Courtesy Ain't It Cool News

Hey Harry! Last night I had the pleasure to see a preview screening of Dogma. In fact, this was the first screening of the movie in New York. I know for a fact that there were some producers there, and we all got the obligatory speech...not yet finished, maybe some blurry effects, possible temp track...the usual. Well, did I enjoy it? Let me just say that Kevin Smith does not disappoint.

I must say straight off, that this is a different kind of movie from Kevin, some risks were taken. I don't think that it will be everybody's cup of tea (or Christ's blood, as the case may be). More on the religious implications later. This flick is set in an "non-realistic" world (unlike the realistic world of Chasing Amy). Not only was this a finely written satire, but I could not shake the feeling the entire time that it had elements of being a faerie tale also. There were, by far some stand out performances...Alan Rickman showed a delicious flare for comedy and Chris Rock was the best I have ever seen him. He usually annoys the shit out of me, but he played his character with commitment and believability...his entrance is classic. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck typically play well off of each other, and every one else does a competent job. We see a lot of familiar faces throughout, and yes, including Jay and Silent Bob. Jay and Silent Bob are, well, ...Jay and Silent Bob! only much more of them. Style aside, the strength of this movie lies in Kevin Smith's extraordinary talent for dialogue. His writing, no matter how ludicrous or out there it is (see the Golgathan Shit Monster), it begs to be listened to. This was a subject he was well versed in and interested in talking about, you could tell.

As far as the religious side of the movie, Smith pokes fun at Catholicism in almost every single way possible (it's so damn easy), but I'll tell you, it was all to hilarious effect, and he was not doing it simply because. His moral comes through and it is accentuated by this brutal satire. The movie still needs a bit of cutting. One of the interesting things is the fact that we are sort of thrown into the movie at the beginning, and most of the heavy exposition comes at the end of the movie.

All in all, I had a great time, and this considering that I'm sick as a dog and spent the last ten hours in line for Star Wars at the Ziegfeld. I'm told that Kevin will be coming by our countingdown line to hang out next week, and I can't wait to chat with him. Take it easy Harry. Once again, call me Fingolfin.