Comwayon
A Disappointing Continuation
WillSushyMedia
This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
Skyler
Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.
scobbah
Watching the complete series of John Safran vs. God was the first time I got in contact with this peculiar Aussie. Although religion as a subject might be a difficult one to make a series on, John carries out his task diligently. He tries out several religions, some of them being well-known such as Zen Buddhism and Hinduism while other religions might be less known. How about a church where peyote, a a cacti which contains the psychedelic substance mescaline, is in the centre of religious practice? How about cursing "priests" in Mozambique of whom are accused of Australia's football team's weak performance due to a curse cast 30 years ago? There is a lot more to this series than this as John tries out several ways of reaching a higher spiritual state of mind. John has a sort of sarcastic approach to his search for enlightenment and he frequently mixes the footage of his experiences with a heavy dose of irony and rants about religious practice in the context of hypocrisy, I would say.Although I do not regret that I watched the series as some of the episodes are great, I must stress that John at times becomes a bit silly about his rants. Yet the series is worth to give a shoot.6/10
Jozxyqk
After seeing "Music Jamboree', I laughed my arse off when I first heard about 'John Safran vs. God'. The title itself is great, only outdone by the brilliant opening.Probably the best thing about the show is the research that went into it, followed by the ordeals John himself goes through for our entertainment.SPOILERS! Some of the things he finds is amazing, like how many products these days are linked with Nazi Germany. And some of the rituals and ordeals he undertakes is brilliant, like buying magic Morman underpants, getting covered in chicken blood to undo a curse on the Australian soccer team, and even being exorcised by Bob Larson.SPOILERS END If you haven't seen this show, watch it the next chance you get.Bring on 'Speaking in Tongues'.
maggi
NOTE: only one episode discussed here.Writer, co-producer and host John Safran goes on a worldwide expedition to find God in various religions. Instead he exposes the various types of practices carried out in the name of religion. It begins with how the supreme judge of the Shariat court in UK is so Fatwa-friendly that he issues one in the blink of the eye. It continues to say how old junkies in Texas are using the garb of Native American religion (peyote) to get a fix, legally. Later, it points out that Scientology is really nothing more than a group of obsessed sci-fi believers. A film such as this is an entertainer – its comic sequences, over the top statements and sweeping judgments are carried out in a comic manner, thereby ensuring a lot of laughs. However, laughter is all that there is to it.The film is (somewhat) a polemic, aimed at debunking all other views and voices except those of its creators. Large tracts of commentary, magnificent editing of sequences and musical scores as fillers make it a very clever ploy to get audiences to share in their beliefs. So even though it exposes individuals, it uses these to make sweeping statements at the religion per se. For e.g. the Muslims following Islam in Britain are extremists, the peyote way church is just a group of drug junkies and scientologists are trying to brainwash the world into following them. Of course it does not literally say that. However, the juxtaposition of visuals and news clippings along with comments loaded with 'If', 'Perhaps' and 'maybe' leave the viewer to connect the dots in a style earlier seen with Michael Moore.Lastly, its holier-than-thou attitude makes it into a screening of snob value. So, even when it provokes thought it is not the direction intended. Perhaps, the film is just a reaffirmation of the existing prejudices of SOME, but these cannot be counted as ALL.
sslop
Having just seen the final episode of 'John Safran Vs. God', I'm pleased to conclude that this series is as equally entertaining as his previous show, 2002's 'Music Jamboree' (despite being two episodes shorter). While religion is perhaps a risky topic on which to base a television show, Safran manages to explore the subject in his usual unique style by placing himself at the centre of his stories. While this might have been a less appealing method had the show featured somebody more subdued, it is Safran's personality and the situations he is willing to place himself in that makes the series as entertaining as it is informative.Oh, and the final episode is one of the most riveting conclusions to a television series I've seen in a long time.The DVD, released in late October 2004, looks to be a worthwhile purchase.
