NOW IS GOOD Movie Review

 

I was first lured into the film NOW IS GOOD by the clever trailer which looked fascinating, spiritual, and unique. This dramatic film about a 17 year old girl fighting leukemia seemed like it would be a big tear-jerker and, while it certainly has its moments of tenderness and emotion, it is a beautiful and healing film at its core. The cinematography is stunning and creative, and the deep themes and messages showcase lessons of the human spirit.

Dakota Fanning does a brilliant job as the heroine Tessa, and her boyfriend Adam (played by Jeremy Irvine) is also an extremely lovable character. Their relationship is one of the best examples of unconditional love that I’ve seen on the silver screen. It left me yearning so deeply for more love and romance in my life.

I think on some level all of us want to care for another and feel deeply taken care of while we bring out the best in each other, and this is what Tessa and Adam have together. While they are just teenagers, they teach us about the commitment, kindness, and courage it takes to love, even when they know they will get hurt. This film helped me to see how I had been protecting myself from being hurt again in a relationship by staying small and invisible, and in turn not giving and receiving all the love that is available to me. NOW IS GOOD inspired me to risk opening my heart again.

This film essentially has three main messages. The first, and most obvious, is the message from the title NOW IS GOOD which is all about living in the present moment. The best line in the film is about life being a series of moments. While watching Tessa’s story unfold, the viewer can tell which are the moments that take her breath away, that mean something, and that are to be remembered. Tessa has a “list” of things she wants to experience like sex, drugs, fame, shoplifting, and while many are pretty ego-based experiences, we somehow can relate to all of them. I feel like if I had months left to live, I too would choose some unusual and intense experiences for my list (i.e. #1 horseback riding on a beach, #5 skydiving!). It’s apparent that the intention behind each item on the list is to feel alive, courageous, and fully present. I can imagine this is how anyone must want to feel when they know their days are numbered. And yet, we can always live this way because the only true joy is in the present moment and our lives are about the journey and not the destination. Hay House author Robert Holden says the word “now” is a synonym for the word life.

Another message in the film is about how we impact the lives of others. I have a belief system that we are all both students and teachers of life and we have a ripple effect on each other. Tessa changes the course of her loved ones by calling forward her mother’s parenting and courage, to her Dad’s purpose, to her best friend’s difficult choice, to her brother’s joy and wisdom. You also see how she directly impacts her boyfriend’s life by giving him new direction and the desire to live fully again. The moment when she realizes her impact is one of the most profound moments in the movie and one of the best scenes I’ve witnessed in a while. It’s a reminder to us why we are really here. I believe that Tessa came to teach these lessons and what I like to call “spiritual curriculum” to those in her “soul family” (i.e. those closest to her that she loved the most) and also to those who watch this film.

Her story made me question something…..is it more painful to die and leave behind all that you could still do/be/have or is it more painful to lose someone?  I feel blessed that I have never had to be in this position and yet I know death and loss are unavoidable in life. The only real control we have is to treat each moment and each human encounter and relationship as precious. How different would our lives be if we lived as though each day was our last?  What would we say to each other?  What would we do? How deeply would we love? The late Steve Jobs said, “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."

I recently had a conversation with a good friend about not wanting to die with our music still in us. I suggested to him that he vision the end of his life and sit in his deathbed and see what it is that he regrets and then to start to DO or BE those things NOW. I told him that the only thing I would regret is not having told people I loved them or knowing that they loved me. My sense is that all we keep when we transition is the love and that part of us never ever dies. And to participate in life with “no regrets” is deeply transformational.

Tessa is an example to all of us that “now” is most definitely good because it is all that we have. We need to spend our “nows” wisely. We can’t waste a minute in regret, in anger, in judgment or in frustration that something is not happening our way. The only thing that is limited in our lives is time. We don’t know how much we get, but we do know one day it will end. So I encourage you to look at how you are spending yours, with whom, and why.

The last lesson I was left with was about hope. NOW IS GOOD helped me heal because I cried afterwards from all the sad memories stored in my heart. I felt so vulnerable, so fragile, and I could feel so much compassion for what we go through as humans. I thought about all the losses I’ve experienced, and those my friends and family have as well. And yet I heard the wise voice of my intuition and she talked to me about hope. She gave me the beautiful example of my best friend who broke up with her boyfriend at 23 and was so devastated at the time and she told me I would have smiled and laughed then if I had known that 10 years later I would be the one to marry the two of them in a beautiful wedding ceremony. She reminded me to not lose hope because it’s in that focus that helps us to get by in this sad, beautiful, mad, inspiring, and perfectly imperfect world.  She reminded me, as did Tessa, that love will prevail.

Entertain, Enlighten, Inspire,

Kate Neligan - CEO/Founder of Synergy TV

 

P.S. A recent, real-life "Now is Good" story recently came out thanks to our friends at Soul Pancake.  Here is the inspiring, heart-wrenching, and heart-warming story of a recent teenager who left behind a message and legacy of LOVE. Over 8 million people have watched this in just a matter of days.... this is the content Synergy TV will create, distribute, and promote.  We love to share and tell these stories.  Grab a box of tissues and enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NjKgV65fpo

HOPE SPRINGS Movie Review

I heard a complaint recently that Hollywood is not making movies for the older demographic but HOPE SPRINGS really delivers for the 50+ crowd.  Finally, we get to see a mindful movie that deals with issues in the bedroom in a very conscious and realistic way.

Meryl Streep (playing Kay) and Tommy Lee Jones (playing Arnold) deliver believable and lovable characters that show us a secret world of therapy, marital dysfunction, and the desire to change. Steve Carell (Dr. Feld) plays such a serious role that you forget it’s him and he really embodies the genius of a good therapist.  One immediately falls for Meryl’s character because she seems to love her husband so much, despite appearing as a bit of a doormat housewife.  At first we are frustrated with Tommy Lee’s character but he changes so much through the course of the movie that we are rooting for him and loving him for his vulnerability as well.

I learned in my Master’s program in Spiritual Psychology that “perfect vulnerability is perfect protection” and this is truly the main message from this spiritual film.  Kay and Arnold start off without any intimacy but through Kay’s deep commitment to herself and the marriage, transformation and healing begin.  I also learned in my Master’s that “healing is the application of loving to the places inside that hurt” and this we also bear witness to in this film.

Kay and Arnold begin to look inside to see how they have been hurt in the past, how they didn’t express their true feelings, ask for what they wanted, and how they started to shut down and protect their loving hearts from pain. Through this self-examination and willingness to work together (despite loads of resistance from Arnold) they start to open up to the possibility that it doesn’t have to be this way anymore.  Their choice to choose love over fear becomes the change-agent in their relationship.

Although I have never been to couples counseling, I could still relate to what these characters go through in how uncomfortable it can be feel to be vulnerable in front of both a loved one and stranger. I felt so much compassion for both Kay and Arnold as they work to save their marriage and fumble along, often taking two steps back for every step forward.  And yet, the reason why this movie works is because it is so authentic and realistic, and I felt like I was right there in counseling with them.

I could also empathize because I feel like I have seen so many marriages end up this way: as roommates or friends living together where the romance has died and intimacy is lost. I felt surges of different emotions as Kay and Anrold’s marriage so closely resembled my parents'. And I know there are many, many more couples like this out there and my thought was that this movie could really help couples dealing with similar issues. It was also a loud warning signal to me to always make my relationship and my husband (when he gets here!) a priority. Intimacy is a priceless, spiritual connection that has to be kept sacred. The truth in a relationship is freeing and since men and women speak such different languages there has to be a commitment to express authentically, listen, and understand each other.

I won’t ruin the ending of the film but let’s just say that I am always grateful for feel-good film finishes because they leave us hopeful, grateful for the shared human condition, and inspired to change for the better. 

I acknowledge this film for committing to showcasing a real issue, especially amongst older couples, that is often overlooked and not dealt with because the vulnerability can be uncomfortable. As more movies are made like HOPE SPRINGS and SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK where we, as content creators and audiences alike, take a look at some of the real shadows in humanity and bring light, humor, and love to them; we all will be healed.

Entertain - Enlighten - Inspire,
Kate Neligan - Founder/CEO of Mindful Media Entertainment & Synergy TV

SILVER LININGS Movie Review

By Guest Blogger: Iva Radosevic

A silver lining means:  "a sign of hope in an unfortunate or gloomy situation" (dictionary.com).

The film SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK is a beautifully portrayed story of a conflicted man that struggles with bipolar disorder, which is characterized by periods of mania alternating with periods of depression.

Bradley Cooper, as Pat Solitano, does an excellent job of bringing this disorder to life and hooking the audience within the first five minutes of the film by inspiring empathy and compassion in the viewer and resonating a fluctuating ray of optimism throughout all his episodes of severe mood swings.

Despite the fact that Pat has lost his marriage and his job, he is determined to show his family and his estranged wife that he has come a long way and knows how to turn any negative energy into something with a promise of hope.

His true transformation begins to happen when he meets Tiffany (played by Jennifer Lawrence), who serves as a mirror to the inner pain and anger that he feels. Tiffany’s torment over the loss of her husband allows Pat to feel a stronger connection to her and have greater understanding of her ways. Through their mutual pain and anger they feel comfortable in each other’s presence and recognize a bond from the beginning that progressively intensifies as their friendship builds throughout the film. 

This new friendship helps Pat rekindle the lost connection with his father, played by Robert De Niro. Pat’s commitment to Tiffany’s dance routine practice keeps him unavailable to join his father for the football watching at home. This inspires Pat’s father to express verbally why he finds it important to have his son join him during these games. By keeping Pat occupied and away from home, Tiffany plays a key role in inspiring this critical bonding conversation between father and son that takes place in the later half of the film. She also turns out to be the positive energy that brings good luck to Pat’s father in the winning of his favorite football team by noting that every time his team won she was with his son in some context. The strong bond that Pat and Tiffany share turns out to be the glue that links the whole family back together through a common thread of optimism and hope. 

SPOILER ALERT......

The reframing of hope in the face of an unfortunate situation is solidified in one of the last scenes of the movie where Pat and Tiffany manage to get a score of 5 out of 10 in their dancing competition and the whole family bursts out with explosive excitement over a score that is viewed as only average by the judges and the rest of the audience. This ‘5’ is a winning number for the family, since the father bet with a friend that Pat and Tiffany could achieve at least that number in a competition against much more professional dancers. Being rewarded a ‘5’ was the peak of the mountain for the family and it was the epitome of what ‘silver lining’ represents in this film.

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK is a film of hope, empathy, compassion, understanding, reconnection and love.  It inspires us to view life through a positive filter and recognize the beauty in the lessons of pain and loss. We learn that by redefining our goals and expectations an ‘average’ score may just be good enough to give us the happiness worth a lifetime.

P.S.  Note from Kate Neligan - Founder of Synergy TV:  This movie is currently a big box office hit with a lot of positive word of mouth and sold-out showings. I couldn't be happier because this raw, original, authentic story really deserves all the positive press. We definitely give it a big thumbs up as a mindful movie and hits out Top 10 List of the Year!

CLOUD ATLAS Movie Review

                                  

I wish I could recommend CLOUD ATLAS because it had SO much potential but I really can't support it because it was so violent and convoluted.

 

Despite having excellent visual effects, some of the best actors in Hollywood like Tom Hanks, and a theme of "everything is connected", this film is not what it was marketed to be: an inspirational/spiritual epic.

 

I felt cheated when I saw the movie because I was expecting a deep, riveting story with profound spiritual messages like AVATAR, INCEPTION and LIFE OF PI and instead I got a violent, action film that was very hard to follow.

For the first hour my head hurt just watching the various story-lines from different time periods. It was not easy to connect the actors and roles throughout their past lives. However, the make-up was fantastic as you can barely recognize Tom Hanks and Halle Berry throughout some of their scenes

 

The last fifteen minutes of the film are definitely the best and showcase a bit of a message about the inter-connectedness of humanity, the potential to stand-up for the truth, and the fight for love.

 

I am just disappointed that this movie missed out on its potential to be a mindful movie full of wisdom and Spirit. I felt like the Wachowski brothers sold-out to the lowest common denominator that wants violence in our media. Some of the kill scenes in the film were very disturbing because they were so realistic and gruesome. And while we have often died in cruel and unusual ways in past lives, I felt like the deaths portrayed were gratuitous.

 

I kept hoping the law or karma would prevail and teach everyone a lesson but a lot of the stories were so bleak. This is definitely not THE MATRIX and I guess I had too high expectations for the next spiritual blockbuster.

 

The group I screened it with all had differing opinions of the film and one person compared it to the book which seems to be a bit more introspective. I guess the good news is that there is still a lot of room for powerful, meaningful, profound blockbusters to be created about concepts like karma, inter-connectedness, and love. Who is going to make the next one?  What did you think of the film?

 

Entertain - Enlighten - Inspire,

Kate Neligan - Founder & CEO of Synergy TV

LIFE OF PI Movie Review

Finally, one of the most engaging, best-selling reads was made into a movie!  LIFE OF PI tells the touching story of a boy lost at sea after the boat he is on with his family and all of their zoo animals capsizes.

I remember, after reading this book for book club years ago, that it would make a great movie and it was thrilling to see such an excellent adaption into film, especially with all the special effects. I chose to see LIFE OF PI in 3D and it is meant to be seen that way as you feel like you are on the lifeboat with Pi and his tiger, Richard Parker.

It has been said that this 3D movie is the best one since AVATAR and I would agree. The other similarity between these movies is that they both examine deep, philosophical and spiritual concepts in a mainstream way. These are exactly the types of stories I want to see more of (and plan to produce in the future!) and they signify the best in class of the "mindful movie" genre.

There isn't much to say about this movie without examining the very end so if you haven't seen the film yet, please do so and then check back here as I don't want to spoil anything for you.

LIFE OF PI ending:
It was fascinating to discuss the metaphors and meaning in this film with my friends after the screening. To me, this film is about the mind and the stories we tell ourselves and others. It provides a mirror for us to see the way we examine our own lives and how we view truth and God.

My biggest take-away is that whatever we believe is our truth. There is no such thing as absolute truth, especially when something can't be proven?! Only Pi knows what happened to him at sea and yet he tells two believable stories and asks which one we prefer which leaves us wondering and grasping for an answer. Why is it that we crave to know the answers so badly? Why do we demand the truth or fight for it when it's so hard to prove something we all see differently? Why is it we are so uncomfortable with the unknown?


What I love about this film is that it asks us to accept and to have faith. We each have a different view of religion and spirituality and we each have our own God. Pi's father believed in hard, cold facts and science. I used to be like this and was an Aetheist for years until I had experiences I couldn't explain and had a deep desire to BELIEVE in something grander than human suffering. I'm a lot more like Pi now, appreciating all religions and the value in each.

This film is amazing because it calls forward our inner need for beauty and to choose the story that is full of love and connection. The other option is to believe in a disturbing story of human savagery. This is a deep reflection of our main choice in life: to listen to the beast/ego within or to chose the love-filled, hope-inspiring journey. The most fascinating part of life is that both are happening right now as you read this......we leave in the duality of war and peace, love and fear, acceptance and hatred and both realities fully exist. I am blessed to see more light than darkness each day and I consciously choose this by not watching the news and engaging with inspirational content.

Whatever story we tell is OUR story and often we would rather be right than happy so we cling to our stories, even if they make us suffer. Pi tells the story that he feels in his heart and we all want to believe. We want to feel that a tiger can love us despite it's animal instincts to kill us and that miracles happen.

Besides the truth, this story has us yearning for something else.....closure. Pi doesn't receive this with his family since they die so quickly and traumatically. He also doesn't receive it with Richard Parker as the tiger never turns to say good-bye. As viewers we are also left without closure because we are left wondering what really happened in the life of Pi.


Yet the key to the entire mystery and to the closure is the most profound and metaphorical line in the movie: "And so it goes with God." Pi says this after the writer picks the story he prefers and to me it means that only God is our witness to all that happens here on Earth and our preference for the truth IS the one that is filled with God, magnificent creatures, and the magic of a floating meerkat-filled island. Pi followed many religions as he could see value in all of them and this may be why he can easily tell two stories of what happened to him. What is the truth? Which religion is right? Is it possible they all are?


I highly recommend this film as it is not only beautiful and deep but I promise it will leave you thinking and  stir your soul. It has the three main ingredients for the perfect recipe in film: entertaining, enlightening, and inspiring. It is a triumphant epic journey that leaves us with hope and with a new-found curiosity for the mystery of life and God. It reminds us to respect, love and stay connected to animals and to trust that God is always with us, rain or shine.

Entertain - Enlighten - Inspire,
Kate Neligan - Founder & CEO of Synergy TV/Mindful Media Entertainment

VITALITY Movie Review

 

                                                

Last night I got to see an awesome new film called VITALITY from the passionate filmmaker and doctor, Pedram Shojai, at a screening in Malibu. This film is a health documentary that is made for the masses and is educational and enlightening in nature.

 

The filmmaker is a health care practitioner and acupuncturist and he noticed that the medicine field is a big sinking ship. He realized that people who get sick, see doctors and depend on them to fix them is a broken system and we need to take personal responsibility to prevent dis-ease and focus on our well-being. He believes that being free of illness is not true wellness but living a life of vitality is and this is achievable if we focus on certain areas.

The film breaks down the core of vitality which is surrounded by four inter-connected areas of life which are: sleep, exercise, diet, and mindset. The film has a lot of great facts that showcase how we have histrorically changed as a human species and how living in the modern fast-paced world can be damaging to our bodies. The movie shows us ways to rest and relax, tips to get great sleep, and ways to eat healthy while also focusing on the important beliefs we have about ourselves. The key is truly to synergize or harmonize all of these aspects of life to wholeness. Everything works together in our lives and a proper diet, sleep, healthy mindset, and exercise give us the energy we need to be our best selves and live our best lives.

My favorite part of the evening was the Q&A and discussion that took place afterwards. There was a lot of engaging talk about how people are unwilling to change, how we aren't fully educated (i.e. we don't even know if there are GMOs in our food!), and what we can do to help others get healthy. Let's be honest  - America is obese and our health care industry is deeply flawed and yet there is a lot of hope. 

I started to think about vitality in my own life and in the past few months I have gone gluten, dairy, sugar, and alcohol free (still working on breaking the coffee dependency). I have seen measurable positive results with no acne, better energy, more creativity, better sleep, less anxiety, no PMS symptoms, no bloating or indigestion, more peace and happiness, and I've lost weight! I overall feel much better than I have in years. AND this hasn't been easy but it is worth it. Now when I eat beef or have gluten or sugar I feel an immediate brain fog and feel exhausted the next day as though I didn't even sleep. 

The immediate seconds of pleasure of eating a brownie is now not worth what I will feel like for hours afterwards. It is the same with our healthcare. Yes, eating organic food may be a bit more expensive at first and gym memberships aren't free BUT the long term savings is priceless if I can prevent thyroid, candida issues and other possibly dangerous and extremely costly dis-eases. I promise you that healthcare and doctors can not and will not fix you. I have been there and the only way to wellness is through information, baby steps of change, and conscious choice. We have to think about our future; we often do with our children but not with ourselves! We are important, we are worthy of our own self-care and without our health then nothing else matters.

The charged energy in the room after this screening was palpable. Health, like money and spirituality, are juicy issues and they all come down to self-worth. I realized last night that the best way we can change the world is by changing our selves. The Gandhi method of "being the change" is the answer. As I have taken responsibility and educated myself about gluten and experimented with a cleaner diet, I have raised my vibration and consciousness. My friends and family have noticed. 

They have asked me what I am doing and they have slowly started to make changes. One friend is now juicing and feels amazing, a family member has cut back on her sugar dependency, and another friend is experimenting with gluten-free. I am so proud of them and myself. This is how we get healthier as a nation! This is how we break free of ill-ness and treat our bodies as our temples.

As I drove home from this event I realized the way to vitality is really to raise consciousness. One of my teachers says: "Every time one person resolves one issue, all of humanity evolves." My intention with Synergy TV is to raise consciousness. As I have raised my own consciousness I have changed so much. I now care about what goes into my body, what I think in my head, what I put into the environment, what I clean my body with, and so on. I am more response-able as I have more knowledge and I am inspired to change because I want to feel great. I am done with the status quo of misery and suffering. When we grow in consciousness we make healthier, smarter, conscious choices. 

Synergy TV is all about conscious choice which is the free will we have despite our circumstances. How we choose to respond to anything - sugar or vegetable, couch or gym, sleep or stress, positive thinking or negative - it is ALL up to us. We have the power and all we need or want to be vibrant, healthy and fully alive is within. Nothing we fill ourselves up with will provide the love we are seeking.

I love you and I encourage you to watch this film, to share it with loved ones, to screen it at schools and churches, and to participate in raising your concsciousness and others. We will do our best to bring you VITALITY on Synergy TV soon. Dr. Pedram Shojai is a true health-care rockstar and he has started Well.org which has more information on how to live a vibrant, healthy life. He is surrounding himself by smart doctors, charities he can help, and brands that care.

We are the ones we have been waiting for. The love you are seeking is within. Your birthright is vitality - choose it now.

Entertain - Enlighten - Inspire,
Kate Neligan - Founder/CEO of Synergy TV

Public Interest Pictures Non-Profit Film Festival

I'm excited to announce that SynergyTV is partnering with Public Interest Pictures for their upcoming Film Festival this Sunday, October 21st in Los Angeles.

 

This group is doing something really cool! They are partnering filmmakers with charities to create films and then all of the shorts are screening in a festival at the end of the weekend. Its sort of like a 48 hour film festival with a great prize and supporting great causes.

 

I believe they are still looking for both filmmakers to participate and attendees for their Non-Profit Film Festival. If you would like to apply, definitely send them a note or just come to The Hub for the showing on Sunday evening.

Public Interest Pictures Non-Profit Film Festival Weekend: http://publicinterestpics.org/calling-all-filmmakers/