Hey dere, Harry here. I've been dying to see DOGMA... It's one of the top films that I'm looking forward to seeing, but for now.... All I have are the opinions of others... Sigh... ME WANNA SEE... As do most of you. Now if we could only get a release date! A WIDE release date! Now! How a movie like THE MOD SQUAD can have a wide release, while this film has none is a monument to the chicken-shitted yellow bellied cowards that are afraid of the Religious Right. Cajones anyone?
DOGMA REVIEW:
I must actually be pretty good at the whole advance screening thing,
since I have been able to see roughly 95% of all the movies on my wish
list months before their theatrical releases. With the the minor exception
of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, naturally, though I already
got tickets to see that opening night so who really cares. Since I have
been wanting to see Dogma for almost an entire year now, ever since
someone sent me the script in an email. Roughly the exact point when I
decided that I must see this film any way I could, as there are so many
things and actors associated with this film that I am such a huge fan of.
Especially since I absolutely loved the first part of the infamous Jersey
trilogy Clerks, specifically since I actually worked in a video
store for over 5 years. Where I encountered almost the exact same bunch of
deranged/demented, and more often than not, incredibly stupid customers
that the characters in Clerks did. Who for some unexplainable
reason seemed to naturally gravitate to my work, seemingly just to bother
me with their insipid whining and inane questioning...But I digress, as I
want to talk about uber director Kevin Smith's latest big screen foray
Dogma( By the way, I absolutely loved issue 5 of Daredevil,
so keep it up!). A comedy of biblical proportions if you will, for lack of
a better description. Since this film is sure to upset the moral right on
so many levels, mostly because of the plot.
Which revolves around a pair of disgruntle wayward angels no less, played
by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to perfection. Forsaken and cast out by by
God herself, desperate to get back into heaven anyway they can. Even if
it means the unwitting destruction of God and the entire universe as we
know it, by inadvertently proving God to be fallible via a loophole in
Catholic Dogmatic law. Something an abortion clinic worker named Bethany
(Linda Florentino), and her two would be prophet companions, Jay and
Silent Bob ( Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith respectively) have been sent to
stop. At the direction of Metatron, the voice of God. Nicely played to the
hilt by Alan Rickman, who had quite a few good scenes. Especially when in
the presence of God towards the end, though I wont spoil those by
specifically mentioning them. Along with the help of Rufus, the
forgotten and black 13th apostle. Played bitterly by Chris Rock, who has
some of the film's best lines of dialogue.
That for me has always been one of the best things about any of
Kevin Smith's films and more specifically true in the case of
Dogma. His brilliant and varied use of dialogue to masterfully
illustrate his unique and often very well thought out point of
view, whatever that maybe giving each film. As Mr. Smith has an
obvious love for the spoken word, and as such it cannot help but show in
every single thing he writes. Even his current turn as writer for Marvel
comics Daredevil, reeks with creativity and the vitality that only
Kevin Smith can delivery. For truthfully his camera angles and subsequent
spectrum of acting ability haven't always exactly been a contributing
factor to the power of some of his films, especially the earlier ones
like Mall Rats (sorry, I know you have taken enough crap for that
one already). Which is somewhat the case in Dogma, for while I
really loved it when the various characters were talking and interacting
with one another. I was a little bit bored or insulted at some of the
intermittent juvenile humor that took place before and after each major
scenes was played. Although truth be told I would willingly take Kevin
Smith's version of bad film making over any other director or filmmaker in
a heartbeat, simply because he is such a strong writer. Of course I also
loved the film because I have always been a huge fan of both Ben and
Matt's, especially after Good Will Hunting and Ben's role in
Chasing Amy(Still my favorite Kevin Smith film by far). Hence I
naturally was very excited to see them both onscreen again, especially
since most of their scenes involved them killing people in typical Smith
fashion, that they found to be unworthy or in violation of God's law
( Look for the Mooby the Cow massacre scene, destined to be one of Kevin
Smith's all time best scenes in any film).
Alas aside from such high praise, here is the sad news. This was
supposedly one of the only screenings of the film to take place on the
West coast ( as far as I know) before it moves on to Cannes. So there is
very little to no chance that anyone outside of the movie industry or with
some inside connections will be able to see this film in it's current form
before it's official release some time hence. As I assume that there will
possibly be some more editing or fine tuning of the film before it's final
theatrical release. Especially if the AFA has it's way, which is something
I think I have to comment on. For personally I was raised to essentially
come to my own beliefs concerning religion and/or the (possible) existence
of God. As such, I try to understand, if not actually respect, everyone's
religious beliefs. Even those that differ greatly from my own. For my
personal opinion has always been, that if there is indeed a God. He/she/it
will be the one who ultimately judges us/anyone for their respective sins,
if such a thing even takes place upon our deaths. So why bother spending
so much of one's time and personal energy persecuting someone or
something, simply because it differs from what you consider to be the
acceptable norm ( This is of course within reason, as it doesn't apply to
people who regularly have sex with farm animals or hunt people for sport
or anything equally bizarre like that). Especially since most religions
are all about peace, love and unity, not blanketly condemning people as
sinners and screaming that they're going to burn on Hell for all eternity.
Just for making a film that happens to express a religious view
other than your own. Which is essentially what I believe director and
writer Kevin Smith was trying to convey throughout his film. That religion
is just a beginning and not the end all be all of existence, and that no
one person or faith is absolutely correct or true. So with that
said Dogma is definitely a great film, even if Kevin is going to
burn on hell for all eternity for making it! The blasphemous heathen!
As always, if you have any questions or comments about anything I have
just said or written about. Please feel to email me at
lighthouseshines@hotmail.com and someone will get back to you, thanks!
Sincerely,
Light House Shines
