Movie Picks (for Libertarians)
Over the weekend I visited my brother in Boston. Amongst our activities we saw The Other Guys. Absolutely hilarious. I was just hoping it would be decent, and within 10 minutes we knew we had chosen wisely. I don’t want to say too much and spoil it. If you find Will Ferrell even mildly amusing, then you should see this movie. Also, note the interesting political angle they take in the closing credits.
Since I’m giving picks, here are some other ones from my Netflix adventures the last few months:
* Straight Time. A great Dustin Hoffman movie that will show you how entrepreneurial thieves are.
* Across 110th Street. A pretty good (though dated) mob movie that is very interesting because it shows how the mob tracks down guys who rip it off. It also shows an interesting view of police corruption that I haven’t gotten from other movies like this.
* Colossus: The Forbin Project. Of the films I discuss in this blog post, this one is not necessarily “a good movie.” I saw an excerpt from it on an LRC blog post, and it looked intriguing since it obviously pre-dates Terminator by a country mile. I will say this, the movie’s plot is not as obvious as you might have thought from reading the description. But unless you are a serious sci fi geek, you can probably find something better to do with your life.
My recommendations for Libertarians:
– Horror:
28 days Later
28 Weeks Later
The Crazies
All of these movies show how the government tries and fails to contain a viral outbreak, and then the government attempts to cover up there tracks by killing civilians who know too much.
– Action/Drama
Serenity
The Matrix
Robin Hood (steals from the TAX COLLECTORS and gives back to the poor)
– Comedy
Toy Story 3
that is all I can think of for now. Really though, watch Serinity 28 weeks later or the Crazies if you want a fantastic libertarian plot.
I totally forgot the movie “pirate Radio”. it’s probably the most obvious libertarian plot (a bunch of guys circumvent British censorship and copyright laws by broadcasting a radio station off of a boat in the ocean to the shore.
Its also very, very funny.
I believe most, if not all, of us that frequent here maintain a healthy level of frustration with the world’s goings on. And if you’re Skip Olivia (check him out on the mises blog if you haven’t), pyromaniacal rage is a closer descriptive. Anyway, we all get pissed off to some degree by these overlording a-holes from time to time.
The next time you find yourself in one of those states of mind, I would recommend watching Jimmy Stewart in Harvey. You may think a good dose of Charlie Bronson would be the prescription, but invisible rabbits are much better for the soul.
– Legends of the Fall: not sure what to make of this movie, but always thought there was a libertarian sentiment to it.
By the way, movies of life under a totalitarian regime as in Swing Kids, or even simpler illustrations of authority figures abusing powers when under unconstrained environments, like in Sleepers or more subtly in Changeling, are probably the best vehicles of a political libertarian message.
Dead Man Walking and Carlito’s Way have a dead Sean Penn at the end of both.
The pool hall scene in the beginning of Carlito’s Way is awesome. And someone once told me that I looked like Sean Penn from that movie when I was in college (and still had some hair).
I really like the scene with Pacino and Penn in the hospital: “Adios counselor.”
I can’t picture you with a jheri curl…or smoking More brand cigarettes and a raging coke habit for that matter.
I know I’m supposed to bow down to the greatness that is Scarface and that Goodfellas and Godfather II are the benchmark of gangster movies, but Carlito’s Way is 1. De Palma’s best & 2. Arguably the best crime film ever made
The Aviator was fairly pro-libertarian, I think.