V for Vendetta (2006)

"Remember, remember the Fifth of November, The Gunpowder Treason and Plot, I know of no reason, Why the Gunpowder Treason Should ever be forgot. 
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent, To blow up the King and Parli'ment. Three-score barrels of powder below, To prove old England's overthrow; 
By God's providence he was catch'd, With a dark lantern and burning match. Holla boys, Holla boys, let the bells ring. Holla boys, holla boys, God save the King! And what should we do with him? Burn him!"

V for Vendetta isn't exactly an obscure film, but with the proliferation of Guy Fawkes masks popping up around the world at various "Occupy" protests, it seemed like a good time to go back and revisit this film.  I was going to write up a bit more commentary, but I found a great quote from the director (see below) that I think will convince any regular No Agenda listener who hasn't seen the film to check it out.   

"We felt the novel was very prescient to how the political climate is at the moment. It really showed what can happen when society is ruled by government, rather than the government being run as a voice of the people. I don't think it's such a big leap to say that things like that can happen when leaders stop listening to the people."

—James McTeigue, Director

Trailer:


Blu-Ray


Brought to you by The World of Cinema

Idiocracy (2006)

This week we've got something a little lighter than usual.  Depending on the age of the person you talk to, Mike Judge is either well know for Beavis and Butt-head or Office Space or King of the Hill.  While the later two having made a sh*t load of money for 20th Century Fox, one would think that his feature film follow up to Office Space would have gotten a very public wide release all across Gitmo Nation.  Nope.  It was released in to 7 cities and barely over 100 screens.  For comparison, when Office Space was released, it played on over 1,700 screens.  Me thinks it may have had something to do with the plot of this comic gem.

From the Book of Knowledge (aka Wikipedia):
"The film tells the story of two ordinary people who are taken into a top-secret military hibernation experiment which goes awry, and awaken 500 years in the future. They discover that the world has degenerated into a dystopia where advertising, commercialism, and cultural anti-intellectualism run rampant and dysgenic pressure has resulted in a uniformly stupid human society devoid of intellectual curiosity, social responsibility and coherent notions of justice and human rights. Rather, this future society emphasizes anti-intellectualism, popularity, sexual attraction, and hedonism."

Trailer:





Brought to you by The World of Cinema

The Weather Underground (2002)

And we're back after a week off due to a family emergency.  All is good and this NA Films Monday Movie happens to fall on my birthday.  I only mention this because ever since 2004, I watch this weeks film (my favorite documentary) on my birthday.  The Weather Underground (2002) had a great run on the film festival circuit for almost two years before it was nominated for an Academy Award (Best Documentary Feature) in 2004.

If you are unfamiliar with the radical left college movements that took place here in Gitmo Nation East during the 1960's and 1970's, then you are in the same boat as me.  I was born in 1977 and have no direct connection with anything going on in this documentary.  That said, I watch this film with my jaw open every single time.  These events happened in this country and in my own parents lifetime and these people lived to tell their tale.

What would happen today if there was a radical, underground network of mostly white, college age kids that went around the US of A blowing up government offices and buildings?  It would not end the way this story ends.

Trailer:


On DVD:



Brought to you by The World of Cinema

The Legend of Ruby Ridge

John mentioned the Ruby Ridge "incident" on Sundays show (#334).  This horrific event has come up on the show in the past and I had tried to post a NA Films Monday Movie selection, but all I had found was a terrible made for TV film from 1996 called The Siege at Ruby Ridge.  Last night I found that someone had uploaded all five episodes of a show called The Secret Rulers of the World in which episode #1 is The Legend of Ruby Ridge.  Overall, it is a good primer on the whole topic.  Be warned that the narration is condescending to the point of rolling your eyes, but, Randy Weaver and his daughter Rachel Weaver are both interviewed separately and tell a very coherent and tragic tale of a police state run amok.  Rachel even takes the crew back up to Ruby Ridge and give them/us a tour of what it looks like now and retraces how the whole event happened.  
The Legend of Ruby Ridge (49:33):



Brought to you by The World of Cinema

NA 344 Film

Right at the second half of the show (you know what that means) Adam recommended the online film Moon Rising.
Feature Film (1:13:08):


Brought to you by The World of Cinema