Movie Review: Ray
Went to see the movie Ray last night, and I highly recommend everyone reading this go out and see it if you haven't already.
First, we'll start with the issues I had with it. There are two. They are both casting decisions. And it's not that the actors aren't masters of their craft, but rather that they are so entrenched as another character in my mind that I had a tough time putting them into this movie into these characters. Interestingly enough, they were the two producers that followed Ray through his time at Atlantic Records.
One was played by Curtis Armstrong. AKA Booger in the Revenge of the Nerd movies. He also played a very Booger-like Character in two John Cusack hits of the 80's (and I could swear he was called Booger in at least one of those, too, but the IMDB disagrees). You cannot go from being a nerd named Booger to a Turkish record producer. Sorry, not a leap of faith my mind can take.
The other was played by Richard Schiff. AKA Toby Ziegler on West Wing. It's not that I have a tough time jumpig from head of White House communications staff to record producer. It's that they might as well have named the character Toby Ziegler, because it was the exact same character, but without a beard.
Now to the good stuff:
The acting was amazing. Jamie Foxx deserves an Academy Award nomination, at the very least, for his performance as an adult Ray Charles. He sang many of the songs, and until the closing credits it was difficult to tell sometimes if he was singing or if they were playing a recording of Ray Charles. I almost discounted this movie because he was starring in it, and now I can't wait to see what he comes out with next.
Also, the kid who played Ray Charles at age 7 deserves big praises as well. He had to show amazing breadth of character while going blind. Difficult enough for an adult, but to do it as a young child was absoultely amazing.
I never realized what an incredible man Ray Charles was. His business acumen and opportunism drastically helped shape the world of music we listen to today. However, you also see the downside of life that opportunism can bring upon you. I cannot even begin to imagine going through what he went through and surviving, much less becoming a world-celebrated musician who helped break down a lot of cultural barriers in our country.
Seattle has really been an important city in a lot of musical developments in this country. Everyone knows about grunge, but I don't think people realize that Ray Charles and Quincy Jones got their start here. I vaguely remember seeing something at EMP about it, but then promptly forgot about it.
So go see the movie. And unless you have a kick-ass sound system at home, make sure you do it while it's still in theaters. You won't regret it.
First, we'll start with the issues I had with it. There are two. They are both casting decisions. And it's not that the actors aren't masters of their craft, but rather that they are so entrenched as another character in my mind that I had a tough time putting them into this movie into these characters. Interestingly enough, they were the two producers that followed Ray through his time at Atlantic Records.
One was played by Curtis Armstrong. AKA Booger in the Revenge of the Nerd movies. He also played a very Booger-like Character in two John Cusack hits of the 80's (and I could swear he was called Booger in at least one of those, too, but the IMDB disagrees). You cannot go from being a nerd named Booger to a Turkish record producer. Sorry, not a leap of faith my mind can take.
The other was played by Richard Schiff. AKA Toby Ziegler on West Wing. It's not that I have a tough time jumpig from head of White House communications staff to record producer. It's that they might as well have named the character Toby Ziegler, because it was the exact same character, but without a beard.
Now to the good stuff:
The acting was amazing. Jamie Foxx deserves an Academy Award nomination, at the very least, for his performance as an adult Ray Charles. He sang many of the songs, and until the closing credits it was difficult to tell sometimes if he was singing or if they were playing a recording of Ray Charles. I almost discounted this movie because he was starring in it, and now I can't wait to see what he comes out with next.
Also, the kid who played Ray Charles at age 7 deserves big praises as well. He had to show amazing breadth of character while going blind. Difficult enough for an adult, but to do it as a young child was absoultely amazing.
I never realized what an incredible man Ray Charles was. His business acumen and opportunism drastically helped shape the world of music we listen to today. However, you also see the downside of life that opportunism can bring upon you. I cannot even begin to imagine going through what he went through and surviving, much less becoming a world-celebrated musician who helped break down a lot of cultural barriers in our country.
Seattle has really been an important city in a lot of musical developments in this country. Everyone knows about grunge, but I don't think people realize that Ray Charles and Quincy Jones got their start here. I vaguely remember seeing something at EMP about it, but then promptly forgot about it.
So go see the movie. And unless you have a kick-ass sound system at home, make sure you do it while it's still in theaters. You won't regret it.
posted by Swankette at 9:38 PM
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