More Movie Reviews

The title introduces well enough. So here goes:

• Ray. This movie was phenomenal, and if I watch Million Dollar Baby and am not utterly blown away, I'm going to call foul on its not winning Best Picture. Jamie Foxx steps out of the way and lets Ray's story carry the movie, and for that alone he deserves Best Actor (this is no slam against Jamie Foxx; I don't think many actors could have let Ray come through the way he did). The music, of course, was wonderful, and the sex and drugs were present in the story without dominating the screen. Neither making Ray an idealized racial justice crusader nor an utter jerk, the movie brings across a humanity that only adds to a great musician. It was so good, I can even forgive the sometimes heavy-handed psychoanalytic stuff that creeps into some scenes (I'll let you readers either watch and see or figure it out).
• Closer. Y'know how I liked Ray so much because the sex wasn't all over the screen? Yeah, that's why I didn't much like this one. This movie, from early in the game, dares the viewer to object to the mostly pointless, completely un-erotic sex that is typed into computers, discussed as one might discuss baseball or politics (except with more dirty words), and splayed all over the movie screen for two hours. Alright, I'll take your dare. Most on-screen sex does nothing to enhance a movie's story, and this movie was different only in that it had no story to accompany the on-screen sex. All four major actors are talented folks, but they were straitjacketed by the writers' obsessions with discussing, alluding to, and performing sex. Yeah, I took the dare. Now what?

So there's my movie reviews for today. Mary and I just got Citizen Kane and Sideways in the mail from Blockbuster; if we have a chance to watch them between getting ready for Mom's visit and closing on the house, I might just comment here later.