Ray Charles - Live In Brazil (DVD)

Ray Charles on my mind

Advantages: Superb performance by Jamie Foxx
Disadvantages: Long and dull at times

and his music, and that is a good thing. However, much of the film was dull and monotonous and I really struggled at times not to turn it off. I am so glad that I didn't see it in the cinema - at two and a half hours it really is way too long and although I can imagine that the director wanted to do justice by Ray's life, he did so to the detriment of audience pleasure. I recommend this film if you are interested in Ray Charles and his music, or simply want to appreciate Jamie Foxx's fine acting; otherwise, I think you may find the film too tedious unless split up into manageable chunks. Just about recommended. The DVD is available from play.com for £5.99, but I picked mine up in Asda for just £2. Classification: 15 Running time: 152 minutes (or a whopping 178 minutes for the extended version) ...

sunmeilan 21.05.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Ray (DVD)

Ray DVD - It's a shame about Ray

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 · Read full review
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Review of Ray (DVD)

Living In Oblivion review

Advantages: Well acted, keeps you engaged throughout
Disadvantages: None

Living In Oblivion is a low budget independent film written and directed by Tom DiCillo and starring Steve Buscemi and Dermot Mulroney. Sure, these aren't A-list stars, but that lends itself to the story. If it was a film about the making of a film and you had George Clooney and Brad Pitt pretending to be small time actors you wouldn't believe it. That's why it was better to use less well known actors, it pulls you more into the story. The film takes place during one day on set of a low budget movie, and documents all the problems that the director, Nick (Buscemi), and everyone else can encounter, from equipment malfunctioning to office politics to actors forgetting their lines. It's almost like a documentary, it is very realistic and gives you the complete story as to what it's like trying to get a film made. There are a few ...

Walter_Kovacs 30.01.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Living in Oblivion DVD