Movies: Documentary

  ... (See the whole review)

Bridge of Spies - Directed by Steven Spielberg          Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ... (See the whole review)

There are two stars in Robert Zemeckis's new movie The Walk - Joseph Gordon-Levitt who stars as wire walker Philippe Petit, and the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center themselves. Undoubtedly, many people who have seen the trailer or an ad for the film will go just to see what sort of magic Zemeckis performs to bring the towers to life. ... (See the whole review)

“Writing the check is the easy part.” Genentech, Apple, Intel, Cisco, Oracle, … none of them would exist, nor would hundreds of others that created billions of dollars worth of new wealth by delivering new inventions.  More than the money – though there was that – venture capitalists brought expertise in management and marketing, guiding start-ups,... (See the whole review)

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This documentary is being released on DVD on April 3, 2012. ... (See the whole review)

I saw Inside Job. Both critics and viewers have rated it highly (A- on Yahoo, 97% and 86% on Rotten Tomatoes). It is nominated for Best Documentary at the next Academy Awards. It is described on Yahoo as: "A comprehensive analysis exposing the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008. The global financial meltdown, at a cost of over... (See the whole review)

"George Westinghouse is considered America’s greatest industrialist ... The Westinghouse air brake is considered one of the most important inventions in history. Automobile shock absorbers, railroad signaling and the modern day weekend all owe their existence to [Westinghouse].  He was an honest millionaire in the days of robber barons, an optimist... (See the whole review)

Bittersweet. The funniest (comedic) documentary of a tragedy that I've ever seen. One of the most excellent, meant-to-be-mainstream illustrations of abstract ideas I have ever seen. It combines the simpleness of the "What is Capitalism?" documentaries of the 1950's with the attention-holding animations of a modern day "Shrek." We Objectivists shoul... (See the whole review)

I haven't seen this movie, an attack on New Jersey teachers' unions, but looks good.  It's getting a wide commercial release and respectful reviews from non-partisan sources. ... (See the whole review)

If we like to see the rebirth of reason, should not we learn what went wrong the last time. Germany was one of the most civilized and educated countries; some of the brightest minds were teaching in their universities; German theaters, operas, museums, philosophy, science, engineering were the best in the world. Yet, their deeds were evil. ... (See the whole review)

This is the most blatant of Moore's anti-capitalist films to date, I believe.  (I've missed a few, somehow...)  The fortunate thing that I noticed first at one of the very first showings, at the only theater in the OC actually showing the flick, was how very few people were in attendance.  Clearly Regal Cinema expected a massive turnout, as the att... (See the whole review)

During World War II more than 75% of combat troops chose not to fire at the enemy. ... (See the whole review)

While Americans tend to see WWII as the seminal event of the last century, in actuality, it is merely one of the many events set in motion by the true great tragedy of our age, the Great War. This ten hour video series, available on DVD or airing on the Military Channel, is a splendid introduction to the facts and the reasons behind the fact... (See the whole review)

Capitalism Cooked Correctly Unfortunately, there are not many TV programs that positively demonstrate the virtues of capitalism like "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares." And after watching a single episode, you will understand why. The program follows celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay in his attempts to bring sound business practices to failing ... (See the whole review)

I have just finished watching the first of three PBS DVDs of Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy and was impressed. I expect the following two disks to be just as good. The first DVD details the struggle over the years between Keynes and Hayek for pre-eminence. I was surprised with the degree of impartiality in the presentation fro... (See the whole review)

Something I never knew before. European Jews, under increasing Nazi persecution, were able to leave Germany and Europe, and live in relative safety (albeit poverty) in Shanghai, China throughout the war.  ... (See the whole review)

Going out to rent it now .

After reading the exchanges about this film on a related thread in the General Forum of this site, and having reviewed The Secret here earlier, I decided to make the time to watch and review this film.  Fortunately, I located a streaming video of it on Google Video.  This means you will not need to pay for a film with a questionable agenda and appa... (See the whole review)

The Law of Attraction -- Subjectivist Style The self-help and actualization movement (SHAM) in America today offers two polar opposites of empowerment and victimization.  The former argues that anyone can accomplish anything with enough force of will while the latter claims that everyone ultimately has no control and that someone or somethin... (See the whole review)

Introduction and Context Setting A valid philosophy requires the induction of abstract principles based on a suitable number of similar concretes.  When she developed Objectivism, Ayn Rand induced many such principles across all branches of philosophy.  In metaphysics, Objectivism contends that we all live in one reality and that each of us ... (See the whole review)

Mondovino, Communino.  Tom(ay)to, tom(ah)to.  I thought since Sideways is currently up, I would go ahead and post this.  No matter how you pronouce it, this film has one agenda that can best be summed up by a statement from one of the peasants in the film--"The poor also have a right to make wine."  The beauty of it is that despite the films intent... (See the whole review)

Now available on DVD this is one of the highlights of BBC production from the past 30 years. Clark does not apologise for being an  elitist, he does not try to sink to the level of the average viewer. He is not interested in the viewer but the art and therefore we take him seriously.

Perhaps the most widely read philosopher of the 20th century, Ayn Rand has delighted and infuriated people of all ideologies and, like it or not, has helped to create the political realities we deal with every day. With Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life you can follow her life story, from her childhood in the turbulent years of revolution in her native Rus... (See the whole review)

A remarkable film on this architectural genius ably demonstrates both his genius and his struggle - the reasons for his struggle can be deduced from the commentary, while the visual presentation of the products of his genius is worth the price of admission ten times over! (See the whole review)

"If you want to bake an apple pie from scratch, you first need to invent the universe." ... (See the whole review)