Dogma
NOTE: Although it appears that the wrong disc is in the Dogma sleeve, it is actually the correct disc. The disc labelled Mooby's Egg-A-Moof contains the movie Dogma (it is the name of the café in the movie).
Faith Is A Funny Thing.
In this hilarious comic fantasy from writer/director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy), two banished angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) find a loophole that would get them back into Heaven. The only snag? They'll be destroying existence in the process. In an effort to stop them, the overworked Voice of God (Alan Rickman) taps cynical mortal Bethany (Linda Fiorentino) to save the world by preventing the angels from reaching their unholy destination: New Jersey! Throw in two unlikely prophets named Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith), the quick-witted yet little-known thirteenth apostle(Chris Rock) and a sexy, former muse with a case of writer's block (Salma Hayek), and you've got an hysterical and thrilling race against time packed with an all-star cast that Entertainment Weekly called "one of the best movies of 1999!"
Member Reviews
Dogma - TheWiz
I guess I'll always be amazed at how Matt Damon can transform himself into almost any persona and own it. In fact, the whole cast in this film does some pretty astounding work. This is an adult off-beat fantasy flick, with litlle CGI, that can compete head-to-head with the likes of Iron Man visually and surpass it when it comes to dialogue and actor inter-action. This film turns religion on it's heaed starting with George Carlin as a Roman Catholic who wants to reform it's image by removing Jesus from the cross and turn him into......well you have to see it for yourself. Damon, Afleck, Rock, Florentino, Mewes, Smith, Rickman, Hayek and everyone else. This is one wild Monty Python style movie a la good old US of A. Not for children!likeable - basilbenz
"Dogma" isn't the kind of comedy that most people will find themselves holding onto their guts during. It's more the second-long "ha!" kind of comedy.
That simply means Kevin Smith's writing is clever enough to the point where you will be pleasantly shocked by some of the conversations and events of the film and think it all rather amusing and humorous. It's not hilarious, it's just clever and a bit funny.
The premise is rather interesting and surprisingly from a more fantasy-esquire genre than Smith traditionally dabbles with. Loki (Matt Damon) and Bartleby (Ben Affleck) are more or less fallen angels that have found a way back into heaven. They must be stopped or the world will come to a screeching halt, so a seemingly random protagonist named Bethany gets charged by God to stop them. Simple, but the slick, nonchalant approach to religion keeps the satire rampant.
The film does spend a lot of its time explaining itself, which isn't too bad considering Smith keeps the explanations to-the-point and allows the characters to stay interesting in the process. Chris Rock, who plays an apostle, and Alan Rickman, who plays God's messenger/ voice are two of these characters that are both good in the film and Smith has allowed to maintain their character's edge despite lines upon lines of explanation.
Getting from point A to point B and so on is not the film's strength. The physical events that take place are ultimately boring and unexciting. It's the moments along the way, the conversations and the philosophy that come about, that make it successful. Affleck's character raises a lot of interesting religious questions about humanity and his conversation with the protagonist on the train is rather insightful. In general, Smith has used Bethany as a way to keep the viewers skepticism of the plot active in the film. She keeps it from getting preposterous. In general, the whole cast is very talented and their characters well written, which keeps the fDogma isn't Dogs--t - Scagneti
One of my favourite aspects of Dogma is that the viewer need not understand or even have read the Bible to appreciate the movie. Unlike other movies like Magnolia or tv shows like Carnevale, the viewer is not at a disadvantage if they are not knowledgeable of religion in general.
This is number four in the Jersey Trilogy and while it does help to have seen the other movies, it is not as crucial as say with Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. The movie is full of big name stars, some of whom are known View Askewers, and some are working with Kevin for the first time.
Do yourself a favour and listen to the audio commentary after watching the movie. Kevin Smith is a well-spoken, hilarious person who is insightful and very self-depreciating. And he can really spar with Ben Affleck!
Member Reviews
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Dogma - TheWiz
I guess I'll always be amazed at how Matt Damon can transform himself into almost any persona and own it. In fact, the whole cast in this film does some pretty astounding work. This is an adult off-beat fantasy flick, with litlle CGI, that can compete head-to-head ...likeable - basilbenz
"Dogma" isn't the kind of comedy that most people will find themselves holding onto their guts during. It's more the second-long "ha!" kind of comedy.
That simply means Kevin Smith's writing is clever enough to the point where you will be pleasantly ...Dogma isn't Dogs--t - Scagneti
One of my favourite aspects of Dogma is that the viewer need not understand or even have read the Bible to appreciate the movie. Unlike other movies like Magnolia or tv shows like Carnevale, the viewer is not at a disadvantage if they are not knowledgeable ...