“SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND”…pretty famous saying, huh? It really does have one of the greatest truths at the core of its meaning. I am always amazed (in both a positive and negative fashion) at people I encounter and the relative curiosity they do (or do not) possess. Many of my friends and acquaintances discuss a movie, book, song, album or current event topic with me and I usually end up veering into a side topic. Here is an example:

Friend: I just saw the best movie!
Dan: What was it?
Friend: Gladiator
Dan: That is a great movie.
Friend: Russell Crowe was awesome!
Dan: He was great in Gladiator…you should check out his work in LA Confidential and The Insider
Friend: Yeah…maybe…

In these situations, there’re usually two types of people-

The Seeker – Whether they take a recommendation from a friend, a magazine or simply watch another movie with a favorite actor (or read another book by a favorite author, etc.)…they seek out things that might be interesting based on previous experiences

The Disconnected – This type of person baffles me. They’ll buy a CD or see a movie and say how much they love it…then they will leave it at that. They won’t explore the author of a great book, or artist(s) on a CD or actors in a film.

I am going to ask each of you to challenge yourself in the next few weeks:

1 – Pick a movie/CD/book that you liked;
2 – Figure out why you liked it (the story/the author/the artist/the musicians/actors/director/etc.);
3 – Branch out from there…get another book by the author you liked…find another film that the same director ran.

I promise that this will keep you searching for more interesting things and keep away any monotony that might intrude on your daily existence…on to the movies-

39. GLADIATOR – It seemed that this particular genre had faded into obscurity…until Ridley Scott, Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix and co. brought it back to life. This Roman epic has everything. Military battles, treason, lies, Gladiator battles, wild animals and a killer soundtrack. This movie made Russell Crowe into a bonafide star and helped to make action films great again. The soundtrack, from Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard (formerly of Dead Can Dance), has a brilliant mixture of chilling chants and powerful anthems…get some popcorn and enjoy it!

40. THE HURRICANE – I have a lot to say about this movie. My first experience with the story of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter came from the famous Bob Dylan song (“Hurricane”) from his mid1970′s album Desire. While I have loved this song for years (and consistently stated that this is my favorite Dylan album), I never really appreciated the craft of the song until I heard that a movie about Carter would be made. At this point I decided to go out and buy a new biography of Carter so I could learn the whole story (or at least as it was being told), and found that this is one of the more interesting sports/crime sagas. The Hurricane was out one evening when gunfire and murder took place in a New Jersey Bar. The only witnesses were sketchy/criminal and/or changed their story throughout various points of the investigation. In the end, Carter was convicted and sent to prison. Carter remained in prison and even wrote a book (which is now a collectors item…if you can get an original copy) that detailed his whole story and case. Celebrity support (i.e. Bob Dylan) helped to bolster some interest in Carter’s case…but to no avail…he remained in prison. Finally, after years and years of imprisonment…Carter’s conviction was thrown out and he was set free. Keep in mind that I have left out A LOT OF DETAILS….so you will still see the film. The Hurricane is also a fairly controversial figure because many people believe that he was/is guilty of the crime that he was sentenced for. Regardless, it is worth your time to see the movie and/or read the book and make up your own mind.

Stay tuned for a full play-by-play on Pulp Fiction and Lost In Translation in next week’s column!

Have a great week!

Last 5 posts by

• Dan's Favorite Films -- Oscar Weekend Finale! - February 26th, 2005
• Dan's Favorite Films -- Oscar Weekend Special! - February 25th, 2005
• Dan's Favorite Films: #47-50 - December 2nd, 2004
• Dan's Favorite Films: Vacation & Christmas Vacation - November 25th, 2004
• Dan's Favorite Films: The Jerk & European Vacation - November 18th, 2004