Halt and Catch Fire

This is a show that is pro-capitalism and pro-innovation!

From wikipedia:

The series is set in the Silicon Prairie of Texas, starting in 1983, and depicts a fictionalized insider's view of the personal computer revolution. The show's title refers to computer machine code instruction HCF, the execution of which would cause the computer's central processing unit to stop working ("catch fire" was a humorous exaggeration).

The protagonists are all some kind of tortured people who also happen to be somewhat objectivist in their approach to their work and life. Lee Pace, who plays Joe, could easily play Howard Roark. Easily a 8.5/10 for me.


True Detective Season 1

Watch this! Very intriguing mystery crime drama set variably in the late ninties to the early 10's, with brilliant performances from Matthew Mcconaughey (Who usually only does movies) and Woody Harrelson (Who also usually does movies). The plot has twists you would not anticipate, and moves along at a pace which makes the intentions and misgivings of both the detectives and the killer very apparent. Wih just eight episodes, it leaves a lasting impression on you. Very compelling performances, cinematography, script and score, this shows scores well on all fronts.

Mcconaughey who is somewhat of an Objectivist himself, but falls in the weird (non-)category of Christian Objectivists has, on several occasions stated that his favorite word is "selfish".

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bANyey6DR8Q.

He also is a commited atheist in the show (and an extraordinary detective) and has a few lines where he says that value judgements are the only way life can be lived, and that to escape thinking is to die (to his partner, Harrelson).

Word of caution : This show features some gore (although usually cropped) and violence. Some nude scenes can be over-the-top, and the mystery is disturbing as well. Definitely not for children.

I'd give it a 11/10 if that didn't break reality.


Man Of Steel and Batman V Superman

Man of Steel was very unexpected for me. I did not expect a Superman movie to show Altruism as evil. Superman is altruistic because these are the values his father taught him, and like the good sheep he is, he follows his advice. What follows is death and destruction, which was, although not directly his fault, still amplified by his actions.

Batman V Superman (which is a sequel to Man Of Steel) reinforces this idea by introducing Batman who turns rogue and often extrememly violent in his fight against crime. And when he witnesses someone as powerful as Superman, his only response is to destroy him because he thinks that even the smallest chance of someone being evil should be taken as an absolute certainty (The theme of the movie is "All men are Evil" for Batman while it is the opposite for Superman). Superman isn't your average Altruist, though. He is a man who does not think that morality can be practical. He himself does not believe in what he does, and he has to often console his guilt with his girlfriend Lois Lane, who pushes him on the plank of Self-Sacrifice. Even his mother opposes this. He is very naïve, and pays the price for it.

And to say nothing of the sheer brilliance of Lex Luthor's plan! Jesse Eisenberg (who played Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network) plays a psychopathic "new-age" capitalist (who takes advantage of government subsidies and leverages for pull) who feels the need to destroy anyone he percieves being better than himself. He says he wants to kill Superman because he is considered a god, because he is something more than human, more than him (!) even though he holds the rope that ties the (hypothetical) noose around Superman's neck! One line by Lex Luthor really stuck with me :

If God is all powerful, He can not be all good;
And if he is all good, he can not be all powerful!

Both these movies have amazing scores and acting along with breathtaking cinematography. They paint a picture of absolute morality at their base. The Director and the man in charge, Zack Snyder, has often shown his admiration for Ayn Rand's work. He is also vying to make The Fountainhead into a movie.

I'd give MoS a 8/10 and BvS 8.5/10.

Interstellar

An ode to human achievement and a movie that promotes the idea of human ingenuity and travel. The movie is about space travel.

Telling anything else would give away the plot. Another brilliant performance by Mcconaughey and Jessica Chastain.

A 9.5/10 for me.

The Office

Starring Steve Carell, this TV show is about a regular office in New York which sells paper. Michael Scott (Steve Carell) is the goofy boss who likes to think he is the ideal boss, but is actually the exact opposite. I've only watched season 1, and I liked it.

6.5/10