and Vincent Pereira, it will include, amongst other things, 100 minutes of cut footage/deleted scenes and feature-length commentary by Smith, Jason Mewes, Jason Lee, Ben Affleck, producer Scott Mosier, and "View Askew Historian" Pereira. The release will probably be a double disc.

But if you're like me and can't wait until October, this is a great way to tithe yourself over until then.

Rating:
Summary: Reigning catechism and dogma
Review: A friend asked me a while back if I'd ever seen a Kevin Smith movie. As much as I try to keep up with cinematic trends, I had to admit I hadn't quite gotten around to Mr. Smith's work so far. So recently, I made a point to pick one up. Freud says there are no accidents, so does that mean that I unconsciously sat down to watch DOGMA in the wee hours of a Sunday morning before I realized it was, in fact, EASTER SUNDAY? And if so, does that mean, I'm merely irreverent--or completely sacreligious. This while everyone else is trundling off to take in THE PASSION. Yikes! I scare myself.

Oh, wait. I read what others have posted and am somewhat relieved. Smith himself does not view the film as sacrilege. It's his funny Valentine to the Church itself. (Don't expect flowers in return, Kev, but at least a few of us lapsed get your drift). And, hey, as even Madonna is quick to point out, once a Catholic always a Catholic.

It doesn't really matter that the theological ramblings of some of the characters are kind of sophomoric, even freshmanic. Even you've ever had an all-night theological bull session in college, you'll relate. And it doesn't really matter that the characters who most often indulge in the bull throwing are in fact angels who should probably know better. After millenia of being banished to the third ring of Wisconsin, how can you expect much else? And why are these angels named after the Norse god of thunder and a Herman Melville's less than motivated scrivener?

In other words, this movie really is a movie of ideas. Whether these ideas are really all that profound is another matter. Can Church law actually be twisted in such a way that the very universe unravels? Can God possibly look like Alanis Morissette--and sound like a Wookie? These are questions that won't keep anyone up at night, but the movie is just brainy enough to let the eggheads and the budding theologians in on the overall fun.

And it is fun. Good cast, pretty good script--dialog that is mostly sharp (with some clunker lines interspersed among the gems). Unfortunately, as the amazon.com critic above observes, the movie suffers due to direction that is only fair to middlin'. It took me a while to realize that the actors weren't off, so much as the pacing. A lot of the dialog seems rushed. Linda Fiorentino is normally such a natural, but in many scenes her dialog seems alternately rushed and repetitive. Eventually, it dawned on me that she (and Alan Rickman and other normally very good actors) had been indeed been "on," but the camerawork, the choppy delivery of lines and overall pacing--all directorial concerns--contributed to the impression that the actors weren't doing all they could. (Actually, they were probably doing MORE, actually working harder than usual.) I mean, Chris Rock should always be slam dunk funny. Here he has his great and not-so-great moments.

So the film remains something of a shaggy dogma story. And if you keep that in mind, you'll likely find the film a lot of fun. I don't know how it fits in with his entire oeuvre, but it piqued my interest to check out more. Kevin Smith is an original talent. And besides, Jay and Silent Bob are cool guys.

Rating:
Summary: no ticket
Review: this one is viewed on religion and the churches and heaven and hell and the end of the earth. god goes into a body but is hospitalized and noone knows about it. Bartleby(Ben Affleck) and Loki(Matt Damon) are on their way to Jersey to go home and in doing so create chaos and they have the help of Azerl(Jason Lee), 3 skatepunks and a crap demon. Bethany(Linda Fiorentino) is the last scion and she must recruit a team to help her stop the 2 angels from going back into heaven. she meets to prophets, Jay(Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob(Kevin Smith, the director), the voice of god(Alan Rickman), the 13th apostasle Rufus(Chris Rock) and the muse Serendipity(Salma Hayek). they all are trying to stop the 2 angels. lots of great diologue and the story is wonderfully told. other stars make cameos as well like, Alanis Morrisette(the singer), Bud Cort(the old man at the beginning), Brian O'Halloran(Mallrats, Clerks, Vulgar), Jeff Anderson(Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back), George Carlin(Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back), Janeane Garofolo(ColdBlooded, MysteryMen, Reality Bites), Dwight Ewell(Chasing Amy and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back)and many others.

Rating:
Summary: Time to go to confession again...
Review: Watching a movie that stars George Carlin as a Cardinal and Alanis Morissette as God is probably a sure-fire way to earn a few extra days in Purgatory. Still, "Dogma" is not what it was accused of being-- an anti-Catholic, anti-religion movie. It's actually quite reverential, and respectful, of God and the teachings of the Bible.

Kevin Smith must have had some rigorous nuns giving religious instruction because the movie is full of bizarre and hilarious theological situations. When Carlin, introducing a new "Catholicism Wow!" marketing campaign, announces that the Church is getting rid of the crucifix as a symbol because it's too depressing, well, I laughed like a maniac, and then hid behind the couch so the thunderbolts from above wouldn't strike me down.

The story centers around two angels (Damon and Affleck) who learn of a loophole in church law that will allow them to go back to Heaven against God's wishes. By proving that God is fallible, however, the two angels could cause the end of existence. Opposing them is an ordinary woman charged with halting them, with help from an angel, a forgotten Apostle, a Muse, and of course Jay and Silent Bob, the two, well, morons who appear in Smith's films.

The movie is hilarious, profane, at times mildly sacrilegious, but you always know that Smith means no disrespect to God Himself (or Herself). The Catholic Church doesn't come across especially well (casting Carlin as a Cardinal would seem to be a hint) so I can understand the uproar. But if you watch the movie and listen to what's actually being said, you'll see that there's no need for Smith to be burned at the stake. Forgive the sinner, for the sin is not so great. The film is, though.

Rating:
Summary: God Has A Sense of Humor
Review: Title: Dogma

Director: Kevin Smith

Cast: George Carlin ... Cardinal Ignatius Glick
Matt Damon ... Loki
Ben Affleck ... Bartleby
Linda Fiorentino ... Bethany Sloane
Jason Lee ... Azrael
Alan Rickman ... Metatron
Jason Mewes ... Jay
Kevin Smith ... Silent Bob
Chris Rock ... Rufus
Salma Hayek ... Serendipity

Tagline: "Faith is a funny thing."

Plot Summary: Here goes. Two angels who have been cast from heaven hatch a plot to thwart God's plans. Um...meanwhile, a woman who has lost her faith is commissioned by God to stop them, and she learns a lot about herself and about God in the process.

Review and Comments: There, how'd I do? It's freaking HARD to summarize what happens in this movie. Going into it, I had NO IDEA what was going to happen in this movie, and I was totally shocked by what I saw. But we'll get to that in a minute. First...

Main Entry: com•e•dy
Pronunciation: 'kä-m&-dE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -dies
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French comedie, from Latin comoedia, from Greek kOmOidia, from kOmos revel + aeidein to sing -- more at ODE
1 a : a medieval narrative that ends happily b : a literary work written in a comic style or treating a comic theme
2 a : a drama of light and amusing character and typically with a happy ending
3 : a ludicrous or farcical event or series of events
4 a : the comic element: humorous entertainment

Now. When I pay money to watch a comedy, I expect that perhaps serious things will happen, but that overall, this things will be portrayed in a humorous light and that the proceedings will go down easy, even when said comedy contains things I probably shouldn't laugh at-i.e. things most people would find offensive. I expected to find lots of things that most people find offensive in this movie, since I knew it dealt with religion and most people totally lack a sense of humor when it comes to religion. When I was discussing this movie with someone who told me that it might offend me, I said that I could handle it, because, after all, "God has a sense of humor." I was highly amused to find that exact declaration at the beginning of this movie, in the utterly hilarious series of disclaimers. I thought I was ready for whatever happened in this movie.

Is everyone familiar with the term "Dark Comedy"? This term regards events that are serious, but presented in such a way that they elicit laughter...often in a "You have to laugh or you'll cry" sense. Well, if that's the definition of a dark comedy, then Dogma is a pitch black comedy of the darkest kind. There are scores of violent onscreen murders, there's angel dismemberment, and there's a scary performance that moved me to declare, "Wow, Ben Affleck can act." In other words, there are tons of highly disturbing things that happen that I didn't expect, and I'd just like to warn people right now that while this is an intensely entertaining and overall fun film, there are some downright freaky moments that nearly caused me to have a heart attack because I wasn't expecting them. Be forewarned.

I'm familiar with the journey story outline taken here...a character embarks on a journey, gathers friends along the way, learns some kind of a lesson through the proceedings, and is a changed person when the movie ends. In this movie, most of the lessons are about faith; about believing in something you cannot see. Within the mythology of the film, no denomination or church has gotten everything right about God, so it's fun to watch the different reactions when the characters learn the truth about what God is really like (and the complex heavenly infrastructure, complete with angels and demons and...Muses? From Greek Mythology? Ok...).

I have a very strong faith in God (a faith that has helped me through many difficult times, and a faith that is so strong it moves me to capitalize the "G" in God even when I try not to), and because of my faith I can fully relate to the quandaries faced by the lead character Bethany. God can be cruel. God's plan is hard to understand. Life often doesn't make sense. And the one that people often refuse to say...God is freaking WEIRD. This movie captures that weird spirit perfectly. The quest that is given to Bethany is weird, and the companions that she picks up along the way on this journey are even weirder.

But central to all the weird happenings, the movie has a good heart. The things Bethany learns as she proceeds along this journey and the way she comes to a realization of God's love are moving. The whacky moments are plentiful...just about everything that happens is weird in one way or another. And the action is top notch, keeping me on the edge of my seat as I was drawn into this world. My head filled with a seemingly endless stream of questions that kept me guessing...Will the demons prevail? Will the angels succeed in thwarting God's plan, thus proving God fallible and destroying the premise upon which the world is built-that God can't be wrong? How many people will have to die strangely disturbing violent deaths before this film isn't classified as a comedy by most video stores? I was so drawn into what was happeniong that when the movie finally ended, I was still thinking about the ideas it had presented. Most people don't talk about this this, but in the bible, lots of things happen that make no sense, and people are forced to trust in God even when they don't have answers. That's what this is about, and I loved seeing it presented in this way.

In fact, I loved every minute of this movie...whether I was laughing or crying or covering my eyes or gasping in disgust. This movie surprised me so thoroughly that my first thought after finishing it was to watch it over again to see what I'd missed the first time. I absolutely loved it, even as I realize why it offended so many people. So maybe I can't watch it with most of my friends. I love it anyway.

The Bottom Line: I repeat: God has a sense of humor. So do I. This movie is indescribably weird in every possible way (and in a few ways that I once thought were impossible) but it's engaging, exciting, and hilarious as well.