Reviews (616)

Smith's fun movie shows what he can do with Hollywood budget
Kevin Smith ("Clerks", "Mallrats" and"Chasing Amy") continues to get better with each film. If"End of Days" does not sound like a fun Armageddon-themed film, try Dogma. Dogma is fun, for sure, but not for the easily offended. S those who would prefer not to see angels use profanity, or the wrath (i.e. violence) of misguided angels of death, they should avoid this film like the plague. Chris Rock also makes an appearance as the 13th apostle Rufus, who claims that he was left out of the Bible because he's black. Witty dialogue, plenty of pop culture references (Who's house? Run's house!) and some interesting philosophical questions make for a very entertaining way to spend an evening. The only negative aspects are the bad special effects (in one scene, there is a s--- demon that looks like something from "Jason and the Argonauts".) and a lame ending including an appearance by Alanis Morisette as God. It might've been four, but with the Alanis Morisette appearance, three stars. Josh Bob says check it out as a matinee, or pay full price and leave when "God" arrives ...

Great writing, wonderful cast, bland direction.
Let's be frank: visually, "Dogma" is unimpressive. The special effects look TV-quality, the editing is jerky, the cinematography is bland and Kevin Smith's direction is unispired.

Thankfully, the sins of "Dogma" are far outweighed by its virtues. Smith's script is hilarious, thought-provoking, and ultimately touching. To act it out, he's rounded up a top-notch cast that brings genuine life to their roles.

Brainy bombshell Linda Fiorentino is Bethany, chosen seemingly at random by the sarcastic angel Metatron (Alan Rickman) to work for God. Her mission: to stop a pair of fallen angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) from exploiting a Catholic Church loophole that will get them back into Heaven. If they do, they'll prove God wrong, thus erasing everything He/She has created.

Bethany's reluctant allies in her quest include Chris Rock as Rufus, the unrecorded 13th apostle, kicked out of Earth, Heaven and history for rightly insisting that Jesus was black; Salma Hayek as a Muse with a heavenly body and a brain to match; and everyone's favorite potheads Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Smith.)

Fiorentino gives yet another great performance, contrasted nicely by Rickman's sad, exasperated angel. Affleck and Damon's menacing twist on their pretty-boy images is genuinely disturbing. Mewes is reliably funny as the imbecilic Jay, and Smith shows perfect comic timing and impressive range as Silent Bob.

The story mostly coasts along on a vast supply of smart-alec wit, but a few scenes rise above the rest: an unnerving parking-garage confrontation between Affleck and Damon, and a quiet lakeside chat between Fiorentino and Rickman. "Dogma" also scores points for keeping most of its script's excessive violence stylishly offscreen.

Bottom line: "Dogma" is not a well-made film, but it is a good one. You will laugh loudly and often, and come away with a greater respect for the power of faith and the importance of believing in something greater than yourself.

Film fans take note: in October 2000 View Askew will release the "collector's edition" of this film, with more than an hour of cut footage and plenty of other extra goodies.

BOLDLY CYNICAL (AND OCCASIONALLY FUNNY) LOCKER-ROOM PRATTLE
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.

dogma is cosmic law.
two angels,who were kicked out of heaven long ago,find a loop-hole so they may return.they need to go to new jersey.jay and silent bob go with the last zion,the 13th apostle rufis-left out of the bible because hes black,and the muse join forces to prevent this for if the angels get to heaven all creation will go poof!it stars matt damon and ben affleck as the 2 angels.alanis morriseete as god,chris rock is rufis and even george carlin as a bishop in the church.of the jay and silent bob movies it ranks second id say,but a lot of people say its the best also.it is the best religious based movie of all time!however,it will piss off all church goers.no naked chicks in this one either.chris rock,although normaly one of the most obnoxious racist bigots alive,actualy doesnt bitch too much in this one.he does make a good point that if there is a christian god-and lets face it theres probaly not-hes black.why would he be anything else?the world started in AFRica right?i abselutely love this movie!

Didn't live up to the hype
The idea of skewering the Catholic Church is not new. Nor is it particularly "brave", since they're supposed to love their persecutors. I'm still waiting for the "brave" film that skewers, say, militant Islam. Yeah, you kind of lose your courage when you might actually get hurt.

Anyway. The general hype looked promising. A film that pokes fun at Catholicism. I popped in the DVD and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Let's see: there were excrement demons, a black apostle, some homicidal angels ... but where was the satire?

It's a shame. This film would have worked better as a comedy. That is, if the writer/director(s) had said, hey, let's make this humorous. Throw in some jokes, some laughs. After all, they had Chris Rock. The idea of a black apostle is sort of funny; why not make it intentionally funny? They had George Carlin; why not make him say some funny lines? Why not have those two *write* some funny lines?

But no. As it is, I'm not sure what the film really is. The heroine's deadpan, bored delivery might be a clue.

Apparently some viewers thought it was a satire or comedy, but perhaps it's sarcasm. Or just plain meanness, trying to convince others to suffer through this tedious film. Or maybe - maybe they really thought it was funny - no, wait, I'm starting to entertain really wacky thoughts here.

Borrow, don't buy. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

This is indeed the "best of the best" !
I'm really, really glad they're finally coming out with this on DVD!

BOTB1 is unique, or at the very least very, very rare, in that it's a martial arts film with a story-oriented script. The story revolves around the U.S. karate (taekwondo actually) team training for a fight with the heavily-favored Korean national team. The characters are both very believable and complex, particularly Tommy Lee (Phillip Rhee) and Alex Grady (Roberts). Good pacing coupled with spectacularly-choreographed fight scenes (Roberts' skills at times even appears passable, while both Rhee's talents are simply amazing!). A great and surprising ending caps this film off perfectly.

Good move by making it a double feature, because I don't think BOTB 2 could've sold itself, being somewhat inferior to the first installment of the series. The sequel is only loosely based on BOTB1, and the plot sort of stretches it a bit. This film is saved only by the acting talents of the main cast and notably that of Sonny Landham.

Martial artists (even non-taekwondo enthusiasts) will surely love this film, as well as those interested in action movies with a dramatic twist.

A good try from Rhee and Co.
"Best of the Best 3" is clearly not the most outstanding installment in the series. Although it was a good try to stray from the classical plot of martial arts competition (as seen in "Best of the Best 1&2"), it just didn't do it for me as it's first 2 predecessors.

To see Rhee and Co at their best, the first two movies are a must. Alexander Grady was sorely missed in this movie.

Just about what I expected, only more boring...
I'm sorry, I love Gina Gershon and I was looking forward to watching this movie since I do like action films. But this is such a run of the mill martial arts flick. I wasn't even intrigued to watch the whole thing without hitting the fast forward button through most of the show.

The basis of this movie - the main character is an expert martial artist who comes to town just as a rising of an Aryan militia becomes prominent nearby. It starts with them killing the black preacher everyone loves who promotes people to stop hate, and the white boys in the militia don't like that. *gasp, I never would have guessed*

Main character kicks [rear], gets the girl, actings [bad] and the plot could be pasted to any B flick action film.

Your time could be better spent watching paint dry. Or if you're desperate for something like this then watch Universal Soldier, at least it was funny.

Good swift kickin' action for your dollar!
The best way to describe Best of the Best 3 and 4 is to say that they are solid action films with a nice display of martial arts spread evenly throughout each one. Phillip Rhee does a terrific job of pulling off punches, kicks, and throws with great mastery. The fight sequences are very believable and are exciting and fun to watch. Most of the fights are of Phillip Rhee against multiple attackers, and these scenes are all done very well. The camera angles offer good glimpses of each technique and the hits all look quite real. Rhee is definitely a very adept martial artist, and it's very clear on screen that he knows what he's doing. However, for those of you expecting intricate one on one fights in the Jet Li/Jackie Chan Hong Kong style you may be disappointed. But if you're merely looking for quick paced action with a story well written enough to serve as links to the action sequences and featuring actors who can actually act, you'll be happy checking this dvd out. It's great, solid action fun, and I would recommend it, especially to fans of Best of the Best and Best of the Best 2. And the best part is that you get two films on one dvd, so you really can't go wrong here. And one last thing: Gina Gershon is in Best of the Best 3. That girl is not only a great looker, but she's a very fine actress as well. So not only do you get great action, decent story and good acting, you get great looking women too. I highly recommend this film!

Solid entertainment
I am glad Best of the Best released on DVD. Even though it is only the 3rd and 4th of the series. The third one is about Tommy Lee (Phillip Rhee) fights a group of neo-nazi. Best of the Best 4, Tommy is up against Russian mafia who involved in counterfeit. Both movies are quite good for this martial arts action genre. YOu got 2 movies for slightly higher price of a single DVD so it is quite a deal. The picture quality is OK (full screen only) and no 5.1 Dolby Digital, just Dolby 2.0 which is not too bad either. I wish Best of the BEst 1 & 2 will be released soon on DVD. Best of the Best 2 is available on DVD in Canada. For those who can't wait you can find these put up on auctions by Canadians in ebay. I have not received my copy yet so I can't comment on the quality of the DVD. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Not the best Kevin Smith, but very close
Dogma is an absolutley great movie. For pure laughs I would still have to give Clerks the slight edge, but Dogma is much more creative and thought provoking. Admittedly, Kevin Smith isn't going to win any awards for his directing, and Selma Hayek's performance wasn't that amazing, but this is still a very good movie that I would encourage everyone to check out.

great family fun
I'm sick of the the bad mouthing of this movie. It has a very positive message, promotes religion, and is funny as hell. I recommend it to anyone who is curious enough to watch it, and don't worry. God won't punish you

Not for the easily offended
I think this one of the best movies I have ever seen! Not only was it funny, but it had a great message. Let's hear it for Jersey Boys done good!!

I'd really give it 4 1/2 (it's great, but can't top Clerks)
This is definitely a great movie - it's frickin' hilarious! Better than that, though, is that it has a good message. "Wait," I hear you say, "isn't this the movie which had the Catholic church (as well as quite a few other Christian organizations) up in arms and worried about the corruption of the youth of America?" Well, yes. But it's obvious from the complaints lodged against it that it wasn't viewed with the proper perspective. If anyone were to look deeper, one would see that this movie actually promotes a more profound faith. It criticizes blind following and advocates questioning, which is crucial to developing true faith. (I don't care what your religious affiliation is - if you haven't thought about it or questioned it or answered for it or admitted to yourself that you're not going to have ALL the answers, you haven't made it YOUR religion and perhaps your faith is a little shallow.) On the other hand, if you're not religious at all, you'll enjoy the movie for its excellent plot and absolutely hilarious dialogue, not to mention the return of Jay and Silent Bob, who figure greatly into the film. In any case, this IS just a movie, and anyone who thinks it'll change anyone's beliefs is a bit paranoid. Give the movie-goers some credit, ok? (If it DOES change anyone's views on religion drastically, I don't think you can blame "Dogma" or Kevin Smith. It has more to do with the person's apparently tenuous grasp on reality. It's just a movie!)

To the point: I'd recommend this to basically anyone with a sense of humour (preferably a twisted one, although it's not necesary), and/or an interesting perspective on life. Watch it even if you haven't seen the rest of the Jersey trilogy. (Though I recommend that as well - check out "Clerks," "Mallrats," and "Chasing Amy." Then try to wait patiently for "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.") Essentially, the only people who SHOULDN'T see this movie are those who lack a sense of humour. Or Puritans.

Tells the truth about religion
Ok this is in my top 5 movie list. Im only 15 and im considered ignorant and foolish for agreeing completely with this movie....its a satire while at the same time it shows people what they need to see.....that christianity is in a corrupt state...especially catholicism! we believe in one true god...in god we trust while at the same time we hear every sunday of tithing and how the lord thanks a generous giver...so in closing i agree with this movie....it has opened my eyes to a world which was alreadt in front of me...the world of god...not the world of church...oh and it made me laugh. ... Read more