Samuel R. Staley is a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute and Managing Director of the DeVoe L. Moore Center in the College of Social Sciences at Florida State University. He is a contributing author to the Independent books, Property Rights and Housing America.

Famed director Peter Jackson’s (They Shall Not Grow Old, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit trilogy) epic documentary The Beatles: Get Back dropped on DisneyPlus during Thanksgiving weekend. It’s a feast for Beatles fans. Unfortunately, for those not immersed in everything Beatles, the nearly nine-hour, three-part documentary series is a slog. With...
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Perhaps one of 2021’s most anticipated big-budget Hollywood films will end up as the year’s biggest flop. Steven Spielberg’s update to West Side Story had enough buzz to rake in four Golden Globe Nominations just three days after it hit American theaters. Yet, even without streaming services to siphon off audiences, the movie tanked—generating just...
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Perhaps the most refreshing part of the movie Free Guy is the neutral role technology plays in the story. Technology isn’t a dark muse, luring an otherwise innocent into darkness. Perhaps this is why Free Guy seems admirably human despite the fact the entire story is framed within or around a video game. The...
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One of the more surprising reactions to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings might be how “normal” it is. While Shang-Chi is part of the Marvel Superhero universe, the movie refreshingly draws more from fantasy and mysticism inspired Asian myth than science fiction. The movie, and audiences, benefit. An Epic Chinese Tale...
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America’s chaotic exit from Afghanistan put the world spotlight back on global terrorism. The poorly executed departure has inspired radical Islamic terrorist groups to launch new attacks on Western nations as well as Afghanis unaligned with the goals of global terrorists. Rather than a retreat from the War on Terror, however, Western nations appear...
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The unexpected and broad-based protests erupting in Cuba are a poignant reminder of the lost liberty experienced by people under authoritarian regimes. The opposite could be said for the movie In The Heights, the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical. If the dissent on Cuba’s streets show the dark side of contemporary Marxism,...
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Black Widow may be the movie that brings audiences back into the theaters. While released simultaneously on Disney Plus, the movie’s action and immersive visuals simply will not translate as well or as viscerally on a small screen. Yet well-conceived themes combined with adept direction will also satisfy those unwilling (or unable) to make...
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I was about a third of the way through Choe Zhao’s (The Rider, Songs My Brothers Taught Me) meditative movie Nomadland when I began to fully realize its brilliance. This is a “small” film (budget: $5 million) but carries the heart, production values, and the quality of a drama with a much bigger production...
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I had mixed feelings when I queued up the action movie Run Hide Fight on the Daily Wire. I knew this narrative film about a high school mass shooting, if done well, was likely to hit a raw nerve. After all, I am a martial-arts trained self-defense coach, a faculty member at a public university...
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According to Wikipedia, the film Promising Young Woman (2020) “follows a woman who takes revenge against men who have wronged her.” This isn’t accurate. The movie is actually darker, and much better, than this description. Fair warning: I have written a book on campus sexual assault, so this movie review dives deep into the...
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