Mr. Charles, meet Mr. Foxx. Mr. Foxx, meet Mr. Oscar

Rating: 8/10 (26 October 2004)

"Ray," the long-awaited filmed biography of Ray Charles, is nothing short of a starmaking performance by Jamie Foxx, who joins the pantheon of Robert De Niro ("Raging Bull") and Charlize Theron ("Monster") with his total transformation into the late singer. Much is required of Foxx to play such an iconic real-life character, especially so soon after Charles' passing, but he pulls it off with aplomb. The rest of the film, directed with intricate detail by Taylor Hackford, also is top notch - in fact, Hackford's work is almost too good, leading to the movie's one major flaw - even at nearly three hours long, "Ray" still seems too short, and not because its main action ends in 1979. Its ending seems abrupt, as if the producers ran out of money or steam. Still, this is a highly recommended entertainment and a slam-dunk ticket for Foxx to attend the festivities on Oscar night.