Watchmen

Set in an alternate universe circa 1985, the film's world is a highly unstable one where a nuclear war is imminent between America and Russia.

Superheroes have long been made to hang up their tights thanks to the government-sponsored Keene Act, but that all changes with the death of The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a robust ex-hero commando whose mysterious free fall out a window perks the interest of one of the country's last remaining vigilantes, Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley). His investigation leads him to caution many of his other former costumed colleagues, including Dr. Manhattan, Night Owl (Patrick Wilson), Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), Sally Jupiter (Carla Gugino), and her daughter, The Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman).

Heralded for bringing the world of superheroes into the literary world, Watchmen gave the super-powered mythos a real-life grounding that had been missing in mainstream comics to that point. The film adaptation had languished in one form of development hell or another for years after the book's release, with various directors on and off the project, including Terry Gilliam, David Hayter, and Darren Aronofsky, as well as Paul Greengrass, whose eventual dismissal stemmed from budget conflicts with the studio.

Watch the trailer, below, and the movie on SockShare, FileNuke or NowVideo.

 

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Underworld: Tijuana Cartel

The story of a ruthless Mexican gang responsible for smuggling huge quantities of cocaine in the 1980s.

National Geographic Tijuana Underworld: In 1994 the DEA, FBI and IRS declare war on Mexico's most powerful drug cartel. Undercover agents, drug kingpins, journalists and 8,000 Tijuana citizens are slain in the ferocious, ten-year conflict.

Watch the show courtesy of YouTube here or below.

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Is Wal-Mart Good for America?

In Circleville, Ohio, population 13,000, the local RCA television-manufacturing plant was once a source of good jobs with good pay and benefits. But in late 2003, RCA's owner, Thomson Consumer Electronics, lost a sizeable portion of its production orders and six months later shut the plant down, throwing 1,000 people out of work


Thomson's jobs have moved to China, where cheap labor manufactures what the American consumer desires -- from clothing to electronics -- and can buy at "everyday low prices" at the local Wal-Mart.

FRONTLINE explores the relationship between U.S. job losses and the American consumer's insatiable desire for bargains in "Is Wal-Mart Good for America?" Through interviews with retail executives, product manufacturers, economists, and trade experts, correspondent Hedrick Smith examines the growing controversy over the Wal-Mart way of doing business and asks whether a single retail giant has changed the American economy.

Click here to watch this show on Frontline, courtesy of PBS.

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Dressed To Kill

A suspenseful Holmes and Watson feature about a group of killers out to find three music boxes sold at an auction. The boxes contain something in them that will help lead the crooks to loads of money. Only problem is that Sherlock Holmes is on their trail. Typical good acting and tight direction help this one rise above its somewhat implausible story. The chemistry between Rathbone and Bruce is as ever the binding of the film. Some other good performances are given by Patricia Morrison as a wicked woman and Edmund Breon as "Stinky," a school chum of Watson's. The verbal banter between Morrison and Holmes is for me the most memorable aspect of the film. As I watched the film, the lines slowly crept back into my head. "Praise from you is indeed gratifying Mr. Holmes," and then a line about respecting his memory. Great stuff! Watch courtesy of The Internet Archive below.

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The Vampire Bat

In the small village of Kleinshloss, the locals are scared with a serial killer that is draining the blood of his victims, and the Burgomaster Gustave Schoen is convinced that a vampire is responsible for the deaths. The skeptical police inspector Karl Brettschneider is reluctant to accept the existence of vampires, but the local doctor Otto Von Newman shows literature about cases of vampirism inclusive in Amazon.

When the apple street vendor Martha Mueller is murdered, the prime suspect becomes the slow Herman Gleib, a man with a mind of child that loves bats. The group of vigilantes chases Herman, while Dr. Von Newman's housemaid Georgiana is attacked by the killer. Watch below, courtesy of The Internet Archive.
 

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The Assassination Of Abraham Lincoln

  

The Assassination Of Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln is still considered the most respected and revered of all U.S. Presidents ever elected to that esteemed office. I have always held a deep and profound sense of awe of the man and all that he accomplished in his years in office. With the presidential reelection last week, the parallels of the pervasive ideologies that divide our nation now and then, tells me that nothing has changed in the years since the Civil War. I found a video today that shows what drove John Wilkes Booth to murder President Lincoln. This video shows the bitterness and the deep hatred that drove the South to separate from the Union that still permeates throughout the country today and deeply divides us all. Not just in a sense of they were wronged by the North, but also how they view life in general, and in their arrogant thinking, that everyone needs to have the same views and rules as they set forth. Will this bring our country down yet again or can we learn from the past?

This HBO documentary is 1 hour and 21 minutes, this film is riveting, moving and very accurate.

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The Dust Bowl

The Dust Bowl

Episode: Episode 1: The Great Plow-Up

The grasslands of the southern Plains were rapidly turned into wheat fields. Then following the early years of the drought, storms killed crops and livestock and literally rearranged the landscape. The worst storm of them all was on April 14, 1935—Black Sunday—a searing experience for everyone caught in it, including a young songwriter from Pampa, Texas, named Woody Guthrie.

Watch Episode 1: The Great Plow-Up on PBS. See more from The Dust Bowl.

Episode: Episode 2: Reaping the Whirlwind

Black Sunday was only halfway through the decade-long crisis. The storms continued. The Great Depression still affected people. Government programs were instituted to help. Learn what FDR’s administration did to try to keep the southern Plains from becoming a North American Sahara desert. Find out why some residents finally decided they had to give up and move somewhere else and how some held on.

Watch Episode 2: Reaping the Whirlwind on PBS. See more from The Dust Bowl.

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Fifty Shades of Grey: The Sex Story

Fifty Shades of Grey -The Sex Story is a 2011 erotic novel by British author E. L. James. Set largely in Seattle, it is the first instalment in a trilogy that traces the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, and a young business magnate, Christian Grey. It is notable for its explicitly erotic scenes featuring elements of sexual practices involving bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, sadism/masochism

''Fifty Shades of Grey: The Sex Story'' documentary examines the phenomenon of the UK's fastest selling paperback of all time.From visiting a spanking class, where novices are trained in the art of a good caning, to exploring the world of an S&M couple who have written sex contracts with each other and have honed their more extreme practice to perfection, this documentary uncovers what the Fifty Shades of Grey craze tells us about 21st-century Britain. The programme examines the sociological and cultural effects the book is having in the UK, as sales of obscure classical music and bondage gear increase.

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Vegucated

Vegucated is a guerrilla-style documentary that follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks and learn what it's all about.

They have no idea that so much more than steak is at stake and that the planet's fate may fall on their plates. Lured by tales of weight lost and health regained, they begin to uncover hidden sides of animal agriculture that make them wonder whether solutions offered in films like Food, Inc. go far enough.

Before long, they find themselves risking everything to expose an industry they supported just weeks before. But can their convictions carry them through when times get tough? What about on family vacations fraught with skeptical step-dads, carnivorous cousins, and breakfast buffets?

Part sociological experiment and part adventure comedy, Vegucated showcases the rapid and at times comedic evolution of three people who are trying their darnedest to change in a culture that seems dead set against it. Watch the trailer below and the documentary here or here.

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The Genetic Takeover or Mutant Food

Have we become unwitting guinea pigs for multinationals who blithely disregard millions of years of evolution? In just a few short years, genetically modified plants have become part of our daily diet and are already found in 75% of processed foods.

This revolution has occurred without consumer awareness and without the knowledge of potential risks to our health and to the environment. Many scientists and farmers vigorously condemn the absence of independent, adequate testing.

The Genetic Takeover casts a sober look at a potentially explosive situation. In response to consumer demands, many European and Asian countries have instituted mandatory labelling of genetically modified foods. North America, however, has been slow to react. In their relentless fight for profits, the industrial giants seem willing to ignore basic safety rules. Can food crops, a vital element of the collective wealth of this planet, remain at the mercy of private interests? Some subtitles.

 
The Genetic Takeover or Mutant Food by Karl Parent & by Louise Vandelac, National Film Board of Canada

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The Revolution

They came of age in a new world of intoxicating and innovative ideas about human and civil rights, diverse economic systems, and self-government. In a few short years, these men and women would transform themselves into architects of the future through the building of a new nation unlike any that had ever come before.

From the roots of the rebellion and the signing of the Declaration of Independence to victory on the battlefield at Yorktown and the adoption of The United States Constitution, The Revolution tells he remarkable story of this important era in history. Venturing beyond the conventional list of generals and politicians, The History Channel introduces the full range of individuals who helped shape this great conflict, including some of the war's most influential unsung heroes.

Through cinematic recreations, intimate biographical investigations, and provocative political, military, and economic analysis, The Revolution breathes new life into one of the most pivotal periods in American history and you can watch the series below using the embedded playlist.

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The Presidents

The Presidents is an unprecedented eight-part survey of the personal lives and legacies of the remarkable men who have presided over the Oval Office.

From George Washington to George W. Bush, The Presidents gathers together vivid snapshots of all 43 Commanders in Chief who have guided America throughout its history – their powerful personalities, weaknesses, and major achievements or historical insignificance.

Based on the book To the Best of My Ability, edited by Pulitzer Prize-winner James McPherson, The Presidents features rare and unseen photographs and footage, unexpected insight and trivia from journalists, scholars, and politicians such as Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, Wesley Clark, Bob Dole, and former President Jimmy Carter. Watch on the YouTube playlist below.

 

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The Great Depression

In the American democracy of the 1930s two visions of liberty collided. 

Working men and women battled landowners and factory managers for the right to join a union. On the tenant farms and in the steel factories working people asserted their citizenship in the midst of great economic turmoil and a tide of government reform.

This is a first-rate documentary highlighting response of the people to crisis. Includes attention to unemployed,labor and farmer militancy, the "EPIC" campaign in California. By the producers of the better-know "Eyes on the Prize" series on the Civil Rights Movement. Especially important now, as the Right tries to dismantle every aspect of the New Deal and progressivism. Watch the series on the playlist below. 

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The Secrets of J. Edgar Hoover

One man made the G-men legendary, turned a bumbling FBI into what was perceived to be an army of truth and justice known the world over, and made himself a towering American legend: J. Edgar Hoover. For nearly 50 years, he ran the FBI. As the gatekeeper of its secrets, its power and its image, Hoover kept the keys to a kingdom called Washington.

Of course today, the Hoover legend is not just about crime fighting. It has as much to do with playing fast and loose with civil liberties, with collecting vast secret files on innocent people — a powerful man with secrets of his own, including rumors of bizarre sexual behavior. Though never elected to any office, for 50 years he was more powerful than presidents. As head of the FBI he knew what everyone else wanted to keep hidden. But behind the public persona, his shocking private life nearly brought him down. What were the Secrets of J. Edgar Hoover?

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