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        2001:  A Space Odyssey is an allegory, concerning what drives and influences man and the very definition of "man."  The film opens with the grandeur of Richard Strauss’ tone poem, <<Also Sprach Zarathustra>>, a theme that is played at other key moments in the film.  The Moon, the Earth, and the Sun are in alignment.  The story that follows ... (See the whole review)

... (See the whole review)

From Incredibles director Brad Bird, we have a poignant story addressing an old question - do creatures with A.I. deserve to be treated as human? Featuring Harry Connick Jr.'s beautiful voice as that of the semi-reclusive artist who doesn't like children, this movie is great for kids and adults alike.  It's a nice, simple, non-liberally-loa... (See the whole review)

The superb 1960s television show got the full Hollywood treatment with this blockbuster action movie, one of the better such adaptations in recent years. Note: the following contains plot spoilers. Dr Richard Kimble (Ford) is a leading Chicago surgeon who finds himself falsely accused of the murder of his wife (played, in flashbacks, ... (See the whole review)

Folks, you know this film has a lot going for it on a philosophical level when a leftist Boston reviewer complains that it isn't altruistic and collectivistic enough. Here's what he wrote under the review titled — believe it or not — "Batman Shrugged":  ... (See the whole review)

A stunning feature length BBC production based on the events of 9th June 1804, which saw the premier of Beethoven's Thrid Symphony (the Eroica) in a private performance for Prince Lobokowitz, some time prior to the work's public debut. Ingeniously, the work itself is played as live (and, may I add, quite superbly), while the camera captures ... (See the whole review)

From a previous article I wrote: ... (See the whole review)

This is a really eccentric and fun movie. The cast is amazing. In addition to Grant's Chopin, Davis' George Sand, Sands' Liszt, there are some unusual but superb casting choices. I particularly like Mandy Patinkin's Alfred De Musset, the poet and George Sands' ex-lover.  Most surprising is Bernadette Peters's Countess D'Agoult, Liszt's mistress. Th... (See the whole review)

Life is Beautiful is the tale of an Italian-Jewish shopkeeper, Guido, and his wife Dora and son Giosue. Though set against the backdrop of World War II and the Holocaust, the film amazingly manages to convey an optimistic, dignified sense of life, as Guido uses his irrepressible sense of humor to woo the beautiful Dora and, later, to preserve his s... (See the whole review)

A trailer can be found here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/the_edukators.html[[/A> ... (See the whole review)

... (See the whole review)

Season 1 of the medical drama "House", with Hugh Laurie starring as the ruthlessly rational and funny American doctor.

Story of purity versus change part one: RUNNING ON EMPTY centers around a couple and their children on the run for their protest actions in the sixties. The parents are the typical Marxist hippies who try to instill in the kids the values of the left, only to face the fact that the eldest child would rather play classical piano instead of the f... (See the whole review)

Things start off quietly when unpublished novelist Miles (Paul Giamatti) and his old buddy Jack (Thomas Haden Church) decide to spend the final week before Jack's wedding on a tour of California's Santa Ynez wine country. While afficionado Miles sees the trip as a good opportunity to educate his friend in the subtleties of wine appreciation, Jack d... (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)

It's terrible that I only found German sources (and some Arabian) about this movie, who is truly a horrible piece of filming. The German-based Israelian organisations have judged the movie and found it not only offending but also terribly evil. The movie portrays the day of two suicide bombers and tries to convince the public, that they are two poo... (See the whole review)

Serenity is the latest creation from the man who brought us the TV version of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Joss Whedon. It's showing now at a cinema near you. It wasn't mind blowing by my high standards, I didn't think it was that great but you get your money's worth no doubt. Following directly on from Whendon's much acclaimed TV show Firefly, th... (See the whole review)

I went to see The World's Fastest Indian a couple of days ago with Jasmine and some friends. According to IMDB: "The life story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years building a 1920 Indian motorcycle -- a bike which helped him set the land-speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967." It was fantastic! At first J... (See the whole review)

I haven't seen this movie in about twenty years. This is a great little romance that still sticks in my mind for it's fresh optimism and great scenery. I'm a sucker for a good romance (good, mind you) and this movie is certainly that. Here is the plot overview from IMDB: A French boy (Daniel) and an American girl (Lauren), who goes to... (See the whole review)

I saw some clips from this movie and it looked good. Then I saw it was directed by Lasse Hallström who directed the excellent Chocolat and I was sold. Unfortunately it was in and out of theaters locally in a heartbeat. After the first weekend, one local theater showed it only at midnight on Friday and Saturday night. Another showed it only at 10 a.... (See the whole review)

Here is a movie that I saw on a whim one night when it was on cable. I was completely blown away. It's a comedy/drama about a young Austrailian ballroom dancer who wants to win the big Pan-Pacific Grand Prix dance competition. The comedy mostly revolves around the older people in the film including his parents, dance instructor, and the head of the... (See the whole review)

This short movie (click here) was created as a school project, apparently by a 17-year-old-girl, and posted at YouTube on April 16, 2006. (On screen the movie is actually titled The Anthem, perhaps intentionally different from the book.) Despite low production values, I think it is excellent. It evokes somewhat the beginning of the We the Li... (See the whole review)

This is truly one of the most magical movies I've ever seen in my life. Miyazaki is an extraordinarily gifted director and has a knack for creating truly believable characters, and that's what truly shines about this movie. While there is a scene that is unabashedly environmentalist, it's not a "preachy" film, and there is much for Objectivists t... (See the whole review)

I figured out this gallery. Another version of this review has been submitted to _Liberty_: Over the years, I have become increasingly distrustful of Hollywood’s biographical and historical movies. However, Sophie Scholl: The Last Days was made in Germany and has only recently come to American theaters. Shown with subtitle... (See the whole review)

For all the 'equal time' this movie gives to fundamentalist Islam -- I feel that it, on balance, depicts the true, destructive nature of the religion (albeit, indirectly enough to avoid a retributive, suicide bombing!). Particularly striking, are the staunch, anti-capitalist indoctrinations by the 'teacher' at the 'Muslim School'.

This review was posted to the General Forum before I discovered how to post it here. Thanks to Jonathan Fauth for his directions. * * * * * After walking out in the middle of the campy Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (supposedly the #1 Movie in America) with the foppish Captain Jack Sparrow, I was sorely in need of a good m... (See the whole review)

My wife and I caught this average science fiction fantasy thriller while flipping channels on a lazy Sunday afternoon today.  Dean Koontz's novel of the same name serves as the basis for the movie.  It definitely had a "made for TV" look and feel to it. I only mention it here because the film concludes with the main character, a murder myste... (See the whole review)

I have taken quite a few acting classes here in Austin, just for fun. I then found out that one of my classmates actually appeared in this film for a few minutes. She did a good job. ... (See the whole review)

I am quite surprised that nobody has brought up this movie. I watched it twice over the weekend on DVD. ... (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)

Preface Objectivism considers a given work of art as a concretization of the artist's metaphysical value judgments.  Ayn Rand considered good art as fuel for the human spirit.  By contrast, bad art drains the spirit of those who consume it.  In his book Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, Leonard Peikoff cites three broad standards by w... (See the whole review)

I am happy to write a review of this wonderful film. It won Oscars for best director, best lead actor, best screenplay, and best picture. If you watch it just once, you will understand why. Kevin Spacey (best actor) plays Lester Burnham. Lester is going through a mid-life crisis. He is bored, apathetic, and uninspired. He lives in the suburb... (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)

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)

"Free" episodes available online from the questionable website ... ... (See the whole review)

The basic gist of this film is that "Death" (Pitt) decides to experience life as a human and takes the body of a young man. He appears to a rich businessman (Hopkins) who is going to die soon, and has him act as a guide to all that life has to offer. Without Pitt and Hopkins I doubt this movie would be worth watching. Their interplay is ama... (See the whole review)

I have seen a few of the films in the "View Askewniverse." This "universe" and franchise all started with Clerks, made for $27,575 and released in 1994. Clerks Two was made with a still modest budget of $3,000,000. While I have found all of Smith's films somewhat intriguing, and that's probably why I keep watching them. I also wonder what t... (See the whole review)

WARNING: This review contains both spoilers and buzz killers!  Read at your own risk. Introduction and Context Setting Before I even start reviewing the movie, I had better set context with some autobiographical information. Many readers of this site know that my parents raised me on a cattle farm in North Carolina.  I spent ma... (See the whole review)

Dictators named Saddam and Vladimir, poisoning, assassination, suicide warriors and Jihad, a vital resource found only in dessert sands...sound familiar? But this is not from the headlines, but rather from Frank Herbert's classic novel Dune. Herbert was decades, if not millennia ahead of his time. The 1984 release of the movie adaptation w... (See the whole review)

* minor spoilers may be below. Nothing that should give away the film or detract from seeing it. I saw this in IMAX this weekend, and loved it. I declare 300 joining Shawshank Redemption and Incredibles in the 'mandatory films for Objectivists' category. Go see it! First I'll note my criticisms of it, minor compared to the great sp... (See the whole review)

Growing up in a small Spanish village, Raimunda (Cruz) and her sister had long heard tales of ghosts and the madness visited upon the villagers by the dry East winds. Years before, their parents had died in a fire driven by this wind. Now, returning to bury their long senile and helpless aunt they hear rumours that she had survived with the aid o... (See the whole review)

If you like a really hip, very clever, funny, action thriller, with the nastiest villians you've ever seen and some of the best heros and heroines, plus a thousand turns and twists that will force you to watch it ten more more times just to get every nuance, this is IT! This is one of my fave all-time movies.  (The 2nd time, I suddenly reali... (See the whole review)

Barbara Stanwyck, for a period during the 1940’s the highest paid actress in Hollywood and woman in the US, was a self-made woman, if ever there was one. Queen of the film noir, Stanwyck was known for playing tough broads, often the girlfriend of a mobster as in Night Nurse and in Ball of Fire - or a killer herself - as in Double Indemnity. Havin... (See the whole review)

A romantic drama in the best sense of the word, this film forever secured for Rita Hayworth the title of "Sex Goddess," a title which, in real life, she found a tragic personal frustration. Directed by Charles Vidor, "Gilda" stars Glenn Ford (recently deceased) as Johnny Farrell, a handsome, streetwise adventurer who "makes his own luck." ... (See the whole review)

Starring: Barabara Stanwyck, Gary Cooper, Gene Krupa (cameo), Billy Wilder (writer)
Director: Howard Hawks

Showing Saturday May 19, Thursday May 31, 8PM Eastern, on TCM This otherwise conventional comedy; girl tricks boy, boy falls for girl, girl falls for boy; would have been unremarkable except for the lead role played by the inimitable Barbara Stanwyck. Remade ten years later by Hawks with the repressively adorable Danny Kaye and a b-list ac... (See the whole review)

(Added by Ted Keer on 5/19/2007, 12:24pm)

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Bell, Book and Candle (1958 airs Monday, June 4,2007 10:00 AM TCM)
Starring: Kim Novak, Jimmy Stewart, Enrie Kovacs, Jack Lemmon
Director: Robert Quine

This movie, ostensibly about witchcraft, is largely a thinly veiled reference to pre-stonewall "gay" life in 1950's beatnik New York. "If a witch falls in love with a mortal, she looses all her supernatural powers." Kim Novak is at her absolute best in this cinematic treat. Camille Paglia praises this as one of her favorite movies. From TCM: ... (See the whole review)

(Added by Ted Keer on 6/01/2007, 11:30pm)

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La Vie en Rose (2007)
Starring: Marion Cotillard

I can't make an Objectivist case for this movie as dramatic art, but the experience of  putting one's emotions through a workout from the safety of a theater seat can be worth seeking out for its own sake.  If that's what Aristotle and subsequent centuries of literati mean by "pity and terror" or "catharsis," then this movie taught me more than Aes... (See the whole review)

(Added by Peter Reidy on 6/23/2007, 5:08pm)

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Super Andrew 2: Nerd of Steel (2007)
Starring: Andrew Parisi, Kyle LeMay, Mike Cara, Jack Woodward
Director: Kyle LeMay

Finally! An Objectivist Super hero movie! Just released last month by Supernerd Productions, Super Andrew 2 is the greatest movie of all time. http://www.supernerdproductions.com/showVideo.php?v=51

(Added by Jack M. Woodward on 6/29/2007, 4:29pm)

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The Thorn Birds (1983)
Starring: Barabara Stanwyck - Centennial July 16, 1907-2007

July 16 marks Barabara Stanwyck's Centennial. Rand, who died in 1982, would have loved this scene at YouTube, please check it out. Turner Classic Movies is featuring her this weekend. Ted Keer (See the whole review)

(Added by Ted Keer on 7/13/2007, 9:19pm)

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The Brave One (2007)
Starring: Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard
Director: Neil Jordan

"There are plenty of ways to die. But you have to figure out a way how to live." Click here for the trailer (See the whole review)

(Added by Ted Keer on 9/05/2007, 2:44pm)

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