Reviews

First I was caught totally off guard by the film's initial lyricism and then I became totally enchanted with the unfolding story and engrossed with the brilliant directing. The characters were all fully developed, not bigger-than-life but just like the people we live among anywhere we are in the world, in Sweden, in Turkey or in America, all completely believable human beings with foibles and nobility. Hollywood could learn so much from this beautiful film. It shows that there is no need to go into every little detail behind every action to bring out the whole theme clear and bright, and that shows the brilliance of the director! Hearfelt thanks to Kay Pollak and the wonderful cast for this superb treat!!

There are disappointments, and then there are mega disappointments, and this movie rates close to being a mega disappointment. Some effects were very cool, but hey, where's the plot? Is it taking kids to Mommy? I tried desperately to look for some similarities to the creation of H. G. Wells and I came up with a strained brain. And by the way, if all the other cars had their juice drained out of them by the tripods, what about Tom Cruise's wagon? Cruise, it seems, has become an aimless 'cruise missile' - pardon the pun an'all. Went to see it on the strength of Spielberg's reputation and came out regretting the time spent. I hate to give a bad review, but there's no escaping this one. Sorry, Spielberg, but this effort is not even close to being your best.

Ray was one of those films that are not only memorable but must be seen again and again for the inspiration one gets from the person of Ray. We all succumb to various temptations, and Ray was no exception, but he blazed his way to glory - and our wholehearted respect - by taking control of his life. I know of few actors more deserving the Oscar than Jamie Foxx for his brilliant portrayal of Ray - this was one of those Academy Awards where justice was done in my humble opinion. There was just enough balance between the wonderful musical fare served up by Ray Charles and the embellishing events to make a believable whole. Congrats to all who took part in making the movie.

This is one of those films where you curse the hero for being a no-goodnick in personal life while being a great musician, only to find out --much later -- that he never even existed. Very good. Considering that Sean Penn did not have a real person to model his acting upon, he did his customary super job - acting out a recent fictional character and making him believable is no mean accomplishment. I have never been a great fan of Woody Allen (he grates on me) but in this film Woody was bearable by his minimal participation. Also, both of the women characters were superbly portrayed. One gets to wonder why such good films don't achieve high ticket sales. Perhaps today's audiences just want to be titillated rather than entertained.