Oscar season is upon us, and we finally have a strong contender. With Oscar season just really getting started it is nice to see a fresh face come out of the gates running this year. Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles is definetly the highlight of the film Ray and the one that will get all the attention.

The film Ray chronicles the early years of Ray Charles career as one of the best blues and jazz musicians of our time. His music has definetly touched the lives of millions of people over the last fifty years. In Jamie Foxx's first serious role you see him portray an excellent Ray Charles. This biopic specifically focuses on his first fifteen years of music from 1950-1965. The main events that this covers include graphic details of his well known heroine addiction and growth to super-stardom

There are several amazing aspects to this film that will definetly keep you in your seats and maybe even tapping your toes. Foxx has the role down to perfection and does an amazing job playing a junkie. He has every drug induced twitch down and knows the music well. Although they used original recordings in the film, you couldn't really tell that Foxx was not singing the songs. Before I keep praising Foxx I will mention that all of his early songs were amazingly drawn together in the film and really added depth to what was going on in his life at the time.

The overall story was well put together, but it seemed to be lacking somethings...like a shorter film. Although the music kept you entertained there were several times during the film that you could tell it was dragging on. If you were to cut parts of the film out though, it would not be as cohesive as a story...so I am rather conflicted in this area.

Not only does this film include his music and drug habits, but also his love for women. Ray is definetly a lover and gets the girl's attention because of his music and he is able to use that to his advantage. I will not say anything else to spoil the storyline here, although if you know anything about his early years you know that he was not the most faithful of men.

Warning: If you are sensitive to drug induced fits or psychological flashbacks then you might want to skip this one.

Oscar Worthy: This is definetly a chance for Foxx to shine when it comes to Oscar time. Although, I feel that he will be the only part of the film that does shine. Unless Regina King, who plays his mistress Margie, gets nominated for Best Supporting Actress. She also did a great job with the role that she played and being able to bring depth to the music that she was involved in making with Ray Charles.

Music: If you love his music then this is something right up your alley, just be prepared to sit for just over two and a half hours.

Ray Charles died on June 10, 2004 of liver failure, after filming had ended.