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Reviews
Dogma (1999)
a personal exploration of faith
perhaps it's a flaw of mine, but i simply could not sit here & ingest all the excrement these people are spouting without some kind of retort. "dogma" is a fantastic piece of art. true, it suffers from certain shortcomings but, as we all know, man is fallible... the dialogue can get weighty at times, but not as bad as the 5 dollar SAT sentences that pour in great steaming streams from the mouths of those preternaturally verbose high school kids in dawson's kreek. i think the writers on that show pour over voluminous thesauruses until the dialogue sounds COMPLETELY unnatural. but that is a digression. my point is that, even when the dialogue comes in great confusing chunks, it has merit. the concepts are lain bare BECAUSE of how obscure (not to mention mostly fictional) some of the religious mythos are. also, i realize kevin smith is not the greatest visual director. but, in a film with so many important images i think it is clear how far he has come. i've only seen this film like 3 or 4 times but not once have i noticed anything visually that was really unappealing or glaringly off. i've seen complaints on here about jay & bob. used too much?! and some of these are the very SAME people who thought the film was too "wordy" or "preachy." true, the film gets a bit preachy at times, but you see THAT is why this is a celebration of faith and not a critique. but jay & bob (jay most especially) are used perfectly to break up all this heaviosity. see, they know NOTHING about what's going on. for the most part they're clueless on the religious angle. so they provide escape & comic relief when the film gets too preachy. with a film like this, it's impossible to please everyone. but in a film essentially about faith, i find that particularly appropriate. this movie scores on all fronts. A+++
Being John Malkovich (1999)
praise you
this is a great film. easily the best i've seen this year. easily. frankly, i can't understand in the slightest how one could possibly dislike it. but i've read many comments here by reviewers complaining that it was poorly directed or that certain themes were less than adequately explored. in my opinion, charlie kaufman left the film so completely open for a very specific reason. his intention, it seems, was not to impart upon viewers his philosophical views & opinions on matters metaphysical, but rather to open the heads of his audience. this is a film that invites, or rather demands, thought. while there are certainly some very intense questions raised, only a fool could casually dismiss this film as pretentious. i think that it is just the opposite. it doesn't claim to be anything other than a giddy, surreal comedic adventure, albeit with some serious, even grave undercurrents. one article reviewing "malkovich" said that it probably would have been better constructed by a director with a stronger visual presence, say terry gilliam. while this may be true, i think it is only fair to give spike jonze the benefit of the doubt as a rookie director. "malkovich" is a difficult film to bring to life & is certainly more so for a director who hasn't yet gotten his imagery sea-legs for the medium. kevin smith is on his 4th film & is just beginning to tackle this aspect of filmmaking. in all, "being john malkovich" is a stunning piece of art. the myriad of opinions on it speaks volumes about it's power to leave the viewer in the driver's seat. i've always wanted to say this & it finally applies: if you only see one more movie this millennium, see this.
side note: if "malkovich" isn't favored for best original screenplay, the academy has its head up its collective ass.
Dice Rules (1991)
possibly the funniest 30 minutes in the history of cinema
the opening segment, which explains how andrew became "the diceman," may be the most hilarious & entertaining thing i have ever witnessed. clay showcases his little-seen acting ability & shows a penchant for slapstick, physical humor. those who can't find the humor in this opening film must be spending a little too much time sniffing airplane glue. even if you aren't a fan of dice's stand-up shtick, i suggest that you rent "dice rules" to get a better appreciation for his talents as a comedic actor. even though the concert portion (the sold-out show at madison square garden) isn't his best, it's still filled with classic dice moments that will bring a nostalgic tear to any true fan's eye. but i'd pay top dollar for this movie just to hear the super-square andrew utter lines like: "have you noticed how my savings have started to accrue?" simply put, he's unbelievable.