Sunday, January 1, 2017

A Beginner's Guide to Kevin Smith

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Have you ever found yourself amongst a group of people, enjoy a good discussion, when the topic of Kevin Smith comes up and you have no idea what every one is so psyched about? Fear not, for here you will find everything you need to start your Kevin Smith education and gain the ability to converse freely about this brilliant cult icon.

Kevin Smith is a writer/director/actor of a certain genre of movies. They are brilliant in their simplicity with amazing dialogue and character/actor cohesion between films that will have you craving more. To start your journey into the world Kevin Smith has created, I've compiled a list of the must-see movies below. Make sure you watch these movies in their designated order of release; it really does make a difference.

Clerks (1994): Kevin Smith won numerous awards at various film festivals for this low-budget black and white piece. It all takes place at a convenience store and is pretty much pure dialogue. It contains the intro to the dynamic duo present in all other  films listed here, known as Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith).

Mallrats (1995): Finally, Kevin Smith gets to do a movie with an actual budget, and the result is "Mallrats". Again the dialogue is fantastic, the characters colorful and the script fairly genius. If you pay attention, you'll notice quite a few references to the movie "Clerks".

Chasing Amy (1997): This film is a little different from the first two. Kevin Smith takes a more serious route with this film. Don't fret though, the dialogue is still wonderful, there are again numerous references to the two previous films mentioned and Jay and Silent Bob do make an appearance.

Dogma (1999): This movie makes it onto my personal Top 10 Movies of All Time list. Now that Kevin Smith has made a very big name for himself, he gets a hold of a star-studded cast and takes on the Catholic Church. His view of religion is actually quite brilliant in this film. The story follows two renegade angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) who have been cast out of heaven and are trying to find heir way home. You can indulge in more Jay and Silent Bob than ever before in this film (as the prophets) and a sheer genius performance by Alan Rickman as the Voice of God. I could go on and on about this movie, but I'll leave you with these 4 words: It's fantastic, watch it.

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001): Hearing the call for more of Jay and Silent Bob, this movie is devoted to them and their adventures to Hollywood to stop the making of a film based on their characters "Bluntman and Chronic". This movie is exactly what you would expect of a movie based on Jay and Silent Bob. It does revisit all other movies extensively though, often requiring actors to play several different roles from the previous movies to integrate properly for the film. It's not one of my favorites but it is a must-see.

Clerks 2(2006): Now in full color, we follow Dante and Randal a decade after "Clerks". This movie is probably the most disturbing one of all. It's a great finale to the Jay and Silent Bob movies.

So there you have it, all the movies you need to see to appreciate the full genius of Kevin Smith. If you are so inclined to continue your education, check out "An Evening with Kevin Smith" and "Jersey Girl", as well as the cartoon series of "Clerks".


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Source by Nina Pelletier

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