Rating: Summary: Catholicism....WOW! Review: Don't listen to the zealots, this is a great movie. Many people believe that this movie "bashes" Christianity, Catholicism in particular. Now, like Kevin Smith, I am a Catholic, and I was in no way offended by this movie, in fact I saw it five times in the theater. This is a movie that shows the idiosyncracies in church dogma, just as every structure has idiosyncracies. The movie shows these points through an interesting and entertaining story of good v. evil. The overall theme of this movie is that people should be more open to new ideas and to realize what Christ was all about, love and understanding. "Jesus wasn't sent to earth to give us the 'willies,' he is a booster." Finally, this is a great movie, with great ideas and great dialogue. I believe that it is Kevin Smith's best work to date. Matt Damon, Jason Lee, Linda Fiorentino, George Carlin, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Alan Rickman, and Chris Rock all give very good performances, but Ben Affleck does a wonderful job as Bartleby. I would certainly suggest this movie to anyone. Faith is a funny thing.
Rating: Summary: One of the Best Movies of 1999! Review: Contrary to some of the negative reviews (who really cares ifan A-list movie looks "subpar"--if it's watchable andenjoyable, then what does it matter), this movie has more than simple comedy and great performances. Smith's "Dogma" asks so many theological quetions that when I left the theatre, I could not stop talking about some of the ideas he proposed--however controversial they might have seemed. Smith's writing, I think, has reached an all time high with this film, following his superb "Chasing Amy" and hilarious "Mallrats" (sorry to all you "Clerks" fans, but watching that film is so exceedingly painful and boring I can't describe it). In "Dogma," Smith rips apart religion and its factions--with a few extra stabs at his own Catholicism--yet at the same time upholds religion as a whole. And his knowledge of the Bible is clearly apparent, for some of his scenes (namely the scene between Fiorentino and Affleck (...)) drip with emotion and truth that Smith's motives are clear: in writing "Dogma" Smith attempted to intertwine lost faith, religious humor, and redemption. And what a fine effort it is! Even if the visuals are not amazing, the script, cast, and the discussions you will have long after the movie has ended are. Rent or buy this movie--it doesn't matter which--just see it. "Dogma" is truly wonderful; one of the best of 1999. END
Rating: Summary: Finally, an Intelligent Religious Joke Review: I am a reasonably knowledgeable person when it comes to not only Christianity, but also Catholic doctrine. I myself am not Catholic, but I understand the meaning and idea behind the Dogmatic structure. This movie is incredibly funny, but it is also smart. Every joke and situation is, while no always plausible, but at least correct. Using Biblical references and actual Church policy, the movie uses what is real, and makes that the source of humor. If you like your comedy intelligent, this one is for you.
Rating: Summary: Christianity FINALLY made sense... Review: I'm a nice Jewish girl who has tried all her life to understand Christianity, and I have to say that the angel's explanation of "Why Her" to the Last Scion was the very first time I thought it made any sense. Blasphemous, I know.Probably the best movie I've every seen.
Rating: Summary: If you are easily offended, don't even bother Review: What can I say? I love sarcasm even when it includes religion. Being Catholic, I could appreciate the movie more. You get to see the flaws and insanities of your religion. I wasn't offended by it. I took it as a satire, a deep look at who we are. I could not stop laughing throught the movie. It was a great comedy and the performances were flawless. I highly recomend this movie. Where else would you see George Carlin as a priest?
Rating: Summary: Best Movie I ever Saw Review: When I saw this movie in the theatre, I thought that I had died and gone to heaven. Afleck and Damon couldn't have done better. I was disturbed by some of the scenes, but other than that, I reccomend this movie to anyone who loves a good comedy.To make a long story short, I LOVED IT!
Rating: Summary: The best bad movie I ever saw... Review: That was the review in a local paper, and after seeing the movie I wholeheartedly agree. It is funny, brilliant at times, yet so full of overwhelmingly grade-B filmmaking that it should have made the movie unwatchable. To watch this movie and enjoy it, you will need not only a sense of humor about religion, but also a complete willingness to laugh at the movie itself... it cries out for it. Armed with both these things, it may be impossible not to like this movie.
Rating: Summary: Have fun with your Faith Review: This is a very funny movie although it is useful to know something about religion to get all the jokes. It is certainly not scripture but the message is that faith should be about joy and hope.
Rating: Summary: Good idea - Decent script - Poor execution Review: I have to credit Kevin Smith with two things: having a keen witand an insightful mind. The idea behind this movie was incredible(like his other films), and really made you think about the thingsthat were force-fed to you as a youngster. Also, the script is better than Smith's previous efforts, but... The directing, once again is just awful... END
Rating: Summary: Dogma Review: Kevin Smith is probably my favourite writer at the moment, although I do agree his directing does suffer under his previous success. Due to the larger budget, actor resources and script demands of his Latest film Dogma I believe it can be seen that he has struggled to juggle all the aspects successfully. Taken as a dialogue piece alone this is far superior to 99% of what is out there and measures up favourably to his past work but I think the main problem after reading one of the early script drafts is that so much has been cut to make the film more digestable for "Jo-Public" that it has become to cluttered with characters and just does not grant each character enough development on screen. Some characters I think should have even been dropped (namely Salma Hayek who pales in comparison to real actors next to her)Overall though it is an excellant film which is not the directors best work but is so full of very clever and insightful dialogue, that rings true that it proves as enlightening as to the riciculousness of organised religion as it proves entertaining. The advantage of the extras included on the DVD means it can only be Highly recommended.
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