WAR HORSE Movie Review

Speilberg does it again - beautiful cinematography, story, and meaningful characters - the trifecta of filmmaking.  I wish I could go back in time when we locked eyes at a popular Hollywood restaurant and thank him for this film.  WAR HORSE is so moving that I could hear many crying in the theatre at various parts.  I've found lately that it's hard to keep a dry eye when your heart is really open.

However, I feel the need to warn you about the violent war scenes in WAR HORSE.  This film is intense and tough to watch in parts.  I'm a huge horse lover and ride every week and I felt elements of this was a horse-lover's nightmare on screen because of what the amazing star of the film, Joey the horse, endures.  I typically won't pay to see a movie about war.  Yet watching the scenes of brutality made me remember how lucky I am and how blessed we are as Americans and for all of the little things we take for granted.  Leaving the mall and walking by a Coach store after seeing this film made me think about how silly the meaning of an expensive handbag is when there are men at war elsewhere in the world.  It also made me think about how silly war is when we each have the power of our voice, the brilliance of our minds, and the gift of our hearts to sit together and talk things out; something even a horse isn't given and yet can change the lives of many.

The beautiful part of this heartwarming story is that Joey the war horse is a symbol of many things.  He is a living metaphor for resilience, strength, brilliance, courage, support, hope, determination, and support.  He is a true solider and therefore has all of the qualities any solider needs to survive.  He is referred to as a magical and remarkable horse in this film.  He is really the glue in the center of World War I.

We follow Joey from a foal to a colt to an adult horse and though all of the lives he touches.  Spielberg does an amazing job at intersecting the storylines and the scenes through the journey of this powerful and magnificent horse.  The theme that I found most moving and inspirational was that Joey represents heartfelt connection.  He brings together a family, a small farming community in England, two brothers, sergents and soldiers, a grandfather and grandaughter, and most importantly two "enemies" from different sides of a war camp.  The love this horse inspires in many throughout the film is shared through his spirit and just looking at Joey can transform anyone to see the symbolism he represents.

The most powerful scene in the film is the one that signifies freedom from prison and the connection that happens when we put aside our differences and stand up for what is right from a place of love.  I won't spoil this scene because its one of the most touching and tender moments I've ever seen before in a film.  You will know it when you see it and it will remind you that a simple horse can end a war and connect us all, no matter what we believe.

I'm thrilled this film received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture as it surely deserves that and is meant to be seen by the masses to communicate not only the preciousness of our animals but the meaning of hope, connection, and love.  I'm also grateful that no animals were harmed in the making of this movie.  I looked that up to make sure because its important to me that we treat our animal actors with kindness and respect.  In reading about this, I realized that Joey actually memorializes the almost 5 million horses that did give their lives in battle in WWI and he is a true hero in so many ways.

I hope you see WAR HORSE and share your thoughts and feelings with us here!  Its a powerful, mindful movie with heart and with a strong message.  Its a unique story and for all of you horse-lovers you will find it pulling at your heart-strings for days to come as we share a secret bond of knowing the magic a horse brings to the world.  Thank you Steven Spielberg for this film and for your love of horses.....may I see you holding another Oscar in the coming months!

Entertain - Enlighten - Inspire
Kate Neligan
Founder, Synergy TV & Mindful Media Entertainment LLC

WARRIOR Movie Review

WARRIOR is one of the most powerful and moving films I’ve ever seen and had the good fortunate of marketing for Lionsgate VOD & Digital.  It has become one of my top ten films of all time which was really a pleasant surprise.  The original push of the film was toward men and positioned as an MMA cage fight and I’m grateful I was given the chance to re-brand and re-position it to what it truly is: an inspirational sports & family drama with beautiful themes of forgiveness, redemption and victory.

This movie means many things to me and most of them are to be felt and not said but I’ll do my best to put it into words.  WARRIOR tells the story of a family broken apart by guilt, war, resentment, and alcohol.  The two brothers and father in this dysfunctional unit have broken hearts but are truly some of the strongest characters I’ve seen on screen in a while.  Nick Nolte’s acting is some of his best and rising stars Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy are phenomenal.  I have my fingers crossed for their Academy nominations.  These three main characters each demonstrate an array of emotions on screen such as anger, deep love, courage, and compassion and are vicariously felt by the audience. 

One of the warriors, Tommy (Tom Hardy), appears as a dark figure in both language and dress.  You are led to believe that he has a tainted past and has caused a lot of havoc and damage.  His character appears downright difficult and mean at times.  Yet you soon learn that Tommy is a true hero and that he loves deeply but doesn’t know how to show it.  You can’t help but love this man even though he remains mysterious through most of the film.  I drew comparisons to my own family because my brother is similar and in the past has been so angry with our dad yet I know he cares deeply about our family.  I think one of the beautiful parts about this film is that we can all relate to the emotions displayed and the family dynamics portrayed.

It's easy to feel compassion for the other brother and warrior, Brendan (Joel Edgerton) who is a likable, stand-up family man and respected teacher until he starts to fight at clubs to make money so he can keep his family’s home.  We start to see Brendan as the underdog that just wants to provide for his family the way most men do.  You can’t help but root for him to win the big MMA tournament!  As with all sports movies, the underdog theme runs rampant but it’s also the first time most of us will root for both opponents to win.

Nick Nolte’s character, Paddy is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time.  Every scene with him grabbed me and surfaced emotion.  Here is a man that has chosen to go sober and wants a relationship with his sons despite their intense resistance.  You can tell he is a tough, ex-marine that has probably caused a lot of drama and pain but is now a man that loves deeply and just wants to connect.  He tries so hard to show love even without knowing how.  I also couldn’t help but think of my own Dad and how he struggles to let go of his past, tough Irish conditioning and show his love for my family.

There are literally moments in this movie when I couldn’t breathe and not because I was on the edge of my seat but because of intense emotion.  The film grabs you by the throat and heart and holds on.  Most people will admit to crying at a couple different scenes when you viscerally feel the variety of emotions in this family, knowing as a human that many of us have been through these same feelings.  In the end, I really understood the Ram Dass quote  ‎"The only emotion remaining in a totally realized being is infinite, unbearable compassion."

I know many have spoken about the healing nature of films and their inherent messages.  The tears I shed in the screening room were impossible to hold back and through them I felt a deep healing like no other movie has provided to this date.  I felt as though I healed a painful part inside of me that lifted and cleared for good.  I felt an open space in my heart where a block had been before the film.  I felt so good for the rest of the day and so at peace, knowing I had no choice but to be compassionate to everyone I met.  Thats the power of love!  This sort of gift that can be received through watching a movie is priceless and important and more films of this nature need to be created and shared.  I applaud the director, Gavin O'Connor, for creating mindful entertainment with messages that need to be heard, seen, and felt.

Besides the themes of brotherly love, compassion, persistence, endurance, and underdogs, the most brilliant theme throughout the film is the one of forgiveness.  Forgiveness is not just a spiritual principle but a human necessity.  I didn’t understand what this word truly meant before my Master’s Degree at USM but I knew it was important.  Forgiveness starts with two things – compassion and a focus on our own judgments.  You can see the baggage that Tommy, Brendan, and Paddy carry in this film.  It’s palpable.  Yet forgiveness will set them free.  They have each put so much pressure on themselves and each other and while you think they are directing anger at each other – it’s also apparent that they are full of self-rage.  You can see that they beat themselves up for the choices they have made and yet they were always doing the best they could with the resources they had available to them.  This is where the forgiveness comes in.

I’ve heard forgiveness referred to as God’s cosmic delete button and I love to think of it this way.  Any judgment or any resentment can be cleared with the simple willingness to open our hearts in compassion and to forgive ourselves for anything we have done or said or for judging someone else’s actions.  We drop the hot coal we want to throw at someone else and we no longer burn our own hand when we choose to forgive.  The act is inherently healing and clearing.

In the end, love conquers all.  Nothing can beat love, not a series of punches, nor guilt, or jail or anger.  It redeems and is victorious and that is the true lesson we are left with at the end of the film.  I implore you – please give this film a chance.  It deserves your hard-earned money; I assure you that you won’t be disappointed.  Please let me know what you think of it after you see it!  These are the films America is ready for and needs.  These are the films destined for Synergy TV.  As a society, let’s commit to telling stories that heal, uplift, and transform us to be even better than we are right now.  Let’s all become warriors!

Entertain - Enlighten - Inspire

Kate Neligan, Founder of Synergy TV & Mindful Media Entertainment LLC

P.S.  WARRIOR made #6 of Heartland's Truly Moving Pictures Top 2011 List!
http://www.trulymovingpictures.org/blog-post/were-announcing-the-top-10-tmpa-winners-of-2011/

THE GREEN LANTERN Movie Review

After attending Comic Con a week ago, I knew it was the right time to write my review of THE GREEN LANTERN.  I was even thrilled to see that Deepak Chopra was there speaking about his new book “The Seven Spiritual Laws of Superheroes.”  I think he might like this blog post and his book is now on my Amazon Wish List!

I wasn’t really planning to see this film until a recent meeting with a Hollywood producer who made DISCOVER THE GIFT.  We were discussing how many movies have enlightening themes now and he told me that even THE GREEN LANTERN was spiritual in its nature.  I was surprised to hear this as I had expected the latest comic book, superhero blockbuster to be just that – an Action flick.  And while I love the SPIDERMAN and BATMAN series, I really never thought a movie like THE GREEN LANTERN could make my mindful media blog!

I was pleasantly surprised with THE GREEN LANTERN.  I went without knowing anything except that Ryan Reynolds was in it and he wore a tight-fitting green suit and that was enough to entice me!  My good friend had already seen it but agreed to go again as it was his favorite comic book from childhood.  While I was somewhat disappointed with the lack of edge-of-your-seat action and the sometimes cheesy dialogue, I was thrilled to see the themes of will vs. fear, spiritual warriors, and peace in the Universe as well as the metaphors of the color green.

In many ways this film brings forward a variety of metaphysical and spiritual principles.  First, we are asked to believe in a life force outside of our planet.  Ryan Reynolds’ character, Hal Jordan (aka the Green Lantern), believes this pretty quickly and is also highly compassionate when he first spots Abin Sur (an alien) dying.  When he receives the green ring he knows there are powers bigger than himself that can be harnessed with a simple affirmation.  There is also a circle of Guardians which are depicted as wise and eternal beings which are very similar to what many believe of the Ascended Masters.  The Green Lantern Corps. is also shown as a powerful force that has been chosen to protect peace and justice in the Universe.  These lovable beings of all shapes and sizes show creativity in the imagination of the filmmaker but are also a great representation of the many spiritual warriors that currently walk our Earth!

The metaphor of the color green in this movie was powerful as well.  To me the use of this color highlights our desire and intention to protect the peace within in our environment through the green movement.  If we don’t continue to take measures to live greener lives we will destroy the beauty and gift of Planet Earth.  It is also interesting to note that the heart chakra is represented by the color green.  In this story, Hal Jordan is asked to open up his heart not only to Carol Ferris (Blake Lively) but with himself and the Universe.  I believe our will can be found in our heart and this is the quality that is being birthed in Hal as he transforms into the Green Lantern.

(spoiler alert) Fear is a topic that is covered in all sorts of media and yet the quality of willpower to overcome fear is rarely discussed as the antidote.  Hal Jordan’s struggle with his own fears of love, intimacy and death deeply resonated with me.  His desire to take the easier route and do what he is good at and not take responsibility to expand into something greater is a path I’ve known before.  We often all keep ourselves small without even knowing it.  Yet his calling was bigger than him and he had to listen to it in the end.  His transformation and his journey lead him to be the superHERO we all wanted him to be in the film.  His epic battle with fear to protect the innocent and to step into the fullest version of his best self was an image that moved my consciousness.  I left with the clear learning that will is powerful and that what I set my mind and heart to I can accomplish.  I left knowing and trusting that whenever I feel fear I can will myself to do it anyway or to feel something different like courage and empowerment.  In the end, all we need is available to us within our own hearts.  We can be anything we want to be and we can use the gift of the powerful and mysterious force called our will.  Let’s keep on shining our lanterns!

Entertain - Enlighten - Inspire,

Kate Neligan - Founder of Mindful Media Entertainment and Synergy TV

I AM Movie Review

 

Thank you Tom Shadyak for not only ACE VENTURA (one of the funniest movies of all time!) but more importantly for the powerful documentary I AM.  I honor your shift, your awareness, and your courage to make a film like this and to own your “mental illness”.  Isn’t it true that we all have a form of mental illness?!  We are all a little bit crazy when we really take a look at our thoughts and the stories we tell ourselves.  I acknowledge this revolutionary film for showing us how we are part of the problem but that we are also the solution.  We can become the change we wish to see in the world.

I AM has had a bit of a “cult following” in my spiritual community for months now.  Every time I heard someone rave about it, I would get jealous because I wanted to be one of the first to see the latest conscious film.  Well isn’t that a form of mental illness: the nonsensical and unproductive quality of jealousy that we all feel from time to time?  My old competitive nature was at play (a big theme discussed in the film).  Yet, how I came to see the film is a story of synchronicity and connection.  And with all things, the timing of my screening it was divine and perfect.

Tom’s journey in this film and the thought-leaders he interviews are all inspiring.  In fact this film exemplifies the tag line of Synergy TV as it is entertaining, enlightening, and inspiring; a trifecta of movie-making magic in my opinion.  The buzz about this film and the build-up was accurate.  I was impressed and in fact I was a bit more emotional than I thought I would be.  I really resonated with so many of the themes: competition vs. collaboration, separateness vs. oneness, hierarchy vs. democracy, and wealth vs. happiness.  So often I feel like I am not one with others, especially at work, because I don’t want to look at my shadow and because I want to be the best.  Yet, my true “best” Self is collaborative, compassionate, and heart-centered. 

The film examines the important questions of “what’s wrong with our world?” and “what can we do about it?” and ends with “what’s right about our world?”  Tom’s exploration of these questions circles the globe and demonstrates beautifully our inter-connectedness.  It’s clear that we have been telling ourselves a story for a very long time that we are separate and that competition is good.  We have believed for so long that material gain will create happiness.  Yet, when we look closely at all of these “stories” we see them for what they truly are: misunderstandings.  The only choice this leaves us with is a lot of deep self-forgiveness and compassion for our fellow brothers and sisters who are still living the “old way”.

The new way realizes that money doesn’t bring happiness.  Yet, how could I ever believe this?  I thought this notion was ridiculous for a while.  I was always striving for more and this pursuit felt like the one thing I was supposed to do.  However, last year I doubled my salary and my happiness level actually went down.  I became living proof that the two weren’t at all connected or synonymous.  I have had a bit more comfort but with this increase a lot more responsibility and also a climb to the top of a ladder filled with power struggles and fear consciousness.  I also became lonelier and exhausted from focusing on accomplishment.  When I saw Tom’s Pasadena mansion in the movie my thought was that he must have been so lonely in that big place.  Our stuff really just serves to separate us further from each other and more importantly from our Source.  I started to think about when I am most happy and I realized it’s always when I am connecting with myself or someone else from the heart space and when I am working on bringing my gifts into the world.

When Tom examines the animal species in this film I couldn’t help but think of “Jonathon Livingston Seagull” which I recently read and loved.  In this book the seagull who always knew he could fly comes back to teach others that they too can evolve and fly to new heights.  We see this sense of cooperation all the time when we look at animals.  In fact, they are teaching us every day to be more compassionate and to work together.  In many ways Tom Shadyak is the Jonathon Livingston Seagull for the human race and in making this movie helps us to see we can choose to evolve or die.  We are being asked as a planet to become more compassionate, more loving, and more conscious.  The good news is this isn’t hard as this is who we are at our core.  The bad news is this does mean we have to give up our obsession with stuff and separateness. 

My favorite part of the film is when one of the thought-leaders speaks about the mirror neuron and how we see pain in others or joy and then we experience it ourselves.  I noticed this clearly while watching many images in the film and I either felt a contraction or an expansion in my body and often some emotion.  The discussion of the science at Heartmath (one of my favorite organizations on the planet right now) also demonstrates these concepts.  For all the scientists out there, maybe you don’t need to believe the new age wisdom that we create our reality but you can admit that this compassionate response is part of the real I AM.  And as Lynne McTaggart brilliantly describes – “reality isn’t an “it”, it’s a relationship”.

Thank you again Tom for this fascinating, eye-opening, thoughtful, heartfelt, and entertaining journey into who we are and why we are here.  May your next film be as funny as ACE VENTURA and as conscious and uplifting as I AM.  You are still on my wish list to meet but I know that serendipity will have its way with us soon and that I AM is destined to be on Synergy TV.

Entertain – Enlighten – Inspire,

Kate Neligan, Founder of Mindful Media Entertainment LLC. and Synergy TV

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS Film Review

My interest in seeing MIDNIGHT IN PARIS stemmed from my brother actually sending me an email on how much he loved the film and since this was outside of the ordinary for him, it immediately made my list.  He also hinted that some of the lessons in the movie were similar to those I learned at the University of Santa Monica where I have my Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology.  Of course, he must have been paying attention to what I was learning there more than I thought – this was impressive!

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is definitely a conscious film.  It opens and closes just like any other Woody Allen movie which was comforting as I haven’t seen one in a while and I missed his inevitable style.  Owen Wilson was charming and well-suited for the role of Gil and I had forgotten just how much of a mean girl Rachel McAdams can play.  She is a huge favorite of mine but I started to dislike her within minutes of meeting her character Inez.  After doing some of Alison Armstrong’s work in Celebrating Men I had to cringe each time Inez talked down to Gil.  You could certainly see how flawed their relationship was and upon deeper reflection I really saw how Rachel’s character was like an archetype of Gil’s inner critic.  He is truly on his own hero’s journey in the film and learning how to stand-up for his dreams with courage (as Ernest Hemingway would put it!).

One of my favorite moments in the film was when the couple and their friends are examining a Picasso favorite and Owen’s character just shines as he knows first-hand the story behind the painting since he met the artist in his midnight walks to the 1920’s.  Everyone in the theatre both laughed and cheered him on which is really what often happens when we do shine.  In spiritual terms, it was as though he was having a “direct knowing” experience and no one could even question him; they all just looked on in awe.  His fiancé asked him “what have you been smoking” which is often the way the outer world disbelieves when someone taps into this kind of wisdom experience.

Another favorite part of the film was that Paris is of course a main character.  The enchanting streets brought me true nostalgia (a big theme of the movie) as there is something magical and utterly romantic about Paris.  In one of the scenes you see the River Seine and Notre Dame and I remembered a picture I had taken in that same spot of a couple walking arm and arm in 2000.  It made me realize how that scene and moment in time was captured for good in a photograph.  I think this is one of the reasons I love photography so much, it allows us to freeze time.

(spoiler alert) Of course time is one of the main themes in the movie.  My high school graduation quote in my yearbook was “Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, and today a gift, that’s why it is called the present.”  In many ways the film comes to this conclusion as well as Gil finally realizes he won’t ever be happy and truly living his best life if he is always focused on another time that might be better than the now.  We get to witness his transformation when he realizes that his thinking has been off-track and when he embraces the present.  He even lets go of everything he knows and thinks he wants to really step forward into living his life fully in the present moment.

After the film my friend asked me “are you ever nostalgic?” and I realized I’m not.  Its not that I don’t love different decades because anyone that knows me well knows I can rock out to 80’s music like the best of them and have always wanted to be a flapper for Halloween.  That said I do my best to live in the present moment.  It is a practice but every time I’m in fear I realize I’m not in the present moment.  When I am in the now I feel nothing but peace and mindfulness and quite often a lot of joy.

It got me thinking too.  I feel so blessed to live during this moment in our history.  We are at such a transformational tipping point in consciousness and as much as I often condemn my humanness, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now.  I feel so blessed to have visited with the great thought-leaders of our time as well.  I could really relate to Gil’s sheer glee at meeting Hemingway, Cole Porter, the Fitzgeralds, Dali, Picasso, Gertrude Stein and many others.  I started to think of my idols, especially in writing, and Wayne Dyer, Joan Borysenko, James Twyman, Sonia Choquette, and Marianne Williamson came to mind.  Many of them I have personally met or at least seen speak in person.  The movie made me want to look up all of these past geniuses’ work from the ‘20s but also made me grateful to study the geniuses of 2011.  I know and trust that with the launch of Synergy TV that I will only spend more time in their close circles and that there will be nothing to do but smile when I’m with them.

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS will most likely come out on VOD and PPV around the time of Synergy TV’s launch.  The vision I received was that it would be one of many amazing films in the transactional section of the channel.  I’ll keep holding that vision and I hope you will as well.

Enjoy a trip back in time and to one of Earth’s greatest cities when you see the film.  Send me a postcard from the 1920s!

Entertain – Enlighten – Inspire,

Kate Neligan, Founder of Synergy TV and Mindful Media Entertainment LLC