My Most Offensive Post Yet! (...maybe...)

Now I know a lot of you have movies in your collections that you're kind of afraid to talk about - you know, ones that only you understand why you have them, watch them, mull over them and repeatedly look over the cover again and again.

I know you do; don't deny it.

The thing is, I have a few of those DVDs myself and, admittedly, I don't spend as much time talking about them because...well...I don't feel comfortable talking about them in mixed company.

What is The Dope talking about; I'm starting to freak out...

Don't worry; it's nothing like DVDs of boatloads of nuns and orphans being torpedoed by narwahls or anything like that. See, I just got an order filled from an online movie store and got my product in today. Soon I'll be watching it, mulling over it, viewing the cover time and again and so on.

So why the title of this post? Well, to be perfectly honest, I guess I should have put the word "potentially" in there, since there is every indication that as a result of the DVD itself that I now own, someone out there is going to be offended. Eventually. In due time. Because you know my penchant for reviewing things that I watch.

And the movie I got today?

THIS:




























Yes. The Message. Also known as Mohammad: Messenger of God. Yes, it's about the creation of Islam. Yes, it was a labor of love for producer/director Moustapha Akkad (whom regular readers will recognize as the producer behind John Carpenter's Halloween films). I'd first heard about it from one of my many indispensable books "The Hollywood Hall of Shame", since it not only cost $10 million to make and has yet to report that is as much as made its budget back, but also had the incredible bad luck to be about a central character that Islamic law forbids to have any representation thereof - not to mention that any showing of his wife, children and other immediate relatives is strictly outlawed.

I mean, just look at the news; you see what happens when cartoonists try to bend Islamic law! And let's not even get into Salman Rushdie....

Not that I am wanting to infuriate any Islamic practitioners out there - I just want to see this movie that I have heard so much about and then post my opinion of it. Which I plan on doing.

This means I'm going to have to tread pretty darned lightly on this particular review, I know; after all - it's not like I'd be reviewing Rock: It's Your Decision Part 2.

So if you happen to be reading this and also are Islamic, please know that I'm not going to be posting any pictures of Mohammad or slandering Islam or anything; I'm just going to review The Message. That's it. Period.

And belief in a religion has never been a deciding factor in any review I've ever done. Just wait till you see a future review I'm planning on a movie steeped in Satanism. Whew....

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to crack open the cellophane on this puppy and start watching it; I have an opinion to build on. Stay tuned....

Dope out.

- TGWD