Dogma

Rating:
Summary: Dogma - The 4th in a series of movie masterpieces
Review: Kevin Smith has continued his creative genius with hs 4th work Dogma. I always consider it a good sign when you have to wipe tears away from laughing before any acting has actually occurred. He keeps with the inter-movie jokes while poking fun at most of society whist providing justification that can't be rebutted.

This movie rocks!

Rating:
Summary: Dogma Is Heaven-sent.
Review: Dogma is a good if uneven film. It has Kevin Smith's signature style: Witty, quick, scatological dialogue rife with profanity and pop-culture references filmed without a scintilla of visual style -- but if you're a Kevin Smith fan then you don't watch his films for the latter.

This film has a stellar cast. Everyone here does a wonderful job, especially Ben Affleck and Matt Damon who have a wonderful on-screen chemistry and who are both adept at delivering Kevin Smith's dialogue. Unlike Salma Hayack who was more than likely reading the script for a foreign film.

Dogma sometimes feels just as preachy as the sort of thing the film derides, but then that is Smith's prerogative as an auteur and he never goes overboard with it. Besides, the mind-blowing metaphysical speculations alone more than make up for it.

Despite its many vacillations Dogma is a heartfelt endeavour teeming with laughs thanks to the funniest comedy duo of all time: Jay and Silent Bob. I love these guys!

Rating:
Summary: An original, bright, comedy
Review: I should probably start this review by saying that Dogma was forced on me by my best friend, an avowed Kevin Smith fanatic. Having only seen Chasing Amy before (and enjoying it a great deal), I was quite ready to dip into a movie by the same writer. It stirred up a fair bit of controversy at the time, although having watched it I can say it's not actually that controversial. Indeed, it's embracement of all 'ideas' comes almost perilously close to schmaltz. Saying that, this is exactly the kind of screwball humour I love. See, there are two disgraced angels (Damon and Affleck) who find a dogmatic loophole through which they can re-enter Heaven, thus ending the world by proving God to be fallible. So it falls upon Linda Fiorentino's lapsed Catholic, as recruited by The Voice of God (Alan Rickman), to put a stop to their dastardly plans. Along the way she's aided by prophets (Jay and Silent Bob), the forgotten 13th apostle (Chris Rock) and a muse (Salma Hayek). All against Jason Lee's horn-headed baddie.

The humour comes thick and fast, with some absolutely classic scenes involving Damon's Loki exacting vengeance on a board meeting, Alanis Morissette's God doing handstands after defeating the apocalypse and some very very brilliant pop culture references. The acting is also crucial, with particular stand-outs including Damon's most freewheeling role yet, Fiorentino treading a fine line between the serious and the comical and Affleck proving that with the right script and a role that doesn't reek of self-satisfaction (Pearl Harbour anyone?) he can be a very likeable, good, performer. It of course goes without saying that the supporting cast is uniformally excellent.

Still, the script does pander to vulgarity several times, which you'll either lap up or resent given the nuance, interesting humour of the rest of the movie. Smith also has a slight tendency to over-talk his script, as if to constantly to remind us that this is a satire and not something to be taken seriously. Whilst he points out in an ironic foreword that this should be evident ten minutes in, he still feels the need to hammer it in a little too much. Saying that though, the serious elements of the story are mostly done very well, thanks in no part to Fiorentino. Destined to become some kind of cult classic among Smith fans, this is a much smarter and funnier comedy than any of the one I've seen this year yet. So, whilst not brilliant perhaps, at the very least Dogma is witty, vibrant and original.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: Some find it odd that some one of my most oft-repeated sayings when discussing religion in serious conversations comes from a Kevin Smith movie -- "I think it's better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier." But I think that that line alone made this movie more than just a screwball comedy, controversial for the sake of being controversial. "Dogma" has some actual messages to get across, and it just happens to do it in a much more enjoyable way than, say, "The Passion."

The movie follows a disillusioned Catholic woman (Linda Fiorentino) on her journey, ordered by Metadron (Alan Rickman), to stop two fallen angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) from reentering heaven, thus rendering God's word reversible and ending the world as we know it. Along the way, she encounters workers of God, prophets, and the missing thirteenth apostle (Chris Rock, my favorite part of the movie). I'm not going to reveal any more of the plot, except to say that Alanis Morissette makes a pretty unexpected (and funny, when you consider the absurdity of it) appearance.

The great thing about "Dogma" is that it always seems to know exactly what it's doing. There's parts when it's supposed to be screwball humor (which is most of it), and parts when it's supposed to be more serious. It blends these two perfectly together, and the result makes you laugh and think at the same time. Truthfully, not many movies can do that. Sure, some may watch it only for the appearance of Kevin Smith regulars Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Smith himself, respectively) but if you look deeper, there's some real substance to this movie. It's not a bashing of the Catholic church; it's simply a movie that reminds you to ask questions. Highly recommended unless you're an easily offended Catholic.

Rating:
Summary: BOLDLY CYNICAL (AND OCCASIONALLY FUNNY) LOCKER-ROOM PRATTLE
Review: As a sweet bite of blaspemy this Kevin Smith stinker may do fine, supported by a star-studded cast and a crunchily inventive premise to sink our collective teeth into the heart of Catholicism.

But it is amusing to see a horde of reviewers call this clever and thoughtful. Sorry folks, the film's troop of eccentric characters do very little to bail it out of its convoluted ramble about theology.

When it comes to intellectual muck-raking, the film with its doozy "loophole" simply drowns under the weight of diminishing returns. Religion is not an intellectual exercise, it's role is to fulfill spiritual, psychological and emotional needs in our lives. A person needs his world to make some sense to them, and religion can comfort with answers that science can not yet provide.

If on the other hand you're game for some tongue-in-cheek degenerative humor (for example, giant monsters of bubbling human excrement) sure, this may be right up your alley. Just make sure you have plenty of time as the circus goes on for a while.

Rating:
Summary: A humorous look at faith
Review: As a pair of two lapsed Catholics, My husband and I rented this movie on the recommendation of another catholic friend of ours. From the moment they unveiled the hilarious "Buddy Christ" to the moment the ending credits appeared we were rolling on the floor howling with laughter as only two people who spent years in catholic school could.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were great as two fallen angels banished by God to hell (Wisconsin) trying to get back into Heaven through a loophole in Catholic dogma. Which would unfortunately destroy the world because it would prove God fallible. Chris Rock was a very funny 13th Apostle named Rufus and Selma Hayek's role as a feisty muse name Serendipity was also good. Jason Mews and Kevin Smith himself in their perennial roles as "Jay" and "Silent Bob" were a scream as two unlikely "prophets" sent to aid the last Scion played by Linda Fiorentino. My favorite performance was that of Alan Rickman who played the surly and much put upon Metatron (or the voice of God). He portrayed the long suffering character of God's right hand angel with an excellent mix of irony, dry humor, and compassion. His fiery entrance scene was classically funny!

I felt that the weakest performance was that of Fiorentino's who played the main character Bethany, the last Scion charged with the mission of stopping the renegade angels. While she did a good job, there was something that seemed slightly forced in her portrayal of a catholic (who worked in an abortion clinic by the way) struggling with her beliefs just going through the motions of faith. The sarcastic lines lacked some bite and her expressions seemed a bit contrived. Her performance improved in the middle of the movie during her scene with Rickman after she discovers her true identity.

Overall, I felt that Dogma was not about bashing the Catholic church, but about some of the funny things about organized religion and faith. Smith touches on a number of different issues here, and the humor was a great way of dealing with the touchy and explosive subject of religion.

Most critics I suspect were offended by the language, but if you've seen one of Kevin Smith's movies before, that's to be expected. Sometimes you have to look past the messenger to see the message. Other critics sited implausible plot, wordy, or the always elegant "it just sucks". One critic bashed Smith for assuming that everyone was Catholic!

Those that thought the movie bashed Catholicism didn't read into what Smith was saying. Selma Hayek summed it up perfectly "You people don't celebrate your faith. You mourn it." Loosen up people, having a sense of humor about it is part of celebrating your faith.

I agree that the dialogue got a bit wordy, but I suspect that was for the benefit of those who didn't have a background in Catholicism. If you filtered out some of the conversational meandering and vulgar interjections by the trash mouthed "prophet" Jay, you'll find some interesting and thought provoking gems in there. As for an implausible plot...hello! We're talking religion here folks, and I think that few people would agree that the Bible is necessarily a wellspring realistic and plausible plots. Religion is about leaps of faith and if you can't handle that, then you won't get the meaning behind the movie.

The critics in the "it just sucks" camp I suspect aren't very patient with the subject of "two hours of Catholic mythology" and are more comfortable with the secular subjects of Smith's other movies (romance, shopping, drugs and the like). Hey, I don't like football, so am I going to complain that the writers of The Replacements and Remember the Titans assumed that everyone in the world enjoys football? No, I'm simply not going to watch movies about football...problem solved. The name of the movie is Dogma, it should give you a clue. And if you don't know what dogma means, look it up.

So here's a warning to all...if you have no tolerance for organized religion, so called Catholic mythology, occasional potty humor (literally), profanity, or you have no sense of humor on the subject of religion, then don't watch this movie. You be disappointed or angry.

If you are a little bit more open minded, I invite you to try out this wonderfully funny movie.

Rating:
Summary: Best Movie EVER
Review: People always told me I'd like this movie. As an extremely cynical person, they said it would totally work it's way into my mind. But, being so cynical, I doubted that. My main draw was that Alanis Morissette, of whom I'm a huge fan (it's not even funny) plays the Almighty. But I never really took the time to find this movie. So, it found me.

One day as I was looking for something to watch on TV. And sure enough, Dogma was on. I was about a half hour late, but I decided to just watch it. When it was over, I was stunned. I fell in love with the movie right then and there. It was on later that day and I watched it again. I was even more enthralled the second time around. I resolved that I HAD to get this movie. I'll tell you why.

Dogma takes a very interesting look at the world of religion. It gets very sarcastic and critical at times, which drew the ire of many groups over whether or not the movie was appropriate. Obviously they never took the time to see it, because instead of making religion out as evil, the film does everything it can to show the viewer how good religion truly is. Unlike other movies that are like this for the sake of just being controversial and provocative to get attention, this raises many good points about the church and about society in general. Some might call this film blasphemous. I call it genius. An instant classic. I admire the people who came together to make such an amazing thing. The chemistry is perfect, EVERYONE has impeccable acting, and the story is just plain excellent. The writing is first-rate. Even better in fact. I don't want to give away anything, so I'll leave it to you to see it for yourself. I hope you're as wowed as I am. I just bought it today, 3 weeks after first seeing it. I just finished watching it and it seems to get even better with repeated viewing. So even if you hate it at first, you'll learn to love it. I loved it from the get-go.

Rating:
Summary: Dogma
Review: I love how it took story lines from the Bible and made an original plot and comedy with them. It unearthed common questions. Why can't God be a women? What happens when you cut off an angel's wings? Add alcohol and a sense of irony to an angel and what are you going to get? If there were really muses what productions of this day and age would they be responsible for? Everyone played their roles very well and it made for a really amusing movie.

Rating:
Summary: "Does that mean the last Zion is part black?"
Review: THis movie is really funny, especially for religious people. Sure, it makes fun of the Catholic Church, and it even suggsts cnspiracy in the church. Alot of it doesn't make any sense, like God is trapped in a body? He's GOD. He can do whatever He wants! Don't get me wrong I did like it! A little out there, but still very funny. Again remember it wasn't suppose to match up with the Bible. Like God is not a woman, God is genderless, and Jesus wasn't black, He was Jewish etc. But you what? It's a Jay and Silent Bob movie, OK? Don't overanalyze it. Good for those ont sensative to the issure of religion.

Rating:
Summary: "Trifle of a movie" disclaimer is even misleading
Review: Even the people who defend Kevin Smith constantly complain about what a horrible director he is. "He can't frame a shot to save his life" and so forth. Like I've always said, you'd think someone who spent his life reading comic books would have a better visual style.

But I can't really see what else Smith does to deserve such a fervent following. Is it 15-year-old stoners cheering the trashing of the Catholic church? This is the type of movie that a video game juvenile junky can watch and think they're experiencing a deep and weighty comedy. Instead, it's just smug and condescending. And not as funny as it thinks it is.

Jay and Silent Bob have overstayed their welcome longer than Anna Nicole Smith. They're not exactly Abbott & Costello. They're not even Pauly Shore & that one Baldwin brother from BIO-DOME.

I can't even get through DOGMA without switching it off: I can only take so much mugging.