movie

I love Yuzen for the great products and brands it introduces me to. (What? You haven’t heard of Yuzen? Read my review of it here.)

Case in point: These Dark Chocolate Covered Cacao Nibs from sweetriot. They’re like a healthy, chocolate-y, antioxidant-packed version of Nerds candy. (Remember Nerds?). Or this Lavender & Lemon Hydrating Lip Balm from Tilvee.

With every new season, Yuzen delivers the kind of eco-friendly-but-also-super-luxurious products that make me wonder, “How did I ever live without this?”

One of humanity’s most mysterious and pondered questions is, “What happens when we die?”

Astral City on GaiamTV.com poses the answer to this question in an extremely unique and bold way, using the notion of spiritualism. With spiritualism, spirits of the dead have the ability and inclination to communicate with the living. Anyone may receive spirit messages, but formal communication sessions are held by mediums, who provide information about the afterlife.

If you’re ready for a wild, mind-opening and thought-provoking ride that’s based on a true story, Astral City is your ticket. Here are the highlights:

This month, the film selections from Spiritual Cinema Circle will inspire you with the power of everyday magic. The feature film, Musical Chairs, is a romantic drama about two young New Yorkers who overcome physical challenges and celebrate the beauty of dance.

The Hunger Games is certainly the most frightening movie that I have ever seen … and, in a bizarre way, one of the most hopeful.

Even though it contains echoes of films such as 1984, Network and The Lord of The Flies, The Hunger Games is singularly unique in that it represents a very “right now” look at our celebrity-worshiping, violence-laden, reality-television culture, and it throws in some chilling warnings about the dangers of all-powerful government.

Having not read any of Suzanne Collins’ three books from which this film springs, my first impression upon hearing about the film’s central theme of a nationwide contest that pits 24 teenagers against each other in a fight to the death was ”Uh-oh, here we go again with the mindless violence…”

From time to time, I will highlight a classic film that some — maybe even many — people might have missed. Or forgotten. Or maybe you did see it, and forgot that you asked for it to be erased it from your memory?

Imagine:

Your heart has been broken in a love relationship that ends.

Someone offers you the chance to literally erase that relationship — that person — and everything about it and them from your memory forever.

Would you do it?

Should you do it?

COULD you do it?

Such is the provocative premise of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind from 2004.

As a parent and grandparent, I was very hesitant to watch Rabbit Hole because I knew that it focused on parents who were dealing with the death of their child. After much encouragement from my wife, Lauren, and one of our community members (Mark), and with the tragedy in Tucson in the background, we watched the film last night and were absolutely mesmerized.

“The” holidays. Family. Close friends. The end of one year and the beginning of a new one. A time when one’s heart may be at its most vulnerable — either fully open to the warmth of all the love that the season can imply, or, perhaps, fully susceptible to the loneliness that can seem almost unbearable in the longing for family, a significant other, health, or peace of mind.

The Old Hollywood often embraced this season with films that touch the beauty within the soul of humanity, the best known and most enduring example being perhaps It’s a Wonderful Life which always plays innumerable times during this season (and in which I get lost each and every time I happen to flip to it when it’s on — I’m always hooked!).

For our family, another film has arisen as a classic Holiday film. Love Actually is “actually” that wonderful and it is a pleasure to be able to luxuriate in its dizzying and intoxicating recipe for joy, laughter, pathos, and life.

Disneynature’s acclaimed new film Earth presents the most spectacular 100 minutes of wildlife footage I have ever seen. The film reunites directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, who produced the award-winning BBC series “Planet Earth,” in a new venture that brings equally stunning images to the big screen.

Every week we highlight the best articles, blogs, news, videos and interesting Web tidbits to help you live green, be healthy, and connect with your sense of spirituality. Read our roundup for info that just helps you live better.

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