“Valentine’s Day” movie was the number one film at the box office this weekend bringing in $52.4 million. The star-studded cast reached out to all age groups and demographics with big names such as Julia Roberts, Jamie Foxx, Ashton Kutcher, Shirley MacLaine, George Lopez and Taylor Swift. This diverse group of celebrities helped bring home the movie’s message that no matter what your age or background is, relationships can be kind of tricky, but if you hang in there you can find true love. It is a heartwarming, funny and upbeat film filled with themes surrounding serendipity, acceptance and finding love. It’s not surprising that audiences liked “Valentine’s Day” so much and it opened at the No. 1 spot.

However, if you read “Valentine’s Day” movie reviews from the critics you will hear how bad or boring it is. For example, here’s what Roger Ebert said,

“Valentine’s Day” is so desperate to keep all the characters alive, it’s like those Russian jugglers who run around, trying to keep all their plates spinning on poles. I won’t even attempt to describe the plot.”

“Valentine’s Day” reveals just how out of touch most of the movie critics are with mainstream audiences and the type of movies that people actually want to see. The critics gave “Valentine’s Day” poor reviews probably because it lacks the type of cruel sarcasm, bitter irony and gross cynicism that appeals to most of them. Fortunately, “Valentine’s Day” proved the critics wrong and showed that a romantic comedy with uplifting messages about love, humor and relationships can have great box office success and reach a large audience.

“The Meta Secret” is a new motivational documentary that consists of a series of interviews and dramatizations related to “The Law of Attraction” and six other Ancient Hermetic Laws combined with an intriguing storyline about one man’s quest to uncover the secret behind all secrets in spite of massive physical challenges along the way.

The film is largely influenced by Hermes Trismegistus’ ancient text called the Corpus Hermeticum and another revelatory text thought to have been written much later in the late 1800s entitled “The Kybalion.” It takes off where other “Secret” type movies left viewers and delves even more deeply into the Laws of Attraction, featuring comprehensive, step-by-step, “how-to” techniques of manifestation.

Some of the original Secret teachers return to focus more in-depth into the Laws of Attraction and the mysterious workings of the Universe, including Jack Canfield, author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, Dr. Joe Vitale, Bob Proctor and Dr. Masaru Emoto.

For more information you visit www.TheMetaSecret.com

       The Book of Eli is a movie about a man, Eli, (Denzel Washington) who hears an inner voice telling him to carry a Sacred book “West” in a post-apocalyptic, desolate and violent world.  Eli does not question this calling even though he is being offered nothing in return, except for protection.  Eli’s willingness to carry out his mission is put to the test throughout his journey numerous times as people try to kill him and a companion (Mila Kunis) he is traveling with in an attempt to take the book from him.

       The Book of Eli is one of the few movies where violence plays a necessary part because Eli’s reaction to the violence he faces reveals his courage, conviction and faith.  Eli is never the aggressor, but at times he must use physical force to defend himself and protect his companion from thugs who are trying to kill them.  His inner calling has guided him to navigate and overcome a world filled with violence.  Now, he must find the strength to meet this challenge head on.

       I was skeptical going into this movie because I thought it was just going to be some science-fiction, action-film about an apocalyptic world.  However, I am glad I saw The Book of Eli.  One message in the movie that really resonated with me is the willingness to trust and fight for your inner callings simply for the sake of serving some higher purpose.  Eli is driven by his inner voice to carry a Sacred book to the West.  He does not know exactly why he is being guided to do this, but he does it because deep down he knows it’s the right thing to do.  

     Additionally, Eli continues to trust even though he has not reached his destination after a long and arduous journey.  In one scene, a companion he is with asks him how long he has been traveling.  Eli tells her that it has been 30 years and she replies, “Do you think you might be lost?”  But, Eli continues to trust that he is not lost and that he will be protected if he carries out his calling to bring the book to the West.   This scene inspires us to continue to trust that we will be protected if we follow our callings — even though it may appear that we are lost.

Two years ago the Oscar ceremony had its lowest TV ratings and was its least watched telecast ever. Many blame the low ratings on a year dominated by dark and depressing films focused on greed, corruption and violence. Los Angeles Times writer Patrick Goldstein wrote that No Country for Old Men, that year’s Best Picture winner, is a “bone-chilling tale of violence, stupidity and revenge, with a relentless, amoral killer at its center, coolly dispatching anyone in his way with a cattle gun.” That year’s host, Jon Stewart, joked about the trend during the opening of the show when he asked, “Does this town need a hug?”

This year, however, the Oscars have dramatically changed their format to include 10 instead of 5 films for the Best Picture category and nominated some genuinely uplifting movies for various awards with hopes of increasing its ratings. For example, three of the nominees for Best Picture are Blind Side, Up and Avatar. Blind Side is the true story about a wealthy family who take in a homeless teenager to help him get an education and become a successful, professional football player. Up is an animated film about an elderly man who goes on a grand adventure while looking back at the meaningful moments of his life. And, Avatar has really struck a chord with themes about connection, the environment and what’s possible for humanity.

Precious and Up in the Air, two other movies nominated for Best Picture, are not exactly uplifting, but they do wrestle with how to overcome serious life-obstacles such as being laid off in Up in the Air, and child abuse in Precious. The only movie nominated for Best Picture with gratuitous violence is Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds, which was shut out at the Golden Globes, receiving no awards even though it had multiple nominations.

Other uplifting and thought-provoking films that received nominations for this year’s Oscars include Invictus (Morgan Freeman for Actor in a Leading Role playing Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon for Actor in a Supporting Role), Crazy Heart (Jeff Bridges for Actor in a Leading Role and Maggie Gyllenhaal for Actress in a Supporting Role) and Julie & Julia (Meryl Streep for Actress in a Leading Role).

It’s hard to tell if the success of these films will motivate Hollywood to make more inspirational movies or if this year is just an anomaly. But, I do think that most people are getting tired of seeing movies like No Country for Old Men that basically say, “Look at how awful life is.” receive Academy Awards. Instead, I think people want movies that deal with dark subject matter and challenges in life, but do so in a way that offers hope and meaning.

Surrogates was released on DVD last week and I made the mistake of watching it. The description from Yahoo movies of Surrogates says,

“People are living their lives remotely from the safety of their own homes via robotic surrogates — perfect mechanical representations of themselves. It’s an ideal world where crime, pain, fear and consequences don’t exist. When the first murder in years jolts this utopia, FBI agent Greer (Bruce Willis) discovers a vast conspiracy behind the surrogate phenomenon.”

I thought this might be an interesting, philosophical Science Fiction movie because it reminded a little bit of Matrix or even Avatar in that people’s consciousness have been transported to a different reality that makes them question fear, pain, consequences and the possibility of living in a utopia…Okay, I know that sounds weird and should have deterred me from watching it. But, I thought I would give it a chance since Bruce Willis is in it. He’s been in a good mix of action and science fiction movies including Sixth Sense.

However, Surrogates was just too weird for me and the action scenes seemed forced, unnecessary and boring.

I found an interesting documentary, A Parallel Reality, that I was able to post in its entirety below. The description of the movie from the web site says,

“At some point, we all ask ourselves who we are, where we come from and where we’re going. But many of us stop wondering about the meaning of life because solving the day-to-day dilemmas of everyday existence is challenge enough in it self. This is the story of 5 people who kept wondering over the course of their lives because they needed to find the answers. Five adventurers. Five explorers who have opened the door to a reality that goes beyond the boundary we assume exist.

What we would like is that after watching this documentary, you felt the need to search, to look within yourselves. We’d like you to say: yes, there is something more! Reality goes beyond the limits of what I can see with my eyes or touch with my hands! I can go beyond! And going beyond means connecting with our true strength. With the divine spark in all of us. Enjoy your journey!

This documentary came into being thanks to Dolors Martorell, Daniel Hernández and Pablo Uson. We are enormously grateful, for your great generosity in allowing this documentary and the extras with it, to be viewed and downloaded free of charge.”

(If you want to watch Parallel Reality on Spiritual Media Blog then push the play button and wait a couple minutes for it to load and it will start playing.)

Wayne Dyer is having a unique cinema event on January 28 with an encore on February 4. You can watch a recording of his latest lecture at your local cinema and learn how to start living your true life’s purpose. Dr. Dyer will reveal how the ancient wisdom of the Tao Te Ching helped him shift from ambition to a new kind of meaningful consciousness in this empowering exploration of the dynamics of our thought process. You’ll also receive an exclusive recording (2 hours) as a special gift for attending.

Visit www.DrWayneDyerCinema.com for a listing of theaters near you.

Unbeaten is an inspirational documentary that chronicles the exploits of 31 paraplegics for six days, as they make their way in wheelchairs and hand cycles in what is known as the toughest road race in the world, “Sadler’s Alaska Challenge.” Narrated by Dan Aykroyd, this amazing film takes us into the 55 mile-per-day grind of three wheelchair racers, Chris Kohler, Geoffrey Erickson and Edwin Figueroa as they race through the 267 mile course across the mountain passes of Denali National Park between Fairbanks and Anchorage. It premieres tonight at the Sundance Film Festival.

Yesterday, I was able to chat with one of the producers, Tamara Henry. She shared with me some of the challenging aspects of making the film, what she learned throughout the process and told me a cool story about how the people in the film were invited to the premiere of Avatar. She summed up the spirit of Unbeaten when she said,

“It’s the movie about the heart of a champion.”

You can listen to our 10 minute conversation by clicking the play button below. For more information about Unbeaten, please visit the movie’s website at www.UnbeatenTheMovie.com

On Sunday night, Avatar won Best Drama at the Golden Globes. James Cameron’s acceptance speech was refreshing and insightful as he humbly said:

“Avatar asks us to see that everything is connected, all human beings to each other and us to the Earth. And, if you have to go four and half light years to another made up planet to appreciate this miracle of a world we have right here, then well you know what, that’s the wonder of cinema, that’s the magic.”

Imagine the following: You are a single, thirty-something professional…and you discover you have a very serious, life-threatening case of leukemia even though you are symptom-free. The next day you meet the love of your life at a nightclub and begin a relationship, knowing you haven’t long to live. At what point, do you think, are you obligated to share what’s going on with your health?

This scenario describes the plot of Counting Backwards, Spiritual Cinema Circle’s feature film for this month. In this film, career-driven Joe is diagnosed with terminal leukemia on the eve of his big promotion. He reevaluates everything. Now that his days are numbered, the questions that used to be so easy to avoid are impossible to ignore. Joe commits to living the life he always wanted and begins a quirky relationship with Claire, the fun-loving girl of his dreams. This romance sets the stage for an imaginative, inspiring take on what life could be about if Joe were willing to fight for it.

Additionally, Spiritual Cinema Circle’s DVD this month contains a revealing, exclusive interview with Wayne Dyer, where he shares with Mariel Hemingway memories of his life in an orphanage as a little boy, plus…Why he thought he was the richest kid in the orphanage…How to think like God and how to love like God loves…What he really believes about affirmations and what his favorite one is…And much more!

You can see the Wayne Dyer interview, along with four great films for free (you just pay small shipping fee) thanks to our friends at Spiritual Cinema Circle. Simply click here!