catapult magazine

This is a film by Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy) that has interested me for some time, and being a new member to this site, I was wondering if any of you have seen this flik. And if so, I would like to start a discussion about the movie and hear your thoughts about some of the theological ideas and points made in the film.
For many people, the hard part in reviewing this film is getting past all of the gratuitous cursing and “poopy-fart” jokes. But the film is more than this, I think. The story is told with a worldview that is, at it’s basic core, Christian. This is something we don’t usually see comming out of Hollywood.
Discuss…

OK, I’ll bite on this one.
I’m not a huge fan of Kevin Smith bascially because i think he’s an excellent storyteller, but not a very good filmmaker. He’s just as fun when you listen to him talk as when he makes a movie, he’s that kind of person. Anyway, I think Dogma basically exists to push buttons, which I find a bit annoying, like a child trying to grab attention. And I think his sentiment that we shouldn’t have beliefs, only ideas, is simply incorrect.

Chasing Amy is a superior film (actually a superior story), more mature and dare I say more Christian..? I’m interested to see where Smith goes from now on, because after Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, you have no where to go but up. That movie was not just navel-gazing, it was navel-swallowing-head.

I thought Dogma had some very funny moments. It reminded me of the type of humor that went on in our dorm room at a Christian college, where we’d make fun of the inconsistencies and hypocrisies and buzz words of our denomination. I especially liked the scene where the angels have to kill all the people in the “golden cow” meeting because they’re all bad. And the one woman who’s innocent goes into shock. I don’t know why I found that so entertaining, but I did.

I want to make one tiny correction: Kevin Smith is a excellent verbal storyteller. I need to add that adjective. The Buddy Jesus was by far the best part of that movie. Mallrats is hands down his funniest, though. Probably because Jason Lee only has a bit part in Dogma.

I would have to agree that Kevin Smith is far better verbally than he is visually in his work. My favorite part of his movies is the dialogue.

The sceen with Bartleby and Loki, the former angel of death, in the board room with the Mooby executives made me wonder; “just what would God say to idolatrous corporations like Disney?”

Thanks for the replies, lets keep it up, huh?

-Maybe start a discussion about “Chasing Amy”?