Advantages: Well acted, great music Disadvantages: Too long
"If you want to do something to make your mama proud, promise me. Promise me you won't let nobody turn you into no cripple, you won't become no charity case, and you'll stand on your own two feet."
Confession: Before watching "Ray", my total knowledge of the life of Ray Charles amounted to sub-"back off a fag packet" levels. He was a blind, American performer who apparently had Georgia on his mind.
As a lover of a wide variety of music, this was a situation I set about resolving by renting "Ray", a biopic directed by Taylor Hackford and released in 2005.
And do I know much about him after the movie? Well, to be honest, given the length of the film, I feel like I've lived my life with him. It is, it must be said, a painfully long film. That said, it does give you a real insight into his life, his career, his pain and suffering ...
stevek181 24.11.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Ray (DVD)
Advantages: Superb performance by Jamie Foxx Disadvantages: Long and dull at times
Born Ray Charles Robinson in 1930 in a poor part of Georgia, the singer and pianist we know simply as Ray Charles did not have the easiest of starts in life. Cared for by his single mother, he witnessed the drowning of his brother at a young age, and by seven, was blind in both eyes. Despite this, his mother entreated him to keep working and to never let his disability get the better of him. His drive and enthusiasm for life was soon to pay dividends in the form of a successful music career, with hits in the charts and a lucrative record contract. Yet his life was not all roses - addicted to heroin, Ray was nearly imprisoned more than once and had extra-marital affairs. Would heroin be the end of his family life? And how would it affect his musical career?
I am not a big fan of biopics; the problem with the story of someone's life ...
sunmeilan 21.05.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Ray (DVD)
Advantages: An interesting read Disadvantages: A little bit gory in places
The Bone Vault written by Linda Fairstein is the latest book that I have just read. I have not read any of this Author's previous works although I was aware that the predecessor to this novel, the Deadhouse, was an International best seller.
This book fits neatly into the category of crime fiction but the authenticity of how Met Assistant DA Alexandra Cooper handles the crimes in this gripping story is what sets this book apart from many books on a similar theme that I have read. This may have something to do with the fact that the Author of this work, Linda Fairstein is America's foremost prosecutor of crimes, specialising in the area of sexual assault and domestic violence. Linda Fairstein has run the Sex Crimes Unit of the District Attorney's Office in Manhattan for more than 20 years, and it is without a doubt that in this book ...
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