Older Than America (2008)

Jun 17, 2011 by Mr. Nau A Native American woman has visions of repressed memories of her abusive treatment in a Catholic boarding school on her reservation. This gripping film touches on systematic cultural repression of Native people to try to get them to conform to an American persona at the cost of their own [...]

8: The Mormon Proposition (2010)

Jun 03, 2011 by Mr. Nau This documentary examines the role of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and role in the funding, marketing, and passage of California’s Proposition 8. The producers of this documentary offer a scathing indictment of entrenched homophobia and ceaseless preaching to unjustly rescind marriage rights from committed [...]

Hamburger Hill (1987)

May 21, 2011 by Mr. Nau This gritty Vietnam war picture depicts a group of soldiers in the 101st Airborne fighting in a fierced battle against North Vietnamese forces. The soldiers express their disillusionment with their part in the war, their feelings of betrayal by their superiors and the government, and the racial tension between [...]

9 (2009)

May 04, 2011 by Mr. Nau A burlap robotic rag doll wakes up after a war between humanity and their machines, discovers the other members of his batch, and tries to evade menacing enemies that seek to destroy them. With beautiful animation and a heartfelt story, this adorable fantasy features wonderful acting by a talented [...]

I’m Not There (2007)

Apr 17, 2011 by Mr. Nau The career of Bob Dylan is depicted in a number of short vignettes in this bio-pic in which he’s portrayed as a variety of archetypes. Cate Blanchett’s performance as Jude stole the show, but other portrayals by Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Christian Bale make this an unforgettable film. [...]

Carriers (2009)

Apr 11, 2011 by Mr. Nau Two brothers, Danny and Brian, and their friends, Bobby and Kate, are heading across the American Southwest to flee a viral pandemic to try to find safe haven and prevent becoming infected by the deadly pathogen themselves. The gritty, dirty realism of this tense thriller make this an unexpected [...]

Ever Since the World Ended (2001)

Apr 08, 2011 by Mr. Nau In this low-budget post-apocalyptic story told in documentary style, a plague has wiped out most of the population of the world and left San Francisco with a population of 186. The clunky acting, unfocused writing, and the grainy footage fails to lend the picture a sense of reality. Grade: [...]

Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)

Apr 05, 2011 by Mr. Nau Michael Moore examines the global economic crisis, its history and causes, the casino atmosphere of the investments industry, and how banking deregulation, the housing bubble, and a culture of greed caused worldwide recession. Interviews with thought-leaders, members of Congress, law enforcement officials, and average citizens are very thought-provoking. Grade: [...]

The One Percent (2006)

Apr 05, 2011 by Mr. Nau Jamie Johnson, heir of the Johnson & Johnson fortune, produced this documentary in which he interviews a number of associates of his family about living in the top 1% of American income earners. He shows what it’s like to grow up opulently rich, but his documentary comes off as [...]

In Debt We Trust (2006)

Apr 04, 2011 by Mr. Nau This documentary examines the American credit industry, its history, and the way consumers become misinformed and get into trouble when it comes to consumer debt, particularly with credit cards and mortgage debt. Released two years before the 2008 financial crisis started, the warnings here were timely cautions of economic [...]

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