Movie Update

Religulous: 1.5/4 stars. So-so documentary that claims to be about religion but is really about Bill Maher's view of religion. Even though I basically agree with most of Maher's points, I had some big problems with the film. For one, he only goes after the Abrahamic religions, doesn't touch Hinduism or Buddhism. Second, the film has an almost Tom Green-like confrontational style that I find uncomfortable to watch. Third, he talks to extremists, and spends almost no time talking to people who are more moderate in their religious beliefs, or who approach their faith with their intellect-- too much shooting fish in a barrel, not enough tackling the bigger questions and issues involved. Lastly, I'd compare making a film about how ridiculous relgion is to making a film about how ridiculous romantic relationships are. It's easy to make a lot of good, persuasive points, but the argument ignores something fundamental about the human condition. You can't really dismiss religion entirely, it's not going anywhere no matter how badly you want it to.