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5.7  127 votes
Its intelligent script, frightening costuming, and savagely effective conclusion (which needs no big-budget special effects to augment its impact) remain both potent and relevant. When Colonel George Taylor (the fabulous Charlton Heston) crash lands his spacecraft on what seems to be an unfamiliar planet, he is captured and held prisoner by a dominant race of hyperrational, articulate apes. However, the ape community is riven with internal dissention, centered in no small part on its policy toward humans, who, on this planet, are treated as mindless animals. Befriended and ultimately assisted by the more liberal simians, Taylor escapes--only to find a more terrifying obstacle confronting his return home. Heavy-handed object lessons abound--the ubiquity of generational warfare, the inflexibility of dogma, the cruelty of prejudice--and the didactic fingerprints of Rod Serling are very much in evidence here. But director Franklin Schaffner has a dark, pop-apocalyptic sci-fi vision all his own, and time has not dulled the monumental emotional impact of the film's climactic payoff shot. If you don't know what I'm talking about here, you owe it to yourself to check out this stone classic, and even if you do, see it with fresh eyes; and don't be surprised if you get the chills all over again... and again... and again.
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5.3  127 votes
In The Devil's Advocate Al Pacino takes his turn as the great Satan, and clearly relishes his chance to raise hell. He's a New York lawyer, of course, by the name of John Milton, who recruits a hotshot young Florida attorney (Keanu Reeves) to his firm and seduces him with tempting offers of power, sex, and money. Think of the story as a twist on John Grisham's The Firm, with the corporate evil made even more explicit. Reeves is wooden, and therefore doesn't seem to have much of a soul to lose, but he's really just our excuse to meet the devil. Pacino's the main attraction, gleefully showing off his--and the Antichrist's--chops at perpetrating menace and mayhem. The film was directed by Taylor Hackford (Against All Odds, Dolores Claiborne), who provides alternate-track commentary for the movie itself, plus a dozen deleted scenes. Also note: due to a settlement with artist Frederick Hart over the movie's use of a sculpture resembling his Ex Nihilo in Washington's National Cathedral, future releases of the film will be altered.
Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves): "What are you?"
John Milton (Al Pacino): "Oh, I have so many names..."
Kevin Lomax: "Satan."
John Milton: "Call me Dad."
Kevin Lomax: "'Better to rein in Hell than serve in Heaven', is that it?"
John Milton: "Why not? I'm here on the ground with my nose in it since the whole thing began! I've nurtured every sensation man's been inspired to have. I cared about what he wanted and I never judged him. Why? Because I never rejected him, in spite of all his imperfections. I'm a fan of man! I'm a humanist. Maybe the last humanist."
John Milton: "Let me give you a little inside information about God. God likes to watch. He's a prankster. Think about it. He gives man instincts! He gives you this extraordinary gift, and then what does He do, I swear for His own amusement, his own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste! Taste, don't swallow. Ahaha! And while you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is he doing? He's laughin' His sick, fuckin' ass off. He's a tight-ass! He's a sadist! He's an absentee landlord! Worship that?! Never!"
Kevin Lomax: "In the Bible you loose. We're destined to loose dad."
John Milton: "Well consider the source son!"
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6.3 127 votes
Two banished angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) have discovered a loophole that would allow them back into heaven; problem is, they'd destroy civilization in the process by proving God fallible. It's up to Bethany (Linda Fiorentino), a lapsed Catholic who works in an abortion clinic, to save the day, with some help from two so-called prophets (Smith and Jason Mewes, as their perennial characters Jay and Silent Bob), the heretofore unknown 13th apostle (Chris Rock), and a sexy, heavenly muse (the sublime Salma Hayek, who almost single-handedly steals the film). In some ways Dogma is a shaggy dog of a road movie--which hits a comic peak when Affleck and Fiorentino banter drunkenly on a train to New Jersey, not realizing they're mortal enemies--and segues into a comedy-action flick as the vengeful angels (who have a taste for blood) try to make their way into heaven. Smith's cast is exceptional--with Fiorentino lending a sardonic gravity to the proceedings, and Jason Lee smirking evilly as the horned devil Azrael--and the film shuffles good-naturedly to its climax (featuring Alanis Morissette as a beatifically silent God), but it just looks so unrelentingly... subpar. Credit Smith with being a daring writer but a less-than-stellar director.
[About Christ.]
Rufus (Chris Rock): "What He really hates is the shit that gets carried out in his name. Wars. Bigotry. Televangelism."
Serendipity (Salma Hayek): "Leave it to the Catholics to destroy existence."
Bethany: "You knew Jesus?"
Rufus: "Knew him? Nigga owes me twelve bucks."
Bethany: "Jesus didn't have any brothers or sisters. Mary was a virgin."
Rufus: "Mary gave birth to CHRIST without having known a man's touch, that's true. But she did have a husband. And do you really think he'd have stayed married to her all those years if he wasn't getting laid? The nature of God and the Virgin Mary, those are leaps of faith. But to believe a married couple never got down? Well, that's just plain gullibility."
Cardinal Glick (George Carlin): "Fill them pews, people, that's the key. Grab the little ones as well. Hook 'em while they're young."
Rufus: "Kind of like the tobacco industry?"
Cardinal Glick: "Oh, if only we had their numbers."
Cardinal Glick: "Thank you, thank you, thank you. Now we all know how the majority and the media in this country view the Catholic church. They think of us as a passe, archaic institution. People find the Bible obtuse...even hokey. Now in an effort to disprove all that the church has appointed this year as a time of renewal...both of faith and of style. For example, the crucifix. While it has been a time honored symbol of our faith, Holy Mother Church has decided to retire this highly recognizable, yet wholly depressing image of our Lord crucified. Christ didn't come to Earth to give us the willies...He came to help us out. He was a booster! And it is with that take on our Lord in mind that we've come up with a new, more inspiring sigil. So it is with great pleasure that I present you with the first of many revamps the 'Catholicism WOW!' campaign will unveil over the next year. I give you...The Buddy Christ! Now that's not the sanctioned term we're using for the symbol, just something we've been kicking around the office, but look at it. Doesn't it...pop? Buddy Christ..."
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5.4 127 votes
Gabriel Byrne plays Father Kiernan, a young Jesuit priest whose degree in chemistry makes him a sort of priest/detective as he investigates weeping Marys and the like around the world. Meanwhile, Frankie (Patricia Arquette), a rave-generation Pittsburgher, is afflicted with the stigmata--holes that appear in her wrists, resembling the wounds of Christ. The young woman's symptoms filter back to the Vatican and Father Kiernan is assigned to the case. The priest is puzzled by Frankie's atheism; usually the stigmata only appear on the devout (hence the age-old controversy of miracles vs. hysteria). Other manifestations appear on Frankie, and the priest's cardinal (Jonathan Pryce) is brought in, leading to political maneuvering within the Church hierarchy. The film owes a large and obvious debt to The Exorcist (at one point, Frankie's bed scoots across the room and she levitates into a crucifix position), but to term it an Exorcist rip-off would be to shortchange Stigmata. The premise and screenplay are more cerebral than in the l973 film, and the source of the phenomenon is coming from a completely different place.
Unfortunately, amid Stigmata's high-octane editing and slick technique, the chills of The Exorcist aren't there, giving the movie a sort of identity crisis: horror movie or intellectual thriller? Several elements of the film challenge basic tenets of the Catholic faith, hence the brief furor that erupted at the time of the film's release; if nothing else, the internal workings of the Church are shown in a very unflattering light indeed. Byrne excels as the skeptical priest, as does Arquette as the tortured young woman. All told, Stigmata is a rather uneven effort, but one with a thought-provoking combination of theology and thrills served up in a thoroughly modern, stylish package. Fans of TV's Ally McBeal will recognize Portia DeRossi in a supporting role.
Frankie: "Hey, you know what's scarier than not believing in God? Believing in him. I mean, really believing in him. It's a fucking terrifying thought."
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6.6 127 votes
Monty Python's Life of Brian is a religious satire that does not target specific religions or religious leaders (like, say, Jesus of Nazareth). Instead, it pokes fun at the mindless and fanatical among their followers--it's an attack on religious zealotry and hypocrisy--things that that fellow from Nazareth didn't particularly care for either. Nevertheless, at the time of its release in 1979, those who hadn't seen it considered it to be quite "controversial."
Life of Brian, you see, is about a chap named Brian (Graham Chapman) born December 25 in a hovel not far from a soon-to-be-famous Bethlehem manger. Brian is mistaken for the messiah and, therefore, manipulated, abused, and exploited by various religious and political factions. And it's really, really funny. Particularly memorable bits include the brassy Shirley Bassey/James Bond-like title song; the bitter rivalry between the anti-Roman resistance groups, the Judean People's Front and the People's Front of Judea; Michael Palin's turn as a lisping, risible Pontius Pilate; Brian urging a throng of false-idol worshippers to think for themselves--to which they reply en masse "Yes, we must think for ourselves!"; the fact that everything Brian does, including losing his sandal in an attempt to flee these wackos, is interpreted as "a sign." Life of Brian is not only one of Monty Python's funniest achievements, it's also the group's sharpest and smartest sustained satire. Blessed are the Pythons. --Jim Emerson
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5.9 127 votes
Ingmar Bergman's 1956 film has been parodied by everyone from Woody Allen to Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, but it remains one of the strangest and richest classics of world cinema. Max Von Sydow plays a knight returning from the Crusades to encounter an apocalyptic scenario inspired by the Book of Genesis. He plays chess with Death (Bengt Ekerot), sees a manacled witch, watches a band of flagellants go by--all of it foretelling an inevitable end to life. Unabashedly allegorical and lyrical and existing in a world unto itself, the film is enormously mesmerizing no matter what one thinks of the weighty meanings Bergman has attached to it all. The DVD release has English subtitles, audio commentary by critic Peter Cowie, theatrical trailer, and Bergman's filmography.
Movie lovers will always return to The Seventh Seal, regarded by many as one of the greatest films of all time. Bergman combines symbolic imagery, realistic details, and wry humor for the moving medieval tale of a knight searching for God in a world ravaged by plague. As the honorable knight, his cynical squire, a troupe of carefree actors, and black-robed Death, a superb cast of Bergman regulars portray the cruelty and charity that coexisted during this dark era.
"I hope I never get so old I get religious." -Ingmar Bergman (Director)
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The Last Temptation of Christ
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5.6 127 votes
It isn't difficult to imagine why this 1988 retelling of the Crucifixion story was picketed vociferously upon release--this Jesus bears little resemblance to the classical Christ, who was not, upon careful review of the Gospels, ever reported to have had sex with Barbara Hershey. Heavily informed by Gnostic reinterpretations of the Passion, The Last Temptation of Christ (based rather strictly on Nikos Kazantzakis's novel of the same name) is surely worth seeing for the controversy and blasphemous content alone, but it's difficult to find in skittish chain video stores. But the "last temptation" of the title is nothing overtly naughty--rather, it's the seduction of the commonplace; the desire to forgo following a "calling" in exchange for domestic security. Willem Dafoe interprets Jesus as spacy, indecisive, and none too charismatic (though maybe that's just Dafoe himself), but his Sermon on the Mount is radiant with visionary fire; a bit less successful is method actor Harvey Keitel, who gives the internally conflicted Judas a noticeable Brooklyn accent, and doesn't bring much imagination to a role that demands a revisionist's approach. Despite director Martin Scorsese's penchant for stupid camera tricks, much of the desert footage is simply breathtaking, even on small screen. Ultimately, Last Temptation is not much more historically illuminating than Monty Python's Life of Brian
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4.8 127 votes
There is no easy way to clear up the debate that this film generates for those who are either religious or nonreligious, or religious but not fundamentalist... The point of the film is to highlight something that Jena Malone's character Mary (albeit, a not so virginal one) says to Pastor Skip near the end: "Why would God make us all so different, if he wanted us to all be the same?" I have witnessed first hand the way that many fundamentalist groups want to cut back on diversity, want to limit the number of legitimate lifestyle choices for people. I think the point of this film is that underneath the rather artificial veneer that many fundamentalist groups impose on people, they still are more diverse than they want to acknowledge, and the individuality eventually comes out, even if suppressed in the short run.
Cassandra: There's only one reason Christian girls comes down to the Planned Parenthood.
Roland: She's planting a pipe bomb?
Cassandra: Okay, two reasons.
Mary: Why would God make us all so different if he wanted us to be the same?
Cassandra: Oh, I'm a whole new girl Hay-Faye.
Hilary Faye: I TOLD YOU! How great is Jesus?
Cassandra: Yeah, um, about that... I've decided to devote my life to Satan instead. Thanks though!
Hilary Faye: Well, if it isn't the Heathens.
Cassandra: Rot in hell, you narrow-minded, tacky-ass bitch!
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[Educational Videos]
may be available at your local library
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'The First Christians' website
5.6 127 votes
The epic story of the rise of Christianity. The four hours explore the life and death of Jesus, and the men and women whose belief, conviction, and martyrdom created the religion we now know as Christianity.
Drawing upon historical evidence, the series challenges familiar assumptions and conventional notions about Christian origins. Archaeological finds have yielded new understandings of Jesus' class and social status; fresh interpretations have transformed earlier ideas about the identity of the early Christians and their communities.
Through engaging on-camera interviews with twelve scholars--New Testament theologians, archaeologists, and historians--the series presents their contributions to this intellectual revolution. For example they talk about the quest for the historical Jesus - what can we really know? And how do we know it?
The scholars together represent a range of viewpoints and diversity of faiths and a shared commitment to bring new ways of thinking about Christianity to a public audience. They discuss the value in a historical approach to Jesus and the Bible and whether Christian faith can be reconciled with such an approach.
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[Film projects that need your support!]
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4 Atheists, 3 Christians, 2 Hours, 1 Gun!
Prepare NOT to meet god!
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4.8 127 votes |
5 - time Winner for BEST FEATURE FILM
An independant film about harassment surrounding the release of the controversial film 'The last Temptation of Christ'. For more see the website. NEW: Film clips
"Written and directed by Ken Tipton (the man who lived the story behind the film), Heart of the Beholder is at its best in the final sequences showing how Mike discovers an unexpected enemy, then pulls himself out of the depths of despair to exact a special kind of revenge. Despite the unsettling nature of this movie, it needed to be made -- and I commend producer Darlene Lieblich for her belief in the film’s important subject matter."
- Betty Jo Tucker
Online Film Critics Society, San Diego Film Critics Society
"Every now and then, a completely independent film makes it onto the national radar screen. And while Heart of the Beholder doesn’t yet have the momentum of last year’s What the Bleep?, at least it has a more palatable message... Ordinarily, it would be easy to overlook a movie like Heart of the Beholder as a politically motivated niche film (which to a large degree it is). But what makes Beholder noteworthy is that it was written, produced, and directed by Ken Tipton, the video store owner who stood up for Last Temptation against the misguided crusaders. For more than ten years, Tipton made it his life’s work to get his story made into a movie."
- Marty Mapes
MovieHabit.com
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A woman discovers evidence of Christianity's greatest secret: that Jesus Christ never existed. She then must confront those who want to suppress the truth and her own faith. Slated for release on 06-06-06.
Directed by Brian Flemming who won the New York Times Claiborne Pell Award for Original Vision for his groundbreaking feature film Nothing So Strange, which was released theatrically in 2003.
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The
Pledge of
Allegiance
Blues |
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"Pledge of Allegiance Blues" is a feature documentary that follows the story of Michael Newdow, the California physician who brought the landmark "under God" lawsuit to the United States Supreme Court. The film also follows the controversy over the Ten Commandments monument placed in the Alabama State Courthouse and investigates the intertwining of religion and government in American history and identity. Characters in the film include attorney Alan Dershowitz, publisher Larry Flynt and radio talk-show host Sandy Rios.
"Pledge of Allegiance Blues" is scheduled for release in the Summer of 2004.
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Bowling for Columbine did it to the gun culture.
Super Size Me did it to fast food.
Now The God Who Wasn't There does it to religion.
Holding modern Christianity up to a bright spotlight, this bold and often hilarious new film asks the questions few dare to ask.
Your guide through the world of Christendom is former fundamentalist Brian Flemming, joined by such luminaries as Jesus Seminar fellow Robert M. Price, professor Richard Dawkins, author Sam Harris and historian Richard Carrier.
See the movie the Los Angeles Times calls "provocative - to put it mildly."
Hold on to your faith. It's in for a bumpy ride.
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