Rating: Summary: words, words, words... Review: From the opening credits to the mother of all deus ex machina's Kevin Smith has once again created an intelligent and witty movie with one of the more original plots around. A skee-ball fanatic God, angels exiled to Wisconsin for talking back, the 13th apostle, a muse turned exotic dancer, one of the most foul-mouthed sex fiends as a prophet (Yeah, Jay!) and an abortionist turned "last scion"? Words are the basis of this marvel, which makes you actually pay attention and think beyond the simple sight gags, physical humor, phallic jokes, and raucous humor of today's more typical comedies. So open your ears, and be prepared to laugh, because, in case I didn't mention it before, this is a REAL FUNNY movie.
Rating: Summary: Some good ideas that were very badly executed Review: This movie is sort of a cross of "Rambo" and "Oh God!" Or something. The barbed commentary about organized religion was occasionally funny and occasionally thought-provoking. Unfortunately, neither happened with enough regularity to salvage this flick. The macchine-gun-blasting, head-exploding gratitious violence was repulsive, excessive, and largely irrelevant. I suppose teen-age types will find the abundant use of the F-word funny, but anybody over the age of 21 will probably find it stupid. There were scenes that seemed totally irrelevant to the plot, sometimes the dialog could not be understood, and in general the production and direction left a lot to be desired. George Carlin was good, as always, but that was the only true standout in the film. I give it 2 stars, for what it could have been but wasn't.
Rating: Summary: Dogma Review: Of all the Religous-themed apocalypse movies released during 1999 & 2000 (End of Days, Ninth Gate, Omega Code, just to name a few)Dogma was the only one of these films to be intentionally funny. Although the plethora of 4-letter words offend many, the film is well researched in terms of mythology, intelligent & clever in terms of dialogue, and thoughtful thematicly. Kevin Smith, the director, made this movie as an exploration of his own Faith, resulting in a movie that didn't feel like it was made by a bunch of Bible thumping Hellfire preachers or Hollywood hacks who think that just because the say "Devil" or "Satan" in a movie audience members will be scared. This is not to say that the movie didn't have a few flaws. Like so many other movies made during the past decade, it felt too long, & Kevin Smith's style as a director seemed ill-suited to the special effects used in the movie, resulting in an occasionally clumsy feel. This movie may not be as good as Chasing Amy (in my humble opinion, Mr. Smith's finest work to date)but it is still worthwhile.
Rating: Summary: the most WORDY movie I've ever seen! Review: I thought 'Clerks' was somewhat a charming, if poorly acted, first film. Realistic setting with OK dialogue.... got a laugh out of Silent Bob, so I figured that 'Dogma' would be a nice leap forward for Smith with its big-name stars and what-not. Turns out that this guy released the single most WORDY film I've ever sat through. It's like listening to anything off of Springsteen's first two albums where he crams in about 200 words per verse ("Blinded by the Light") Suffering from aural fatigue after viewing this film, I high-tailed it to an abandnoded campground in upstate New York and entered into a vow of silence for one week. No words spoken, none heard. I was tired of the words that every character in 'Dogma' had to constantly utter whenever they were on screen. My creative writing prof in college always told us to "show don't tell". Too bad Smith couldn't follow this simple rule.
Rating: Summary: Funny and interesting comment on Catholisism Review: First of all, before anything else, I must comment to all of you who might find this movie blasphemous... it really isn't. This movie is never presented as truth or even really a parody on religion. Rather, it takes some artistic license with a few beliefs, exagerates them, throws in a few ideas that are controversial and a few ideas that are quite astute observations, and makes it all quite humerous. Don't look at this movie as if it's making fun of God, look at it like it's making fun of the people who really skew religion away from what it is in its foundation. If you're one of those people, by all means, take offense. Having said that, this movie is funny. It's not my be-all-end-all funny movie, but it's up there. Kevin Smith shows us again why we love his movies so much. Probably the funniest part of this movie is Jay and Silent Bob. They really shine like never before. Jason Lee is good as Azrael, but I still feel he's better in more major roles like he had in Mallrats. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are great as the two fallen angels, giving us some great scenes with Damon re-filling his role as the angel of death. On the *slightly* more serious side, Smith gives us several very poignant observations about Catholisism today, from the incredibly superficial Cardinal played by George Carlan to the words of Serendipity (Salma Hayek) concerning how modern Catholics treat their faith. However, even these observations are treated with humor, and you can't help but laugh at "the Buddy Christ". In the end, this is just a funny movie on religion. If you can't have a sense of humor at someone else's view on this, then don't watch it. But as for the rest of us, we'll be watching it many times.
Rating: Summary: Very funny! Review: This is probably my favorite Kevin Smith movie. I say this because it speaks a lot about faith, friendship, and the consequences of our actions. Not to say there isn't a rubber poop monster in the film, because there is. I think this film more than any of Smith's others has layers meant to be sifted through. The dialouge is meant to entertain and educate us, at least that is what it did for me. My favorite scene is with Damon and Affleck in the garage when Affleck's character has finally snapped and goes off on a rant about how mankind has forsaken God. If you get the special edition, the deleted scenes are awesome including a powerful speech by Jason Lee's character about the nature of Hell and evil that is just another example of Smith's ability to write something truly meaningful.
Rating: Summary: Stupid and very boring Review: This is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. It is very boring and uninteresting and the story is just plain stupid. The acting and directing was horrendous as well. Kevin Smith should be ashamed to release such a total piece of garbage like this. I can't believe the actors/actresses agreed to do this movie. It's THAT bad.
Rating: Summary: A very funny Movie Review: At first I thought this was gonna be another End of Days film but I was wrong! However the only thing that earns it the stars I've given it is because its funny. If you like comidies then this is for you, but if you want to get serious then look elsewhere. The story is probably thw weakest thing I've ever seen, but as I see it the movie was meant to be a comedy and so the story was weak for that and so I must give it a 4
Rating: Summary: Dogma: Ironic and Intelligent Review: I loved this film. It was funny, ironic, intelligent, and addressed fundamental existential questions without offering any easy answers. I understand that the pious may be offended (some of the film is a little over the top). And I am tempted to say that makes the film all the more appealing. But really, I hope my religious friends will not take the film personally, but laugh along with the rest of us.
Rating: Summary: Very, very witty, funny, and all around clever Review: If you didn't think this movie was funny, you a)Are too close-minded to understand what Kevin Smith was trying to say in the movie, or b)haven't seen his other movies. If you did, you would have understood Jay and Silent Bob, you would have recognized the clerk that sold Bartleby and Loki the gun, you would have recognized Asriel, and many other little things like those, or c)didn't get it. If you didn't think this movie was funny, you missed the point of it. It's a great movie, with great acting, great dialogue, even if it is F-word heavy, and lots of underlying meaning. If you watch this movie with no understanding of history or the Catholic religion, you won't get it. It's as simple as that. Don't listen to those who tell you this movie is boring or stupid. They didn't get it. This movie does not target the stupid, nor does it target the elderly. If you fall under either of these categories, don't waste your time; you won't like this movie.
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