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Chippewa
SFN Regular
USA
1496 Posts |
 Posted - 09/30/2008 : 00:42:52
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I saw a sneak preview of Bill Maher's new movie "Religulous" and it is a "must see" for the folks who post here! Funny, entertaining and serious. Don't miss it. 
http://www.lionsgate.com/religulous/
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Diversity, independence, innovation and imagination are progressive concepts ultimately alien to the conservative mind.
"TAX AND SPEND" IS GOOD! (TAX: Wealthy corporations who won't go poor even after taxes. SPEND: On public works programs, education, the environment, improvements.) |
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astropin
SFN Regular
USA
970 Posts |
Posted - 09/30/2008 : 09:55:55 [Permalink]
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| I love his HBO show.....I laugh until I cry & cry until I laugh. |
I would rather face a cold reality than delude myself with comforting fantasies.
You are free to believe what you want to believe and I am free to ridicule you for it.
Atheism:
The result of an unbiased and rational search for the truth.
Infinitus est numerus stultorum |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2008 : 21:31:59 [Permalink]
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I saw Religulous last night.
Allow me to hide what I'm going to say about the movie with this interesting aside. On the way out to my car, my wife found $25 on the street. She asked me if I dropped it. No. She asked a guy walking his dog nearby if he'd dropped it. No. It was already after dark, and there seemed no other way to reunite the money with its proper owner except by knocking on doors (and that no guarantee), so she decided to keep it. We drove to the theater, and decided to splurge on treats with the found money. Two large popcorns, one bottle of water, one large soda and one package of Twizzlers. Total cost: exactly $25. 
The tickets, by the way, were $11 each.
Anyway, I liked the film. It wasn't great by any means, but it was funny enough to make it worth my time (perhaps not my money, even given the free treats). No real spoiler here, but most of the movie is just Bill Maher asking questions of religious people, which they answer in often ridiculous ways. If you're a follower of the "Culture Wars," you won't hear anything really new (except for maybe from the guy who seems to be trying to mix Christianity with marijuana). The typical bit is to ask (for example) a Christian about Santa Claus, they dismiss poor Santa as ludicrous, and then Bill says something like, "yeah, Santa's silly but your God isn't" while giving the camera a bemused look.
Maher manages to get one guy to walk out of a Truckers' Church, but other than that not many of the people get angry with him. At least nobody we see threatens to bust him in the chops. Maher even mentions that the truckers who remained to answer his questions were a rare sort: Christians who act like Christ. I think it would have been funnier to have seen some footage of an enraged mob chasing Maher, but maybe that would have been too over-the-top.
Someone's head does catch fire, though.
The last five or ten minutes of the film is a nice anti-religion rant, which I think we need more of. I wish he'd expanded on his theme there more throughout the rest of the flick. At least, the rant should have been interspersed through the rest. For example, "this sort of religious idea is bad, and here's why..." followed by interviews highlighting that sort of idea and why it's bad. Instead, the film is mostly just allowing religious folks to ridicule themselves, followed by a short editorial.
If you haven't seen it, wait for rental. Especially with theater prices like they are. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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the_ignored
SFN Addict
2562 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2008 : 01:58:54 [Permalink]
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AIG has their own review out now. They also promote "Expelled" at the bottom. Why'd I mention that?
To make note of their ironic complaint against Mahr's dishonesty when he did a previous project:
| Titled to convey that "religion is ridiculous," the new film by cynical comedian and television personality Bill Maher is nothing short of an all-out attack on faith and a call for atheists to advance. This is no surprise to the AiG family, who experienced Maher's subterfuge and dishonesty last year in gaining access to the Creation Museum and AiG President Ken Ham for a (fictitious) documentary on the "cultural landscape of the United States." It was obvious this was the usual MO for this film crew, headed by producer Larry Charles of Borat fame, as other interview subjects or their publicists are shown stopping interviews as the true nature of the project was revealed. |
You all remember the problems that the scientists interviews for "Expelled" had when it came to what they were told the movie was supposed to be about.
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>From: enuffenuff@fastmail.fm
(excerpt follows):
> I'm looking to teach these two bastards a lesson they'll never forget.
> Personal visit by mates of mine. No violence, just a wee little chat.
>
> **** has also committed more crimes than you can count with his
> incitement of hatred against a religion. That law came in about 2007
> much to ****'s ignorance. That is fact and his writing will become well
> know as well as him becoming a publicly known icon of hatred.
>
> Good luck with that fuckwit. And Reynold, fucking run, and don't stop.
> Disappear would be best as it was you who dared to attack me on my
> illness knowing nothing of the cause. You disgust me and you are top of
> the list boy. Again, no violence. Just regular reminders of who's there
> and visits to see you are behaving. Nothing scary in reality. But I'd
> still disappear if I was you.
What brought that on? this. Original posting here.
Another example of this guy's lunacy here. |
| Edited by - the_ignored on 10/05/2008 01:59:59 |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2008 : 04:30:09 [Permalink]
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I thought it was very good. I like Bill Maher, but a lot of his humor and some of his politics fall flat on my ears. I enjoyed this movie. I could probably criticize some things that could have been done better.
I did have one big issue with Religulous. Bill Maher said that Ahmadinejad said that he wanted
to "wipe Israel off the map." I thought that had been settled. Maybe I'm wrong.
http://www.juancole.com/2007/06/ahmadinejad-i-am-not-anti-semitic.html
"So here are some things Ahmadinezhad has said that make clear his intentions, and which are translated by the United States government Open Source Center. He is hostile to Israel. He'd like to see regime change (apparently via a referendum on the shape of the government ruling over geographical Palestine, in which all "original" residents of any religion would get a vote). Calling for a referendum on the dissolution of a government is not calling for genocide. Ahmadinejad also says he has no objection to a Jewish state in and of itself, he just thinks it should be located in, say, German territory set apart for the purpose, rather than displacing Palestinians from their homes. He may be saying unrealistic things; he is not advocating killing Jews qua Jews, or genocide.
Note that Ahmadinejad below denies being an anti-Semite (why deny it if he supposedly glories in it?); points out that he supports Jewish representation in the Iranian parliament; and compares his call for an end to the Zionist regime ruling over Jerusalem to the Western call for the dissolution of the old Soviet Union. Was Ronald Reagan inciting to genocide when he called for an end of the Soviet regime?" |
Even Juan Cole had said that Ahmadinejad was a "holocaust denier," and it may be splitting hairs, but Ahmadinejad denies that . I think what he has said that, if the Holocaust happened, it was Europeans that perpretrated those crimes, and not Palestinians, so why were Palestinians driven from their homes, or something to that effect.
This is from an article from NY Daily News,
"Ahmadinejad, who plans to address the UN General Assembly tomorrow, said he did not deny the Holocaust occurred, but didn't see what was wrong with asking questions about it.
"I'm not saying that it didn't happen at all," he said. "[But] can you argue that researching a phenomenon is finished forever, done? Can we close the books foreever on a historical event?" |
We might all agree that questioning the Holocaust is not a good thing, and we can agree that life in Iran sucks, and that Ahmadinejad ain't our favorite kind of people, although he is not the ruler of Iran, but in my mind Maher is further fueling the Bomb Iran hysteria with his attitude.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/09/24/2007-09-24_irans_president_i_dont_deny_holocaust-3.html |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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| Edited by - Gorgo on 10/05/2008 04:59:29 |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2008 : 08:34:57 [Permalink]
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Originally quoted by the_ignored
...other interview subjects or their publicists are shown stopping interviews... |
Actually, only once did someone express a desire to stop his interview (the "ex-gay" Christian), but later on is joking around with Maher, so it's pretty obvious he got over it. Other people may have said "stop," too, but they're not shown doing so in the movie.
That said, if Maher was lying to people about his intentions, then people really should keep their money in their pocket, and not bother seeing the film. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Chippewa
SFN Regular
USA
1496 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2008 : 12:11:23 [Permalink]
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| In one sequence in the film, there were some guys grumbling that Maher who is Jewish was allowed into a Mosque on tour (which actually was permitted.) It was obvious the camera crew, which we glimpse, were also a little nervous. However what was funny were the post-production subtitles added below the grumbling men mistranslating their complaints as critiques of Maher's comic stand-up routines. |
Diversity, independence, innovation and imagination are progressive concepts ultimately alien to the conservative mind.
"TAX AND SPEND" IS GOOD! (TAX: Wealthy corporations who won't go poor even after taxes. SPEND: On public works programs, education, the environment, improvements.) |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2008 : 18:44:46 [Permalink]
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| People are reporting that even though Religulous opened on half as many screens as Expelled, Maher has had a larger opening-weekend haul than poor Ben Stein. Don't have time to check the numbers now myself. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Simon
SFN Regular
USA
1992 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2008 : 19:21:40 [Permalink]
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| My local theatre did show expelled but I am not holding my breath for Regiculous. I will go and see it however, not that I could not wait for it on DVD; but I want to contribute on it regiculizing Ben Stein's defecation. |
Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
Carl Sagan - 1996 |
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pleco
SFN Addict
USA
2998 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2008 : 05:27:45 [Permalink]
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| That film is not being shown in the entire state of Alabama, so I'll have to wait for DVD. |
by Filthy
The neo-con methane machine will soon be running at full fart. |
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Simon
SFN Regular
USA
1992 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2008 : 06:57:45 [Permalink]
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Woaw... Not in the entire state?
I guess Mississippi might be the same then. |
Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
Carl Sagan - 1996 |
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TG
Skeptic Friend
USA
121 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2008 : 09:22:25 [Permalink]
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| In an interview with Terry Gross on her NPR program "Fresh Air" last week Maher laughed at the notion that he's Jewish, dismissing the notion that his mother's heritage made him Jewish as a "Roman invention". |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2008 : 09:39:55 [Permalink]
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I'm going to wait for it to come to cable. I just can't convince myself that I want to spend money on a movie to see Bill Maher mugging for the camera after making people who we already know are foolish, look foolish.
As it is, I watch Bill Maher on HBO because the discussions are often fun and illuminating. But I don't watch it to see Maher, who I think is way too in love with himself for my taste... |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2008 : 10:01:54 [Permalink]
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Looking at reviews, I think some have missed the point. Some say, like Kil, that his point is to make fun of people who are extremists. That's not the point at all. If you believe that people rise from the dead, that there are talking snakes, then you have extreme ideas, and this is mainstream stuff. We are so used to giving superstition a break, that we think Joseph Smith and L. Ron Hubbard's followers are funny, but others aren't.
It's not about making fun of people. It's about realizing how absurd these ideas are, and calling it what it is.
I think some of the needling about the non-religious stuff was on the verge of being a little uncalled for, like pointing out the Senator's misuse of words. That really had nothing to do with anything except pointing out someone's mistakes who made no claim to be free from such mistakes. |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2008 : 10:12:53 [Permalink]
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I may be seeing it wrong, though, as I saw it as a call to the anti-theists, rather than viewing it completely from other people's points of view. I went with our local nontheistic group, and that may have colored my thinking.
Like I said, there were a few things that I would not have put in the movie. |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2008 : 11:03:12 [Permalink]
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Gorgo:
Some say, like Kil, that his point is to make fun of people who are extremists. |
Where did I mention extremists? I'm waiting to see it on cable because 1. I already understand and will probably agree with many, if not all of Mahar's points, when he gets around to making them, which was mentioned in Dave's critique. 2. I am not a fan of Bill Mahar. I can picture him mugging for the camera even without being told that that's what he did. Making foolish people look foolish is no great trick. |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Religulous - Recommendation
