[Mark Rabinowitz] Two docs are opening this week, with Larry Charles' Lionsgate release "Religulous" going wide today after a limited bow on Wednesday and Michael Wolfe's Truly Indie doc "Allah Made Me Funny" opens in 11 cities today. Both films are receiving mixed notices, with "Religulous" currently rated at 55 on MetaCritic and 65% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Bill Maher fans among us are well aware of his disdain for organized religion and may even share it, so with a film like this, reviewing it is simply a minefield.

One the one had you have acolytes like EW's Owen Gleiberman: "He's a bombs-away provocateur, and in Religulous, Maher's blasphemous detonation of all things holy and scriptural, he doesn't really pretend to play fair. He's like Lenny Bruce with an inquiring mind and a video camera." On the other hand, you also get critics like Salon.com's Andrew O'Hehir who writes about Maher that: "...his scattershot and ad hominem attacks against many different forms of religious hypocrisy don't add up to a coherent critique, and he's not qualified to provide one."

"Allah Made Me Funny" is pretty much equally as split, getting a 53 on MetaCritic and 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. Of course with such a title, you're going to get varying critical use of said title. Laura Kern writes in the New York Times: "The title doesn't lie. These guys know how to tell a joke, often at the expense of their customs, religious holidays, families and themselves." While Colin Covert of the Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote: "No, he didn't. This TV-style comedy concert showcases the flimsy talents of Azhar Usman, Bryant "Preacher" Moss and Mohammad Amer. Haven't heard of them? There's a reason. Hack jokes about crazy families and getting funny looks on airline flights aren't all that mirthy. Allah made Dave Chappelle funny, guys. Deal with it." Ouch. (Although I don't think "mirthy" is a word, Colin.)

Photos: Bill Maher outside the Vatican City in RELIGULOUS; Larry Charles and Bill Maher during production on RELIGULOUS. Photo credit: Alexandra Lambrinidis