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Rev. Kelly Barber facilitated this month’s movie discussion.

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Rev. Jacquelyn Eckhert facilitated this month’s movie discussion.

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Joy Bedford facilitated this month’s movie discussion.

Playsheet for Philomena: Philomena Playsheet

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Rev. Kelly Barber facilitated this month’s movie discussion.

Violet is a 2021 American drama film written, directed, and produced by Justine Bateman in her directorial debut. It stars Olivia Munn, Luke Bracey, and Justin Theroux.

Violet follows “Violet Morton,” a 32-year-old film executive who is living her life listening to her fear (“The Voice”). She has made these fear-based decisions to avoid potential “worst-case scenarios” in her romantic life, her family life, and her professional life. These decisions have taken her away from who she really is. She has grown accustomed to not being quite herself and sees nothing amiss until a friend’s comment makes her realize that The Voice has been lying to her, her entire life.

You can watch the movie on iTunes, Vudu, and Amazon.

Playsheet for Violet: Violet Playsheet

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Rev. Kelly Barber facilitated this month’s movie discussion.

Denzel Washington stars as William “Whip” Whitaker Sr., an alcoholic airline pilot who miraculously crash-lands his plane after a mechanical failure, saving nearly everyone on board. Immediately following the crash, he is hailed a hero but an investigation soon leads to questions that put the captain in a different light. The film is loosely inspired by the plane crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261.

This movie illustrates how hard we work at trying to avoid the experience that may be best for our spiritual growth.

Flight is available on Itunes, YouTube, Amazon, and Vudu.

Playsheet for Flight: Flight Playsheet

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Rev. George Maddox facilitated this month’s movie discussion.

This movie is a documentary on the history of the Twelve Apostles. The apostles started out as average, unexceptional men of their time: fishermen, farmers, and local magistrates. But their dedication to a prophetic Jewish preacher in the backwaters of the Roman Empire transformed them into revolutionaries and, in the process, changed the world itself in ways that would reverberate across time for two thousand years.

This movie helps to tell the untold stories of the men chosen by Jesus to bring God’s plan to the world. Among them is Peter, who denied Christ three times but later became a “Rock,” James and John, the fiery-tempered “sons of thunder,” Matthew, the tax collector later murdered by cannibals, Simon the Zealot, the anti-Roman fanatic eventually “cut to pieces” preaching in Spain, and Judas Iscariot, whose betrayal would be paid for with silver and suicide. From their early fear and discouragement at the shock of the Crucifixion to the final acceptance of the resurrection and their epic mission to spread the Gospel through the known world, it’s an inspiring, astonishing story of the little-known men who became The Twelve Apostles.

The movie is available on YouTube for free. Here’s a direct link to watch the movie for free: Click Here

The Story of the Twelve ApostlesPlaysheet

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Laura Bedford facilitated this month’s movie discussion.

Inspired by the 1987 true story, McFarland, USA follows novice runners from McFarland, an economically challenged town in California’s farm-rich Central Valley, as they give their all to build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White (Kevin Costner), a newcomer to their predominantly Latino high school. Coach White and the McFarland students have a lot to learn about each other but when White starts to realize the boys’ exceptional running ability, things begin to change. Soon something beyond their physical gifts becomes apparent—the power of family relationships, their unwavering commitment to one another, and their incredible work ethic. With grit and determination, the unlikely band of runners eventually overcomes the odds to forge not only a championship cross-country team but an enduring legacy as well. Along the way, Coach White realizes that his family finally found a place to call home and both he and his team achieve their own kind of American dream.

McFarland USA Playsheet

The movie is available on Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, and Itunes.

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During the February Movie Watcher Group, we contemplated the clarity seen after watching “American Beauty.”

Lester Burnham, the hero, is played by Kevin Spacey as a man who is unloved by his daughter, ignored by his wife and unnecessary at work. “I’ll be dead in a year,” he tells us in almost the first words of the movie. “In a way, I’m dead already.” The movie is the story of his rebellion.

“Look closer,” the film’s tag-line tells us. Look closer at the beautiful things we yearn for and spend our life chasing. The characters in “American Beauty” are yearning to fulfill a dream that they think will get them out of their miserable lives.

By the end of the film, most of the characters get a taste of their dreams and discover the underlying emptiness of their lives. Looking closer, they see the decay that has replaced genuine beauty and meaning and discover that their dreams are nothing but illusions.

The movie is available on Amazon, Hulu, Showtime, Vudu, YouTube and other streaming services. The play-sheet for the movie will soon become available.

American Beauty Play-sheet

This month’s movie group was facilitated by Jacquelyn Eckert.

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Becoming Nobody is a documentary chronicling the life and work of the famous spiritual teacher and yogi, Ram Dass (1931-2019).

This movie dovetails with all of Awakening Together’s core values and the thrust of Regina Dawn Aker’s teaching that, if there is any particular goal on the spiritual path, it is to become nobody, to see through the illusion that we are separate, individual people and go about giving up day-by-day all habits which arise to reinforce the illusion.

This quote from the movie illustrates the movie’s message: “My wish for people watching this film is to realize that there is a path to love without cause — both for oneself and for everyone we interact with on a daily basis. You don’t have to go to India to find it. It’s all sitting right in the middle of your chest. It is what I call Loving Awareness. We are loving awareness. We are truth. We are capable of putting our small selves aside to serve others.”

Becoming Nobody is available on Amazon, YouTube, and iTunes.

PlaySheet for Becoming Nobody

This month’s movie group was facilitated by Anne Blanchard.

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Oblivion is a clever sci-fi thriller designed to show us that there are things worth living and dying for. That while we may feel insignificant at times—just one of several billion people crawling around on Planet Earth—we can still live lives full of meaning and purpose. The filmmakers probe the concepts of what it means to be human, to be a person. Is it a matter of simple biology? Or is there more involved? The movie ultimately suggests there’s more. “If we have souls,” we hear the main character, Jack, say, “they’re made out of the love we share, undimmed by time, unbound by death.”

You can find this movie on Amazon Prime, Vudu, and iTunes, and YouTube.

PlaySheet for Oblivion

This month’s movie group was facilitated by Rev. Kelly Barber.