RAY WINSTONE IN ANOTHER STARK, POWERFUL DRAMA

Advantages: The supreb cast - especially Ray Winstone and kathy Burke
Disadvantages: None

...Nil By Mouth (1997) immediately impresses just upon reading the cast list: the ever-excellent Ray Winstone in one of his finest, most intensifying roles, the wonderful Kathy Burke who yet again proves what a dynamic and versatile actor she is, Edna Dore, Laila Morse (now better known for her role as "old" Mo Slater in the BBC soap EastEnders), Charlie Creed-miles, Jamie Foreman, Chrissie Cotterill, Jon Morrison and Steve Sweeney. Fantastic, flawless cast - and in Ray Winstone and Kathy Burke's case, some of the finest British actors around. And, not forgetting of course, the stunning though brutally stark, compelling and startlingly powerful written screenplay by the critically-acclaimed Gary Oldman. The story depicts the grim tale of a dysfunctional family living in the South East of London, exploring how some of the characters...

IanPhillips 19.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Nil By Mouth (DVD)

RAY WINSTONE IS STILL THE "F***** Daddy"!

Advantages: The dynamic cast including Ray Winstone and Phil Daniels
Disadvantages: If you hate violence of any sort avoid this film!

...a superbly made drama, and think you were watching a documentary as it has that in-your-face, astoundingly stark effect! You really will not be able to take your eyes off this stuff - if you enjoy being kept on the edge of your seat and being continually shocked then "Scum" is definitely the film for you! The brutally stark realism in Ray Mintons written screenplay is richly complimented by razor-sharp direction from the innovative, award-winning Alan Clarke (one of his few feature films as he mostly worked in television). The ever-excellent Ray Winstone excells in the lead role as tough-boy Carlin. The role seems as though it was tailor made for him! Watching Ray Winstone stride confidently with that air of authority through the grim corridors of the borstal - with that famous "Don't f*** with me" look on his face that Ray is renowned...

IanPhillips 24.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Scum (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 review
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Review of Ray (DVD)

Ray Charles on my mind

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 · Read review
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Review of Ray (DVD)

FREE DVDs

Advantages: Free trial, large choice, post included,new realeases
Disadvantages: see review

...I like movies and I like freebies, so when you get offered both in one swoop you?re bound to accept! I used my two week free trial with this company and remained with them for a couple of monthsbefore moving on to try many other companies free trials (and winning a new DVD player on Tesco DVD rental site on their free trial offer). I then had an email from DVDs 365 asking me to go back, and offering me a free DVD if I did so. I had just left Tesco (with my new DVD player) so I chose to go back with them. ∆◊◊ THE SERVICE THEY OFFER ∆◊◊ Basically it?s like going to a video shop and hiring films on DVD, except you don?t pay for each film you chose ? rather a monthly fee for which you can watch as many movies as you can fit in, for us this is usually around 8 a month (2 a week usually weekends...

dabmim 15.11.2004 · Read review
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Review of dvds365.com

Ray is on my mind

Advantages: Brilliant music
Disadvantages: None

...Fisher Julien Kramer ----> Jamie Foxx (voice) Sharon Warren ----> Aretha Robinson C.J. Sanders ----> Young Ray Robinson Curtis Armstrong ----> Ahmet Ertegun Richard Schiff ----> Jerry Wexler Larenz Tate ----> Quincy Jones Technical Details --------------------- Certificate: 15 Length: 146 mins No. of DVDs: 2. Widescreen Packaging ------------- Comes in a standard DVD case, with a picture of a Ray on the cover. Bonus Material ------------------ You get the usual scene selection which consists of 28 different scenes. The language selection and subtitles are only in English. There is an extended versions of the film which includes several scenes omitted from the theatrical version. I did find that this caused the film not to run as smoothly as the edit version. You also...

christianfilmcritic 26.01.2006 (28.01.2006) · Read review
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Review of Ray (DVD)

Surprising Picture Quality - Panasonic DVD-S54

Advantages: Incredible picture quality when compared to my old non-upscaling player with a scart lead
Disadvantages: Sometimes disc drive can be really noisy when DVD's initially load.

...At first I wasn't convinced by up-scaling DVD player technology but was persuaded after reading an article in "What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision" magazine. Unable to afford a Blu-Ray player my sister and I bought the Panasonic DVD-S54 to match our parents brand new Panasonic TX-32LZD80 LCD television as their Christmas 2008 present. Admittedly it was a slightly selfish purchase as we both live at home and wanted to watch DVDs on the big new TV ourselves! We bought the player from the electrical retailer Comet for about £100 just before Christmas so there were no discounts applied. On Christmas day when opened we found a relatively small box tightly packed with the player in polystyrene packaging. All the components such as cables, remote and manuals were well presented in their own protective plastic bags, to keep them protected. The player...

bobbacon985 12.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Panasonic DVD-S54

Madonna's Ray of Change

Advantages: Couple of good tracks
Disadvantages: Too much of a change. Not easy to listen to.

...Madonna Ciccone has been nicknamed the 'Queen of Pop', and is wll known for groundbreaking music releasing themes of music and religion onto the stage with controversy attached. Following the release of her 1994 album 'Bedtime Stories', Madonna took a break from recording music and concentrated on the film production of the musical 'Evita', in which she takes the lead. Following the birth of her first child Lourdes, Madonna wrote the bulk of the tracks on 'Ray of Light', her 1998 album. Its release heralded another 'new' Madonna. As a solo performer, she is constantly reinventing herself for fear of repeating herself within her music. This is evident in this album with the 'modern' sounds created by the majority of the tracks. There are 13 tracks in all, including the hit tracks 'Ray of Light', 'Frozen' and 'Nothing Really Matters...

pmcds 13.03.2008 · Read review
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Review of Ray Of Light - Madonna

JUST RAY

Advantages: A little knowledge about musical history.
Disadvantages: Overacted to some extent.

...I have mixed feelings about this film, because although I have known and loved the music of Ray Charles for most of my life, I was unsure as to how he could accurately be portrayed by an actor. This film is about the story of a man who has left a mark in the music industry that is hard to follow, with his wonderfully original voice and style, though until watching the movie, I had no idea about the sadness that haunted Ray for most of his life. It is strange how childhood events can shape a human being's future, and the events that shaped the life of Ray Charles are sad ones, though from the film, it seemed that many were exaggerated by the mis-use of drugs. This strange character made his way into a feirce career competing against sighted people, whilst having become blind in his youth. In an effort to make her son independent...

thingywhatsit 30.09.2005 · Read review
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Review of Ray DVD

Ray of Light

Advantages: Pedestrian direction, plodding pacing
Disadvantages: Strong performances

...Ray Charles was true pioneer of twentieth century music. Born in poverty, he overcame personal tragedy, physical disability, racial and musical prejudice to become a music icon. He was the first musician to successfully combine rhythm and blues and gospel, the first to own his own masters and the first to cross over from R and B to the popular music charts. But he was also a flawed human being whose temptations included drugs and women. Director Taylor Hackford (with the emphasis on ?hack?) is best known for directing big name stars in mediocre films. His output includes ?Proof of Life? with Russell Crowe and Al Pacino in ?Devil?s Advocate?. In fact he?s probably more famous for being Helen Mirren?s other half. It seems strange then that he is in the running for several Oscars for this uninspired take on the life of a legend. There...

afy9mab 31.01.2005 · Read review
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Review of Ray DVD