46/50x2: Ray

Ray Charles was obviously a talented musician, but there aren't too many of his songs that really jumped out at me. I am sure I like a few of them, but I was never a huge fan of his music.

But, the same can pretty much be said of Johnny Cash before I watched Walk the Line and I definitely came away from that movie enjoying more of Cash's music.

So, Ray is a biopic about the life of Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx). We learn through flashbacks in the film that Ray wasn't born blind, and that he had a brother. While playing one afternoon in a very poor neighborhood, Ray's brother slipped and fell into his mother's laundry bucket and, while Ray watched, he couldn't get out and ended up drowning.

Not long after Ray developed some sort of eye disease which slowly ate away his sight. Soon, he was completely blind and his mother stayed away from helping him as he started to develop a reliance on his other senses - which would help him later in life.

Before his brother's death, Ray snuck into a local store where a man was playing the piano in the back - the man notices Ray watching him and soon begins to show him how to play the piano - which would obviously become a trademark for him.

The rest of the film shows his rise - fall - and eventual rise again to one of the best musicians in the world of music, especially incorporating gospel into his music.

The story was definitely interesting. As I had not really been a huge fan of Charles' music, I was not really aware of his life story.

The few things I did know about Charles before watching this film: his performance of American the Beautiful, him being in The Blues Brothers, and his Diet Pepsi commercials (You Got the Right One, Baby!).

Well, Charles fell in love with a young women named Della Bea (Kerry Washington), with whom he married and he had a couple of kids with. But, he also had a bit of a side relationship with Margie Hendricks (Regina King), who he also had a child with.

Wanting to be one of the guys, and not just he blind piano player, Ray also joined a couple of his band mates before he set out on his own and started using drugs. Something that he continued to do for years, and something that his wife found out about. He, of course, felt he wasn't addicted - but eventually he went down hill fast and went to rehab, which was the start of his resurgence.

One thing is for sure, this movie had a ton of talented actors playing some great parts. The one that obviously sticks out the most is Foxx's portrayal of Charles. He really committed to the role and pretty much became Ray Charles through the entire film.

Washington was very good as his wife and King also stood out as his mistress. I always enjoy seeing David Krumholtz in films, and he does another bang up job here. Two others that I thought were excellent were Curtis Armstrong and Richard Schiff - who played record producers that first began to produce Charles on his own and may be the ones responsible for him finding his sound.

A great biopic that really helped me learn more about Charles' life and struggles - and how he became such a talented musician. Not gonna run out and grab his music still, though. I enjoyed the film, but it didn't grab me as much as Walk the Line, if I were going to compare it to something.

Grade:

Tuesday's With Movies: 9/11/12

Snow White and the Huntsman: I don't hate Kristen Stewart as much as everyone else - yes I do hate on Twilight, but that is the whole thing not just her performance. When we were to receive the double-dose of Snow White films this year (Mirror Mirror also) this is the one that I wanted to see, it just looked more fun.

What to Expect When You're Expecting: Probably another horrible chick flick with a happy ending, but I will most likely check it out with Mrs. Kano in the near future.

Girl in Progress: I heard about this one awhile back and put it in my Netflix queue, then I really didn't hear anything else about it upon its release and now its release on DVD. Looked decent enough to me to at least check out.

HOT: Toy Story 2

It's really tough to understand the full quality of this film without knowing how it actually came together. Luckily you can check that out in the documentary, A Pixar Story.

Toy Story 2 was rushed into production and then totally reshaped not long before it was set to be released. Thanks to John Lasseter the film came out much better than originally planned.

As the first film was focused more on Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), this one goes a little deeper into Woody's (Tom Hanks) background. As Andy (John Morris) gets ready for cowboy camp, Woody is excited that he gets to spend time alone with his best friend. But, right before he's about to leave Andy plays one last time and ends up tearing Woody's arm - and decides to leave him behind.

Woody sits on a shelf and finds Wheezy (Joe Ranft), who was put on the shelf when he lost his squeaker with hopes of getting one replaced. Andy's mother comes and picks through Andy's room for stuff to get rid of in a yard sale. As Wheezy is selected, Woody goes on a rescue mission to save him from the yard sale. While on the mission, he gets discovered by Al (Wayne Knight) who owns Al's Toy Barn - and eventually gets stolen by him.

Woody is taken to Al's apartment and learns that he was once a a children's television show with his own Roundup Gang - that featured Jessie (Joan Cusack), Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammer) and his horse Bullseye.

Al has already agreed to ship the entire collection to a toy museum in Tokyo as soon as he finds the Woody doll to go with it.

Buzz, meanwhile, puts together his own rescue mission with Rex (Wallace Shawn), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Slinky Dog (Jim Varney) and Hamm (John Ratzenberger) to get Woody back from Al and return him to Andy.

Toy Story 2 is another great film from Pixar, but it's probably the weakest of the Toy Story films - but it's still one hell of a flick.

The introduction of Jessie was great, and her backstory was heartbreaking. And the silent partner Bullseye was also a great addition. Stinky Pete turned out to be a pretty decent villain as well - sort of semi-partnered with Al.

Grade:

HOT: The Green Mile

The posting of this review comes at an unfortunate time. I am (again) still catching up on reviews of movies I have watched awhile ago. This comes just days after the death of its star Michael Clarke Duncan of a heart problem. I always enjoyed Duncan in many of his roles - this one probably being his best - and always wondered why he wasn't in more mainstream films.

Anyway, back to the movie. You will be missed Mr. Duncan.

I believe in my life I have only watched two films that were adapted from Stephen King's writing - The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile (but, I will be watching Stand By Me soon).

Here, Tom Hanks stars as Paul Edgecomb, a death row prison guard during the Great Depression. Edgecomb works with Brutus Howell (David Morse), Dean Stanton (Barry Pepper), Harry Terwilliger (Jeffrey DeMunn) and newcomer Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison).

Percy is an issue in the prison - but he also just so happens to be related to the warden Hall Moores (James Cromwell), so the rest of the men just have to put up with him.

Edgecomb also happens to be dealing with one of the worst urinary tract infections I have seen - and has difficulty using the rest room, walking sometimes and in the boudoir with his wife Jan (Bonnie Hunt).

One day a prisoner arrives to the 'Mile', which they call it. A prisoner named John Coffey (Duncan) who is convicted of killing a pair of young girls. He joins two men already on death row, Eduard Delacroix (Michael Jeter) and Arlen Bitterbuck (Graham Greene).

After the death of Bitterbuck, the Mile gets another member 'Wild Bill' Wharton (Sam Rockwell). Wharton is one of the worst criminals - and really stirs things up on the Mile.

The guards begin to realize that Coffey may be a bit different than other prisoners - and not just because he stands almost a foot taller than the rest. Edgecomb even begins to develop a relationship with Coffey and begins to think he didn't commit the crimes he is being charged with.

After Eduard's circus mouse is killed by Percy, Coffey shows his first miracle - bringing the mouse back to life. Standing amazed, the guards truly believe Coffey is something special - and begin to feel horrible that they will have to put him to death.

The film is marvelous to look at. You get the feeling by how the film looks just how it felt to be working on the Mile. Constantly sweating - much like in A Time to Kill - it was used very well.

The acting is top-notch. Hanks and Duncan are the standouts, but Cromwell, Morse and Pepper also give memorable performances. Hutchison, who is seriously despised in this role, does a great job to make us hate him. Finally, Jeter and Rockwell were just amazing in their roles as criminals. Rockwell really went over the edge as 'Wild Bill'.

This is one of those films that is great, but hard to watch except every so often. It's long and you begin to feel for these characters, especially Coffey, that it's hard to take on repeat viewings.

Grade:

Tuesday's With Movies: 9/4/12

Safe: Every so often you just like to watch a film where people kick ass - and Jason Statham apparently is the new ass kicker of this decade. I kept thinking the Rock would take over what Schwarzenegger and Stallone did so well in the '80s, but Statham seems to have taken the torch - so much so that he is even Stallone's right-hand man in The Expendables.

Piranha 3DD: The horror film of the week - apparently this bombed pretty hard. Not that it matters to me I wouldn't be watching it anyway. But, I just found out it was directed by John Gulager, who won in the show Project Greenlight, so I guess it is still sort of cool that he is still working.

The Five-Year Engagement: Jason Segel has been on a pretty decent role of late, plus Emily Blunt seems to be a pretty talented actress as well. Plus, this looks like it might be pretty funny - so yes I will be checking it out.

Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day: I have no idea what this movie is or what it is about. Doesn't look like anything that would interest me though. So, skipped.