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"pi I Movies Iji 'Dogma's' cardinal sin is unevenness by Christy LeMire Associated Press Hype and controversy, fire and brim stone surround the release of Kevin Smith’s “Dogma.” Angry Catholics who haven’t even seen the movie besiege Smith with hate mail, which he’s only loo happy to post on the film’s Web site. But the devout needn’t worry — “ Dogma” isn’t the first sign of the apoc alypse. The film’s cardinal sin is its un evenness: It starts out enormously funny and then grinds to a hall without ever regaining momentum. Writer-director Smith bills his movie as “a comic fantasia.” It’s surreal, for sufe, and tackles religion in a totally in novative way. Try to follow uie premise: loki (Matt Damon) and Bartleby (Ben Af fleck) are fallen an gels who have f>nnirlin/1 L'CCII u a II 13 lieu from heaven to a place they imagine is worse than hell — Wisconsin. They figure that if they can get to New Jersey and walk through the doors of a 100 year-old church, VUli 1 C VIIIV1 IIUUTUli UIIU piV/TV VJV/U fallible, therefore negating existence. But God has chosen Bethany (Linda Flo rentine), an Illinois abortion clinic work er and wavering Catholic, to stop them from entering the church and save the world. The basic plot isn’t even the most convoluted part. There are so many lay ers of activity going on at once, it’s hard to figure out who is doing what to whom. Smith adds to the mix a stripper/muse, a trio of homicidal skate punks from hell and even himself — re-creating the role of Silent Bob from his previous films like “Clerks.” Dogma boasts a strong ensemble cast, including George Carlin, Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Alan Rickman, Janeane Garofalo and Jason Lee. There’s even Alanis Morissette as an ethereal, goofy God who takes hu man form so she can visit Earth to play skee-ball. But there are almost loo many stars, each of whom gets a lengthy monologue on faith, God and the world as we know it. Like “Clerks,” Smith’s first film, “Dogma” is talky. It’s also too long, although it re portedly began life at three hours and has been trimmed to just over two. Much of the dialogue is extremely funny, though. The film begins with Car lin, as Cardinal Glick, announcing a pub lic relations campaign called “Catholi cism WOW!” that features a smiling, winking “Buddy Christ” who gives the thumbs-up sign. “Christ didn’t come to Earth to give us the willies,” the cardi nal says, pointing to an austere-looking crucifix. Meanwhile, Loki and Bartleby kill time at the Milwaukee airport by talk ing nuns out of believing in God and reading the thoughts of people walk ing off airplanes. After the first half hour, though, the pacing slows, and there are endless stretches of time be tween the quick bursts of humor. Several elaborately constructed scenes go nowhere, in cluding one in which Loki and Bartleby ambush a board of directors meeting of “Moo by the Cow,” a car toon golden call in boxer shorts that s clearly a spoof of Mickey Mouse. Bartle by catalogs the sins of all the directors before Loki uses them for target prac tice with his new gun. The scene isn’t funny — it’s not even biting social com mentary. But Damon and Affleck have great chemistry as always, and each turns in a strong performance — especially Af fleck, who is proving himself increas ingly versatile. Florentino functions well as the on ly ordinary person in the bunch; she manages to go along on this wild jour ney without losing her sense of self. Rickman gets some of the best lines, and is perfectly wry and uppity as the voice of God. She can’t speak for herself, so why shouldn’t she have a rich English accent instead? And the subject matter — which has caused such a tizzy — is mild, in deed. Ultimately, the characters enjoy redemption and a real shot at faith. “Dogma” is rated R, containing Loki (Matt Damon) and Bartleby (Ben Affleck) are fallen QI I gC IO TV 11 \/ mw»w been banished from heaven to a place they imagine is worse than hell - Wisconsin. Special to The Gamecock Once upon a time, In the late 20th century, existence was almost snuffed out without a trace. This Is the premise of Kevin Smith's Dogma, starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. The movie will hit theaters Friday. Pictured left to right here are Chris Rock, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes and Unda Florentine*. 'Fight Club' explores suffering by Campbell Roark Gamecock Critic Nietzsche once said: “To accept faith because it is customary, means to be dishonest, to be cowardly, to be toy, And do dishonesty, cowardice, and laziness then appear as the presuppo sition of one's morality?" Director David Fincher and com pany take this cjuestion and up the ante in "Fight Club/’ Instead of faith, the questioned object of acceptance is civ ilization and our place in it. But that is but one element of a film that cuts across a plethora of di verse issues. The plot revolves around the experiences of Jack (Edward Nor ton) and his complex relationship with both Brad Pitt’s Tyler Durden and He lena Bonham Carter’s Maria Singer. .feck is working towards comple tion. He has agoodjob.Adecent stereo. A nice coach. Jack is getting close. There is only one problem: Jack can’t steep. The problem is so interne ilwUie seeks medicd help The doctor is un sympathetic and admonishes hint, mocking his insomnia. “You want to see pain?” be asks, “Go check out the guys at testicular cancer” Jack does. Ife finds that he is ac cepted by a group of men who have truly known sutferi ng. The guys at tes ticular cancer feel something. They are dive; their pain is red. After his first group, Jack is both exhausted and addicted. He seeks out other groups; melanoma. King cancer, tuberculosis. He teams to fed. But it’s a false satisfaction. Implicit in the film is a condemnation of de sensitizing one’s self to suffering, to the world. When Marla Singer starts show ing up in all of Jack’s beloved groups, he is robbed of bis empathy. Marla is not there to “feel” anything. She's there merely to watch. She’s there “because U^cbe^er than a movie and there’s free coffee.” In his autobiography, ‘The Wads," Jean-Paul Sartre claimed that he had no superego, Pitt epitomizes this sensibility in a darkly charismatic performance as Tyler, a nihilistic entrepreneur who mates bis own soap and sells ilto high class department stores. As to what’s in the soap -1 will not spoil the se crets here. And the movie is fuff of them. Jack is drawn to Tyler, as Tyler represents the antithesis of Jack’sex istence. Together, they create a haven for men emasculated by their lives. They create fight Club, where guys wait their turn to beat each other {and themselves) senseless. Through foe duration of foe Sim, fight Qt& evolves into a kind of an archistic terrorist cult called Project Mayhem. Iter <iilapidated house be comes a surreally militant Zen |sMjMT C«Alt SET PAGE 4