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Movies / Upcoming / Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

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Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008)

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Reviews Counted:41

Fresh:4

Rotten:37

Average Rating:2.9/10

Consensus: Full of patronizing, poorly structured arguments, Expelled is a cynical political stunt in the guise of a documentary.

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

US Box Office: $7,499,617

Synopsis: Though Ben Stein is perhaps most famous for his sleep-inducing drone in FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF or for his eponymous game show, he is also a highly regarded New York Times columnist and was a... Though Ben Stein is perhaps most famous for his sleep-inducing drone in FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF or for his eponymous game show, he is also a highly regarded New York Times columnist and was a speechwriter for both Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford during their presidencies. For EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED, he needs all his powers of persuasion as he calls attention to the plight of exiled scientists and professors. In this documentary, Stein travels the world and speaks to men and women who have lost their jobs and their standings in the scientific world because of their association with intelligent design. EXPELLED uses the Berlin Wall as a metaphor and asserts that these people have been unjustly ousted, merely for speaking their minds. It carefully explains the differences between creationism and intelligent design and demonstrates that the latter is a belief held by people of all deity-based faiths, not just Christianity. It also devotes time to the connections between Darwinism and Hitler's regime. The film's climax features Stein going head-to-head with Richard Dawkins, a renowned atheist and author of the bestseller THE GOD DELUSION. Obviously, neither man budges in his firmly held beliefs, but it's fascinating to watch a debate between two undeniably intelligent men, regardless of whose side you're on. EXPELLED doesn't spend most of its time debating intelligent design and evolution. Instead it focuses largely on how the debate itself and its proponents have been ignored or pushed out of classrooms and academia. Filmmaker Nathan Frankowski inserts both original animations and clips of famous films (including PLANET OF THE APES and THE WIZARD OF OZ) to further illustrate his point. Though critics may find fault with EXPELLED for its one-sidedness, it's no more biased than any of Michael Moore's critically lauded documentaries. [More]

Starring: Richard Dawkins

Starring: Richard Dawkins

Director: Nathan Frankowski

Director: Nathan Frankowski
Screenwriter: Kevin Miller, Walt Ruloff, Ben Stein
Producer: Logan Craft, Walt Ruloff, John Sullivan
Composer: Andy Hunter, Robbie Bronnimann
Studio: Rocky Mountain Pictures

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Reviews for Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; Australian critics are listed first)
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Despite some occasionally sloppy filmmaking, I think the picture is worth a look. It raises important ideas and issues, asks important questions. No one could argue against that, right? Bueller...Bueller...Bueller...

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment 6 Comments
11/03/08
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

Ignorance may be bliss, but encouraging it, as Expelled does, ought to be a crime.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment 2 Comments
10/18/08
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

Expelled is a classic bait-and-switch, presenting itself as a plea for freedom in the scientific marketplace of ideas, while actually delivering a grossly unfair, contradictory, and ultimately repugnant attack on Darwinists.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment 8 Comments
04/24/08
Steven Hyden
Steven Hyden
AV Club

Expelled may prove to be as controversial as the producers hope, but the reactions will be more entertaining and elucidating than the film itself.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
04/18/08
John P. McCarthy
John P. McCarthy
Boxoffice Magazine

The prospect of a pro-Intelligent Design documentary sounded so batsh** crazy,it had to be awesome, watching intellectuals spin a story about how they're persecuted for their beliefs.Not to say I didn't give it a fair chance,but they made it really easy.

Full Review Source: Can Magazine | comment 3 Comments
04/18/08
Fred Topel
Fred Topel
Can Magazine

Embracing evolutionary theory will turn you into a close-minded, God-denying Nazi -- that's the upshot of this ludicrous propaganda piece.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 5 Comments
04/25/08
Reece Pendleton
Reece Pendleton
Chicago Reader

The movie itself is an example of design by faith and emotion rather than intelligence, defined as rationality grounded in proof.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 18 Comments
04/18/08
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This film is cheerfully ignorant, manipulative, slanted, cherry-picks quotations, draws unwarranted conclusions, makes outrageous juxtapositions, segues between quotes that are not about the same thing, tells bald-faced lies, etc.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 10 Comments
12/04/08
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film shows that Intelligent Design should be on the table for discussion. But if you're looking for ammo to argue your Darwinist friends under the table, look elsewhere.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment 15 Comments
04/18/08
Mark Moring
Mark Moring
Christianity Today

The filmmakers' intentions are kept deliberately vague but it's a surprisingly entertaining and informative doc that at least tries to address the debate over 'intelligent design' from another angle.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment 11 Comments
04/16/08
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

Stein's credibility is blown on this poorly constructed diatribe, and you'd be smart to save your bucks.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment 3 Comments
04/18/08
Matt Stevens
Matt Stevens
E! Online

Regardless of your personal views, Expelled's heavy-handed bias (a visit to Darwin's home gets the same eerie music as a tour of Dachau) is exasperating.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
04/24/08
Adam Markovitz
Adam Markovitz
Entertainment Weekly

I don't say the film is crap because I disagree with it. I say it's crap because it disagrees with itself. It teems with contradictions, false dichotomies, and specious reasoning.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment 8 Comments
04/21/08
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Manages to be flippant and darkly provocative at once.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment 18 Comments
04/21/08
Rex Roberts
Rex Roberts
Film Journal International

works in much the same way as a Michael Moore documentary -- a raft of provocation and very little persuasion

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
04/22/08
Matt McKillop
Matt McKillop
Filmcritic.com

[I]n a saner universe... you could scoff at Stein and dismiss him and not give this propagandistic nonsense another thought. But... [y]ou need to see this movie because these people are not going away...

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment 16 Comments
04/16/08
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

This film is an appallingly unscrupulous example of hack propaganda and it sucketh mightily. What's more, I didn't laugh once.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment 1 Comment
06/27/08
Liam Lacey
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail

This documentary purporting to examine the issue of freedom of expression in the debate between the competing arguments of 'intelligent design' and Darwinism squanders the potential fascination of its topic with its simplistic, heavy-handed approach.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
04/21/08
Frank Scheck
Frank Scheck
Hollywood Reporter

If someone believes in the Tooth Fairy, can they complain about not being taken seriously at dental school?

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
06/27/08
Jim Slotek
Jim Slotek
Jam! Movies

"...raises some interesting questions about evolutionary theory, but does so in such a smug, disingenuous and self-serving manner it's hard to take the movie seriously.

Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | comment Comment
04/18/08
Josh Larsen
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm
 
 
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