Religulous

As wars rage, the state of the environment becomes more desperate, and natural disasters more frequent, the end of the world would appear to be nigh. 'If there's one thing I hate more than prophecy,' declares comedian and commentator Bill Maher at the start of this documentary, 'it's self-fulfilling prophecy.' Maher has a beef with religion and questions for all the faiths, and he's not prepared to let anyone off the hook, whether they worship God, Jesus, Allah, Buddha or marijuana. It is clear Maher has done his theological homework, and he approaches his interviews with believers armed with incredible knowledge as well as deep skepticism.

A collaboration between Maher and director Larry Charles (the co-creator of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm and director of the Borat film), Religulous could be billed as the funniest, most irreverent and provocative documentary you will see in this lifetime, if its pertinence didn't give you the chills. At a time when members of the senate, from the President downwards, insist that the Bible is literally the word of Our Lord and pass laws informed by that belief, or when there are plenty of apologists for those advocating the murder of people who make films or draw cartoons, you have to thank God, or whoever, that Charles and Maher are around to confront such madness.
Michael Hayden