Streaming: CITIZEN KOCH delves into damage the Koch brothers have inflicted on the USA...

For those of you who don't completely keep up with all the ways in which our government (Democracts and Republicans), big money, lobbyists, corporations and our Supreme Court are destroying what little "democracy" we have left -- and who can blame you: it's fucking depressing! -- then what you'll learn from the documentary CITIZEN KOCH from filmmakers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal (pictured below, left to right) may be news and will surprise you. Much of what I saw here struck me as fairly old news, though I found the film worth seeing.

I think I expected more about the actual brothers themselves, rather than with the ways in which what they support and represent is helping to weaken the country and hand it over to the moneyed class. This, of course, is very important, and would include everything from ALEC to the Koch-sponsored annual "getaways," during which the rich and powerful meet and discuss their plans for America. Still, the movie seemed to me a little unfocused and not as strong as it might have been via other hands.

We hear a lot, too, about what's been going on in Wisconsin and how the Kochs figured into this (I believe the election results are still coming on on this one--whoops, wrong: I 'm mixing the election up with the final debate between the candidates).  I would like to think that these evil (and I do not use that word lightly ) brothers are losing some of their power by having their deeds shown up for what they are and what they do to us 99 per centers. But who knows? Money continues to talk, walk, and chalk up a lot of victories. And the Kochs have plenty of the green stuff.

We shall see. Meanwhile, you can stream this documentary about their "work" now and decide for yourself. The film is available via Netflix, Amazon Instant Video and probably elsewhere, too.

"It's always one person"--John Ennis' smart, heartfelt, all-over-the-place doc, PAY 2 PLAY

All over the place it may be -- jumping from the famous game of Monopoly to gerrymandering, street artists, ALEC, the work of those sleazy tools of the one per cent that make up the majority of our Supreme Court, the Koch brothers, a scandal named Coingate and a couple of riveting political campaigns you won't have heard of unless you're from Ohio -- but the new documentary PAY 2 PLAY, from filmmaker John Wellington Ennis, is also full of energy and intelligence and a heartfelt and necessary message that tells us to wake up and take control of our government. As we're told upfront and then again toward the finale, "It's not about left and right but instead about insiders and outsiders," the former of which are hellbent on never letting the latter in.

The birth of Mr. Ennis' daughter (the filmmaker is shown at right) seems to have galvanized him into action, the result of which is this documentary, in which he admits that his little girl is almost sure not to have the good life that so many of us have shared up until now. He talks to some of the usual suspects, progressive variety, from Noam Chomsky (below) to Van Jones, while covering territory other docs have trod previously.

Yet, as he bounces from one topic to the next, showing us the veritable orgy of greed and the plotting of the wealthy and corporate interests to increase their holdings against the work of a single person here and there and finally the coming together of the anti-Koch and Occupy movements and how this frightened the establishment into using anti-terrorist tactics to disperse peaceful protest, his theme of what a single person can accomplish begins to take on more meaning and resonance than is usual.

His concentration on the game of Monopoly (and its newer counterpart Anti-Monopoly), along with how he substitutes the usual things we see on the Monopoly board with newer views, more appropriate to our current times, makes for some additional ironic fun.

In a little aside, we also learn about the origin of the game (above). And it is not what you've probably been told via Parker Brothers.

The film's finest sections are devoted to political campaigns in which some "unknowns" -- Paul Hackett , Subodh Chandra and Surya Yalamanchili (above) -- gets into the political fray, work hard and, by virtue of their courage and dedication, manage to go much farther than anyone expected. Not far enough, as it usually turns out, but still....

From its outset and throughout, the theme of paying for influence is front and center, as the single thing most corrupt about our current political system, one that has only been made more encompassingly corrupt via recent Supreme Court decisions. (This movie is the most up-to-date so far, with references to both the recent McCutcheon and Hobby Lobby decisions.) Yet rather than taking a cynical, what's-the-use? attitude, Ennis insists that we and our work really matter. As former would-be politician Mr. Yalamanchili tells us, "It's always one person."

By the time we see Ennis and his daughter beginning to play the Monopoly game, then switching to Anti-Monopoly, as he tries to explain his political rationale to the three-year old, we can only laugh -- and hope. Pay 2 Play is actually a very heartening movie.

It opened yesterday, with almost no critical reviews to be seen. I wonder why? In any case, try to see this one, then think about what you, as one person, can do -- whether you're Tea Party or Progressive (and you two may be closer than you imagine).

Pay 2 Play can be viewed now in New York City at the AMC Loews Village VII, and will open next Friday, September 12, in Los Angeles (at Laemmle's Noho 7) and in Washington DC (at the Angelika Pop-Up). Surely DVD, VOD and streaming cannot be far behind.

Lobbyists star in Francis Megahy's THE BEST GOVERNMENT MONEY CAN BUY?

Who really runs our government? Surprise: it's the people we elect to do just that. And yet, by the end of Francis Megahy's fine documentary-- THE BEST GOVERNMENT MONEY CAN BUY?-- you will, I think, be convinced that yours and my best interests are diametrically opposed to that of the government representatives we elect.  How and why this is true is brought home via the pretty much iron-clad case that Mr. Megahy presents, starting with his look at lobbyists and how they work in America.

The filmmaker begins by telling us that lobbyists are required to register with the government, although many of them do not.  Even so, 14,000 of them are officially on record. How many of these people do we need? Megahy, shown below, has produced some really crackerjack interviews with these men and women, and what they have to say is fascinating.  If you're going to a dinner for a particular senator, one fellow explains, leave that guy alone and focus on the other senators who've shown up. Five minutes in a corner with one of these will accomplish more than any formally set-up meeting. It's the snatched conversations that count most.  And, oh, yes -- don't waste time with those who are passionately for or against something: Instead go for those in the middle ground.

Not all lobbyists, we learn, represent large corporations.  Some work for AARP, the ACLU and the U.S. Chambers of Commerce.  One public-interest lobbyist talks about gun control and the power of the NRA. After listening to her, you'll realize that it's no wonder Obama has waffled on this subject almost from the beginning of his career. Another fascinating subject is the Poker Players Alliance. Ditto Billy Tauzin's career with big pharma. As Megahy makes clear, it is not the lobbyists per se that are the problem: It's the money. Remove that perk and everything changes. Follow the money, as they say -- but then stop its source.

If the film is better at presenting the problem (overall, it's the best thing I've seen on this subject) than solutions, still, its first step in the solution is clear: Criminalize campaign donation of all kinds and insist on publicly-funded campaigns. Further, for all ex-government employees, elected or not, demand a five- or ten-year moratorium on accepting any job with any company with whom you've been involved. Will this happen? No way. Because our elected officials will never support this. Sure, it is in the best interest of America, but not in the best interests of those elected -- who only want to hold on to power and their job. Though some make noises about doing this, it's funny how private donations from individuals (but mostly from corporations) just keep rising each year. And now, with the Supreme Court giving carte blanche to corporations to do what individuals cannot, what hope have we?

Mr. Megahy makes a most pleasant guide through this vision of the end of America.  He doesn't natter or condescend. He keep his British reserve, irony and good humor through thick and thin. But he never lets us off the hook. Someone here (I can't recall if  it was the filmmaker or one of his interviewees) notes that "the public is more cynical than is justified?"  Oh, really?  And how cynical should we be, pray tell?   View Megahy's movie and just try to tamp down your own cynicism.

Why wasn't this movie released to theaters? Or given much more of a critical "push" from our cultural taste-makers? Because I don't think any elected official wants you to see it. (As I understand the stiuation, no elected official would agree to be interviewed by Megahy.) The documentary goes to the heart of the matter, and the case it makes regarding what is wrong with our electoral campaign system is thorough and to the point. It is also utterly non-partisan -- as it should be. Democrats and Republicans alike are slaves to money and the power that comes with it. As Megahy points out early on, no situation as grotesquely immense as the K-Street lobbyists exists in any other western democracy.
Good luck, America.

So how do you view this important documentary? You can purchase The Best Government Money Can Buy? from its distributor, Cinema Libre Studio. But can you rent it anywhere?  Interesting question. Netflix says you can "save" the movie to your queue. But since the DVD has been available for some time now, why has not this video giant yet placed an actual order for it so that it can be offered for rental? Get after Netflix, and insist that it stock the film. Blockbuster doesn't even acknowledge the film's existence. Well, bankrupt as it may be, Blockbuster is still a BIG corporation -- or part of one. And Amazon? Yes! You can either buy it or watch it instantly here (a three-day rental costs $3).  I am not a particularly paranoid person, but on the basis of my research, I would say that it appears that the elusive "they" we often hear about certainly don't want you to see this movie. Which should give you all the more reason to do so.