Dogma is again Kevin Smith at his wittiest. This film will probably offend the theist but it's quite funny when it should be and doesn't hold back. In fact the ending is almost borderline crazy. Featuring a host of cameos as expected in Smith's films Dogma is a ripe comedy from the last months of the 90s. If you like comedy films which hold no punches then Dogma should be on your watch list.
... View MoreSound: Nice use of buzzing flies with the 3 skater/hockey players-Beelzebub lord of the flies, in conjunction with the sound of their skates. The orchestral score was along the lines of religious drama music we have heard before but not extremely well developed. Sound was mixed well. 60/100 Technical: Good use of off-screen violence. Competently shot but nothing really special here. 60/100 Narrative: Too much exposition. The film utilizes an apologia in the beginning to try and keep the watcher from being too harsh. A journey structure is used to propel the story; go from point A to point B with interactions to increase the dramatic points. 40/100 Character/Acting: Good character arcs. Some poor dialog and misuse of religious or theological terms. Use of Deus Ex Machina. 40/100 Did I enjoy it: Yes, even though it is controversial and questions/lampoons my beliefs. When paying attention this film has much more merit than The DaVinci Code or Angels and Demons and really addresses a lot of the publics' misunderstanding of theological truths; and really attacks pop culture based theology with logic errors. 70/l00 Artistic merit: Other than the controversial elements and addressing them in a comedy without apologia or authority; nothing much here. 50/100 FInal score 53.3/100
... View MorePretty much a no brainer, one of Matt Damons better performances. Many people that watch the film simply overthink it, as in they feel insulted. But in the end it is just an early show of when the decline of this industry started. When the heads are corrupt and disgusting Pedros, what do you expect. Anyways, Matt Damon was OK, so 3 out of 10. Never again.
... View MoreThe fallen Angel of Death Loki (Matt Damon) and his friend Bartleby (Ben Affleck) find a way to return to Heaven. Cardinal Glick (George Carlin) is revitalizing the church and rededicates St. Michael's Church in New Jersey. The papal sanctioned entrance allows all those who enter to have their sins forgiven. The two angels need to walk through the archway and then die to reenter Heaven. Catholic Bethany Sloane (Linda Fiorentino) works at an abortion clinic and is struggling for faith. She is tasked by the angel Metatron (Alan Rickman), the voice of God, to stop the two angels or else it could undo all of God's work. To help her, he sends her two prophets, Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith). Azrael (Jason Lee) and his hockey playing goons try to stop her. Along the way, they are aided by the 13th Apostle Rufus (Chris Rock) and the muse Serendipity (Salma Hayek).There are just so much religious exposition. It probably took up half of movie to explain who these characters are and what they represent. Towards the end, the whole thing gave me a headache. I think it is something very compelling for Catholics but less so for most everybody else. I guess all the complicated history is part of Kevin Smith's commentary on the religion.Some of the movie is more fun than other. I love Jay and Silent Bob. They're funny in this movie. Linda Fiorentino is a little dour but she's still pretty good as the lead. I got bored with the Damon Affleck massacre tour. It's not funny or compelling. The road trip works in the first half with some fun introductions of Chris Rock and Salma Hayek. The second half gets bog down from time to time. I probably would be happier with "Jay and Silent Bob Save Creation".
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