Dogma
	Rated R
	Runtime: 2hr 10min
	Starring: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, George Carlin, Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek
	MFG Rating: 3/5

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DVD Features Video: Widescreen enhanced and very good. The color and contrast are solid although the film overall sometimes lacks some clarity. There are a few flaws visible, a bit of pixelation here and there in particular but nothing distracting. Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 but with this movie being largely a comedy and very much oriented around the dialog it isn't used extensively. You will experience some deep bass and low frequency effects with some of the larger scenes though. Extras: Surprisingly few for a recently release just the usual production notes and trailers.

DVD Quick Take

The video quality is very good despite a few visible flaws. Some of the scenes lack a little clarity and leave the background with an almost posterized look. This may have been intentional, but if it was it seemed to serve no purpose artistic or otherwise, so I consider it a flaw. You'll also see just a bit of pixelization here and there, but not enough to be distracting.

The audio track, like the movie, is oriented mostly toward the dialog. However there are a few action sequences where it will make your subwoofer boom for just a little bit.

I was disappointed to see that even though this is a recent movie there's no extras to speak of, just the usual trailers and production notes.

If you're a fan of Kevin Smith and Clerks, this one is a must see.

- Billy Bob

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Movies For Guys' Original Review of the Theatrical Release

Movies featuring big stars released a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, such as this one, are not unlike those movies released a couple of weeks before Memorial Day. It shows a lack of confidence in the product by the distributors. They want it out for the holiday or summer movie season, but they want to pop that big opening weekend without going toe to toe with other big name releases coming out at the same time. These movies often do not live up to expectations. Although this is a pretty good flick, it definitely fits the profile of this type of release and doesn't exactly have blockbuster written all over it other than the fact it'll likely hit the shelves of a store by that name very soon.

This movie starts out with a very humorous warning that it is not to be taken seriously. A religious zealot would no doubt find this movie blasephemous at best. However, if you cant see that this movie is intended to be fun and not taken seriously, you probably have no business in any R-rated movie. From practically the moment the warning disappears the story proceeds to take some major literary liberties with theological history.

The story revolves around two Angels, Bartelby and Loki, played by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. They've been cast out of heaven for hundreds of years, and they want back in. An opportunity presents itself when the Holy Mother church has a re-dedication which allows anyone to be forgiven for all of their sins by passing through it's archs. Yes, you read the name of that church correctly. Problem is this proves God fallable and would result in the end of creation. Linda Fiorentino's character, Bethany, receives the word of God and is commissioned to prevent this from happening. She's not alone though as she receives the assistance of one of the most motley group of characters you'll ever meet. The only thing missing is a cameo from Charlton Heston, but this group would probably have him smoking, drinking, belching and farting. And that might cause more than the seas to part.

The casting for this movie is excellent. In addition to Damon, Affleck and Fiorentino, you'll find some great characters portrayed by George Carlin, Alan Rickman, Chris Rock and Salma Hayek just to name a few. This is very much a character piece with the true humor of the movie being the dialog and the characters themselves. You won't find any Oscar performances here, but the cast does deliver the lines very well.

Although I must say this movie does not live up to it's potential, that does not mean it's a bad movie by any means. It has some slow spots and could've been better with a bit more editing, but it was entertaining and worthy of consideration if you're going to see a movie this holiday season. For a better taste of this same type of humor, you should also check out writer/director Kevin Smith's earlier effort, Clerks, on DVD.

- Billy Bob