SACRILEGIOUS MOVIES by Rama's Screen
The movie HAMLET 2 opens in theaters this weekend. Although it didn't create any controversy like the 'retarded' protests and ruckus surrounding the movie Tropic Thunder, some conservative uptight
folks did send e-mails asking people to boycott the movie because of the content which features Steve Coogan playing Jesus in the musical song "Rock Me Sexy Jesus". Bill Maher, one of the funniest politically incorrect comedians out there who's very blunt about his stand on religion is going to have a documentary released this coming October titled RELIGULOUS where he goes around many places and interviews people about religion. When you watch the trailer, it's plain to see that Bill Maher aims to poke fun of religious extremism and fanaticism
Has our society become too uptight? OR have filmmakers today gone too far?
Here are some of my pick of Sacrilegious movies that at one point got controversy jamming pitchforks up their butt..
These are the kinds of movies that would make the red state people uncomfortable.
DOGMA
When I watched this movie years ago, I couldn't stop laughing, the concept itself was so out there, it was hilarious. I couldn't even really understand what was going on and yet there I was on the floor, cracking up, trying to breathe.
Okay, where are the parts that are irreverent to everything holy and sacred?!… well, there's an abortion clinic worker who teams up with a bunch of prophets which happens to include our favorite Jay and Silent Bob. Two evil angels, Ben and Matt, trying to get back to heaven, and then somewhere in the story there's Alan Rickman as angel without a penis and God is revealed… in the form of Alanis Morisette.
One more thing… I believe Jesus was mentioned a few times and one in which Chris Rock responds by saying "that brother owes me 12 bucks".
Kevin Smith,.. ha! You gotta give him props for this twisted sense of humor.
THE LAST TEMPTATION OF THE CHRIST
Ah yes! I don't know which one is considered offensive? Jesus making out with Mary Magdalene or Jesus played by Willem Defoe. This is one trippy movie with a touchy subject. But hey, it's made by director Martin Scorsese, guys! Come on! He's the genius who brought us Raging Bull, Mean Street, Goodfellas… He wouldn't make a movie that wouldn't have any purpose and meaning, would he?!
Every true filmmaker deals with the question 'what if?' That's when creativity sparks.
The novel that this movie's based on plays with the imagination of what if Jesus hadn't sacrificed himself and instead made a family of his own just like you and me. Martin Scorsese asked 'what if' he turned it into a movie.
THE DA VINCI CODE
The should've called this "Last Temptation of Christ 2".. it could practically be considered a sequel, a continuation, since the story is about the possibility of the descendants of Jesus, anyway. Oops, did I spoil that for you who haven't seen it yet?!
Don't worry, the movie's lame, it's not that good of a thriller, but the book on the other hand, the book by author Dan Brown is great, intricate, story with cliffhangers that would make you wanna lose your sleep because you can't to read what happens next.
When Tom Hanks was first approached about this project, he actually thought the movie was going to be about the painter Leonardo Da Vinci.
As the production took place in France, there was a report people picketing right outside of Tom Hanks' hotel but they were only a few compared to the hundreds of fans also waiting outside, looking get a glimpse of the movie star. I guess French people are a lot cooler than we think.
The current production of the sequel ANGELS & DEMONS (also an awesome book) however, hasn't been going as smoothly because the Vaticans weren't that cooperative. The story does kinda make the Vatican folks look bad.
We can expect the movie to be released in 2009
SAVED!
I remember the weeks prior to the opening of this movie and there were some concerns among the conservative uptight community about how this movie would portray Christianity. Some of those who raised eyebrows, went and saw the movie and converted, while others still chose to hold on to their assumption without ever even watching the movie and they're missing the big picture.
The movie is not anti-Christian, it's anti-fundamentalist, those who act like the Pharisees and think they're all self-righteous. It makes you reconsider what it means to love one another.
SAVED! is just like any high school teen movie with all the dilemmas, especially the bullying and the mockery but this time those mean people use religion as their weapon, which is F*d up, if you ask me!
Mandy Moore did excellent as the ring leader… this is probably her only great movie and then sadly it went down hill for her from then on.
BRUCE ALMIGHTY
Jim Carrey walkin' on water, parting the red soup, and havin' an extraordinarily divine sex with Jennifer Aniston, although the scene was suggestive, it was still pretty awesome.
Ya know how you can make a sacrilegious movie and get away with it? By making it entertaining and by inserting an actual decent moral message in the storyline, so that it would all have a point in the end. If you're doing it just for the heck of it, then you're not just upsetting the Uptight Ones (that's what I call the conservatives), you're also upsetting movie buffs like me who pay hefty amount of dollar for ticket to watch a movie worth watching.
I think casting Morgan Freeman as God was brilliant. Because if there ever was one actor worthy enough to portray the creator of the universe, it'd be him. Just listen to his voice when he narrates March of the Penguins. Sounds like it reflects the wisdom of the ages.
SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER, UNCUT
O boy! Here we go! This is the ultimate right here… not even sacrilegious, it's downright blasphemous.. and hilarious.. in a wrong way. The movie makes Satan looks likable and tame. When Kenny flies to heaven, all the angels are naked girls with big boobies. The new tough hardcore kid who helps Kyle, Stanley and Carman stop Terrance and Philips from getting executed, curses God and calls him a C*(bleep) A-(bleep). You catch the drift.
This movie has made Matt Stone and Trey Parker officially became the most hated figures in the eyes of America's parents everywhere.
Does it make me a bad guy when I say that the movie is actually making fun of censorship?! if you watch the series, you'll see that South Park pulls a satire on just about anything that happens in the pop culture world and the media today.
I gotta admit, the methods are done mad crazy and in a wildly absurd manner..
Rama's SCREEN
www.ramasscreen.com
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