Rating: Summary: You won't believe how good this film is.. Review: Biting satire, slapstick comedy and a very heavy message plus good acting (mostly) make this film a real winner. I recommend this one to anyone who is'nt a religious nut (You know who you are) and loves good movies.
Rating: Summary: Dog..............ma Review: Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy are all classics and I think that must have weighed heavily on Kevin Smith when he made this film.All the bits which captured your imagination and funny bone in the first three movies are gone, what you are left with is a movie with very little to offer. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon bring some star power to the movie, but to be honest, the earlier movies worked better with a higher proportion of little known actors. It just doesn't work as a movie!
Rating: Summary: DOGMA Review: DOGMA is the fourth entry in the 'New Jersey Chronicles'. The film is about a Catholic woman who is chosen to stop two renegade angels from getting back into Heaven --- and destroying all human existence in the process. Jay and Silent Bob appear as two unlikely prophets who end up joining the woman on her road trip to New Jersey where she must stop the renegade angels. The 2 Disc DVD Special Edition of this film is the only true way to see it!
Rating: Summary: Dogma has new ideas about religion Review: "Dogma" began with some notes by Kevin Smith(Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy) before he even thought up "Clerks". Back then it was originally called "God" and he only had a few scenes written on some notes. Since then, he has written and directed "The Jersey Trilogy", which all surround semi-biographical stories of his life in New Jersey. This time around, New Jersey is the destination, not the primary setting. It is here where the story will begin and end. New Jersey: 1999 Cardinal Glick(George Carlin) plans to celebrate his Catholic church Centenial by steering Catholicism from a bleak past to an upbeat future. Anyone who enters the church will be in a state of grace, and all of their past sins will be gone. This is the event that two fallen angels named Bartleby and Loki(Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) discover as their loophole back into heaven. If they walk through the doors, their sins will be gone. After that they would have to cut off their wings, and then get killed, therebye sending their souls into heaven. They have been banished to Wisconsin until the world ends, and when that happens, they will have to sit outside of Heaven's gate for the rest of eternity. So they decide to travel to New Jersey, in order to return home. The problem is that if they get back into heaven, it will negate God's decree and all existence will dissapear as we know it. The over worked voice of god named Metatron(Alan Rickman) summons a Catholic who's lost her faith named Bethany(Linda Florentino). She is helped by two profits named Jay and silent Bob(Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith). The pair are going to New Jersey anyway, so she asks to go with them. On the way they meet Rufus(Chris Rock), a dead man who claims that he is the 13th Apostle and was only left out of the bible because he is black. They all travel on their way in the attempt to stop Bartleby and Loki from succeeding. Kevin Smith(Writer/Director) creates a comedy that is purely fiction, but it often seems quite believable(concerning religion). It also mocks those people who would hate it without seeing it first(There were many). It opens with a disclaimer stating that it is purely a work of fantasy, and that it shouldn't really be taken seriously. It goes on to make a joke about the platypus and then apologizes to all of the platipi enthusiasts out there. As far as the cast goes, there can be absolutely no complaints. It is suprising that Smith got the type of cast that he did because they were paid almost close to nothing. But it all paid off because "Dogma" is a satisfying comedy that puts a new spin on common belief. The characters of Jay and silent Bob have made an impression into the minds of moviegoers. The amount of speaking that Jay does sort of evens out the duo. Lots of people will love "Dogma" and of course, lots of people will not. Lets just hope that the people that don't like it see it first.
Rating: Summary: JAY is not funny!! Review: First, let me say this: JAY is not funny!! Silent Bob: funny. Jay: not so funny. Jay is a loud, raucious kid who is not funny. That said, the movie is pretty good. Never seen a Kevin Smith film before (don't think I ever will either). I'm not Catholic like the movie (not ever movie can be perfect), but I enjoyed MOST of it nonetheless. Did anyone else notice Jay and Silent Bob in SCREAM 3? Just thought I'd throw that in while I wait for the "How can you not like Kevin Smith movies" hate mail.
Rating: Summary: Why Smith is A Great Writer of our Generation... Review: ...and why most of it sits on a cutting room floor. On the Special Edition DVD, there is a scene where Bethany, who works in a Planned Parenthood clinic, discusses her past with a young woman who is prepared for her third abortion. This is a scene where the most skilled and political writer tempts violent retribution from the masses on either side of the abortion issue. Bethany, played by Linda Fiorentino, describes in visual imagery most suited for a novel, her own back story or reason for being in her particular line of work. In this 3 minute speech, you see the power of Kevin Smith as a writer. It may not be best suited for the big screen where we now expect million dollar variations of explosions and intercourse every Memorial Day weekend, but it is a bit of Hollywood driftwood preserved for us backwater types who don't get to screen View Askew movies at parties or film festivals before they are cut to commercial specs. Had this scene taken the Dragnet "I've been down that road and you just don't know" approach it wouldn't have worked. Had it been forced and ditatched, it would have been artificial...but this one scene, a minor part of the 2-disk set, proves that Smith is destined for greatness, perhaps he is the one of our generation who can turn his skill to the printed page to create that mythological Great American Novel that has baffled and eluded the Gen X ilk of the early 90s. As Smith and Co. restate in their introduction of each deleted scene, most of what was cut from the philosophical/religious treatise "Dogma" was because it added too much info to already established scenes. This is true and reminds me that Smith could be a great novelist should the urge strike. He has a gift for narrative and could write a vivid first-person novel without fear of being pretentious. If you hated Dogma, or have a religious bias against it, these words won't mean anything anyway. But "Dogma" is more about faith and love of God than most so-called "christian" movies out there. Its about Ideas and faith and renewing our relationship with God than about obeying and swearing our oath to the ancient, faceless patriarch. This is the only DVD version of the film you should own and only because it does justice both to the film and to the reasons behinds its production. Nice work, Kevin and Scott. Keep it coming. You're both ready for much more.
Rating: Summary: Great Film Review: Another great film from Kevin Smith. As always with all of Smith's dvds, the extra features are fabulous. Be sure to check out his other films on dvd if you haven't already.
Rating: Summary: No Shortcuts Into Heaven Review: I siffted through and read many of the reviews about this movie here, and I did not se anyone elude to the whole overall point of this movie. All of the people who went to that church to have all of their sins forgiven so they could start over and one day be welcomed into heaven were all killed. There is no easy way out, so be good.
Rating: Summary: Another example of a top notch DVD Review: Those people who really want more from their DVDs will probably already be aware of Kevin Smiths films, Smith really pushes the format, each of his previous releases (Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy & Clerks Uncensored) are overladen with goodies. Deleted Scenes, interviews and hilarious commentaries are standard issue for Smith and this disc brings Dogma into line, after a lacklustre bog standard release, this Special Edition really delivers. With Smiths signature heroes Jay and Silent Bob again grabbing the plaudits, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck give fine performances, Chris Rock and Alan Rickman are great and with the gorgeous Linda Fiorentino and Salma Hayek producing the goods, is there really a reason not to buy this disc? With the final instalment due soon (Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back), take the opportunity to get Dogma and get up to date before it's over for good!
Rating: Summary: Excellent Movie Review: Dogma is a great example of how Kevin Smith can keep the New Jersey series going while not focusing on "a day in the life" stories. In my view, Dogma is a good comedy with good acting. Smith brings the bible to life (sort of) and makes it funny! Affleck & Damon put on a good show. The movies content itself involves some bible characters and bible mythology. For people that are looking for "Clerks" "Mallrats" and "Chasing Amy" type stories, you won't find that here. But if you give Smith a chance, this movie will win you over. And besides, it has Jay and Silent Bob in it, what else do you need?!
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