The Sum of All Fears - 2002

Paramount Pictures, Mace Neufeld Productions,MFP Munich Film Partners GmbH & Company I. Produktions KG

Directed by Phil Alden Robinson

Cast:

• Jack Ryan – Ben Affleck
• William Cabot – Morgan Freeman
• President Fowler – James Cromwell
• John Clark – Liev Schrieber
• NS Advisor Gene Revell – Bruce McGill
• President Nemerov – Ciaran Hinds
• Dr. Cathy Muller – Bridget Moynahan

Story: A young CIA analyst becomes embroiled in a conflict between the United States and Russia. Jack Ryan is the resident expert on the newly elected Russian President Nemerov, and is summoned by CIA director Cabot to provide background information. He accompanies Cabot to Moscow, and then joins him in a tour of a facility where nuclear warheads are being dismantled. Ryan's curiousity is peaked when he discovers three of the seventeen scientists who are supposed to be on duty at the facility are missing. The more he digs into this anomaly, the more he discovers, and he and his research team are the only people standing between World War Three.

Review: The fourth Tom Clancy novel to make it to the big screen, and the third actor to play Jack Ryan. This film falls short of expectations for several reasons. Since it is shot as a “prequel”of sorts to the previous films, Sum of all Fears seems somehow out of time with its predecessors. In this film, Jack Ryan is played by Ben Affleck, who is certainly no slouch in front of the camera. His portrayal of the the Clancy hero is good, and even meshes with the performance of Alec Baldwin in the first film of the series, Hunt for Red October. I guess my problem is Red October post dates Sum by a number of years, since in it Catherine and Jack are married with a daughter, yet the Soviets are still around. In Sum, Ryan and Cathy are still dating, only becoming engaged at the end of the film and the Soviet Union is long gone. From that standpoint alone, the timing is off sequence, which can make for a bit of a conflict for those of us who have read Clancy's novels, or seen the previous films. For the uninitiated, the film is terrific, and opens up the possibility of an entire new series (which was never pursued, apparently). Cromwell and Freeman are striking in their roles, as is Ciaran Hinds as the Russian President. The remaining cast, McGill, et. al., are intense when they need to be and absent when not needed. Which is the problem with a film like this, since you have so much action going on it is easy to get lost in it. Rated PG-13 for violence and language, the terrifying scene of a nuclear weapon going off in a crowded city is enough for all of us to consider whether or not to let the kids watch. Definitely not collectible, since the series was never continued and the film is out of sequence with the first three Clancy films. Rent it, don't buy it.

Dogma - 1999

View Askew Productions

Written and Directed by Kevin Smith

Cast:

• Bethany – Linda Fiorentino
• Liz – Janeane Garofalo
• Loki – Matt Damon
• Bartleby – Ben Affleck
• Metatron – Alan Rickman
• Azrael – Jason Lee
• Rufus – Chris Rock
• Serendipity – Salma Hayek
• Jay – Jason Mewes
• Silent Bob – Kevin Smith
• God – Alanis Morrisette
• Cardinal Glick – George Carlin

Story: The Catholic church has come up with a new way to get people in the door: a massive new campaign called Catholicism WOW!, starring the new symbol of the church, the Buddy Christ. In order to kick off this campaign, they have come up with a special dispensation for all newcomers: you walk through the doors of the church and BINGO, all your sins are automatically forgiven! This is great news for Loki and Bartleby, two angels who have been kicked out of heaven and sentenced to Wisconsin, for if they can renounce their immortal status as angels and enter the church, they can die as men and return to heaven. If they do, they will have negated God's word, and they will unwittingly undo all of creation. To stop them from accomplishing their mission, Metatron, a special angel who acts as the voice of God, contacts Bethany, the last Scion, and charges her with a mission from God. She is aided on her mission by Jay and Silent Bob, and Rufus, the unnamed 13th apostle. Azrael, a demon from the hell, commands the Stygian Triplets, three demons who have already placed God in a coma. Will the demon succeed in helping the angels to enter the church and negate all of creation?

Review: Kevin Smith will be serving an eternity in hell for writing and directing this movie, and we will all be joining him for enjoying it. This young genius, the creator of Clerks, Mallrats, and the unnamed leader of counterculture has succeeded in making the perfect statement about the dogma of the Catholic church, and he has done it in a way sure to offend any devout Catholic. The rest of us, however, are free to laugh our asses off as we roll through all the irony, comedy, and sarcasm of the film. Linda Fiorentino is amazing as Bethany, and the woman deserves an Oscar in the category of “How in the world did you manage to keep a straight face in the midst of all that”. Having Jay and Silent Bob, the icons born of Kevin's previous films, as Bethany's protectors and prophets was nothing short of genuis (a word I tend to use a lot when I talk about Kevin Smith), and allows Kevin to reprise the role we all love so well. Salma Hayek plays Serendipity, the muse who fell to Earth, who can inspire everyone else except herself. Chris Rock, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Jason Lee, all veterans born of Kevin's films, perform with perfection, making this an exceptional piece of satire, parody, comedy, and art all rolled into one. Definitely rated R for language, nudity, violence and general poor taste (by the Catholics, that is), this is one of those films to watch when the kids are in bed. Collectible for everyone except devout Catholics, who will probably do time in purgatory for even mentioning its name, let alone watching it.