by the way, I like those movies you mentioned above.
Well VPNs and Tor are nothing a like in terms of trust. Tor isn't a service offered by someone, it is a protocol, same as Bitcoin. It is open source and people run it just like they run Bitcoin full nodes. No one guarantees you the price of Bitcoin and no one guarantees you privacy in Tor, but VPNs do and that is exactly what is the problem as it means that they control it and therefor can guarantee it.
To be honest, if it is closed source, it isn't part of Ubuntu, it is something you downloaded independently and your OS allowed you to, since it is open source and is fully controlled by you. To go further, even your processor isn't open source. Intel can control processors remotely and where there is a backdoor, there is a vector of an attack for the hackers. There was a vulnerability in that system this year, that allowed server to be hacked remotely by directly hacking a processor and it necer even reaching your OS and it's defense software. https://thehackernews.com/2017/05/intel-server-chipsets.html
Yeah, that is the argument of many people, they say they have nothing to hide. First of all, yes you do, otherwise you would be walking around naked in public and tell everyone your every secret. Secondly, you can't know that just because it is safe now for someone to know your secret that it will be just as safe to know them in the future. What if your government decides to retroactively target anyone with certain views or something that was legal before. It is best not to give someone information they don't need as you never know what it might get used for in the future and whatever it does get used for, it will certainly involve you, as it is information about you. Don't trust anything, everyone gets corrupt if they get enough power. just search for "Stanford prison experiment" and you will see that absolutely average normal students become monster if you allow them. We are all animals, every government official will abuse his position if he feels safe enough.