Who is Jamie Foxx

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 1 person | Log in to rate

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Jamie Foxx

Jamie Foxx is an American actor, singer, and stand-up comic. His performance in Ray, the movie about Ray Charles was absolutely stellar! It earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2004. Jamie Fox is not only a great actor, but he can also extremely funny as a stand-up comedian!

Jamie Foxx at a Glance 

Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), professionally known as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, stand-up comedian, and singer. For his work in the film Ray, Foxx won the Academy Award and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award for Best Actor. He has also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a musical/comedy and has been nominated for several Grammy Awards.

Jamie Foxx Stand-Up Comedy 

The Foxx Boxx Collection offers not only some topnotch stand-up comedy, but also the rare opportunity to see a rising star at three very different points in his career.

In Straight from the Foxxhole (from 1993), Jamie Foxx is still raw, still refining his comedy, but also hungry for success and throwing himself into his act with full abandon. His physical and vocal talents are in full display with his breakout character Wanda from the sketch comedy show In Living Color, his impersonations of different famous men telling a woman to leave after sex (including James Brown, Prince, and Bill Cosby), and a routine about a paraplegic getting into fights and being knocked out of his wheelchair (you may have guessed by now that Foxx doesn't shy away from controversial subjects).

Tweaking black celebrities is a favorite theme; in Unleashed, he imagines a Biggie-Tupac-style feud between Morgan Freeman and Cosby, skewers OJ Simpson and Mike Tyson, and depicts Bill Clinton as "the closest thing to a black president we're going to get." Unleashed was shot in 1997, when Foxx's movie career was just budding; Foxx is a comic juggernaut at this point with the audience eating out of his hand.

By the time I Might Need Security was shot in 2002, his movie career had taken off. Foxx clearly still enjoys doing stand-up, but it doesn't consume him the way it did in the previous concerts. Make no mistake, there's still plenty of humor, fueled all the more by Foxx's fresh stardom. He gets a lot of mileage from a squabble with LL Cool J on the set of Any Given Sunday and finding himself uncomfortably attracted to Prince. (Warning: Many of Foxx's routines are extremely sexually explicit, which may jolt viewers who only know him as an actor.) -- Bret Fetzer

Jamie Foxx - The Foxx Boxx Collection (Unleashed/I Might Need Security/Straight from the Foxxhole)

This hilarious box set includes 3 laugh-packed DVDs: Jamie Foxx: Unleashed (Over 50,000 units sold), Jamie Foxx: I Might Need Security (Over 150,000 units sold), and the Never-Before-Released DVD, Jamie Foxx: Straight from the Foxxhole (Jamie Foxx#s HBO Special). A must-have collector#s item for all Jamie Foxx fans! Jamie Foxx Unleashed: Jamie Foxx goes back to his Texas roots where he's more outrageous than ever in this no-holds-barred performance! Jamie tells it like it is on everything, from rap's angry lyrics to dating and sex. The master of physical humor combined with 100 percent real honesty and dead-on impersonations, Foxx is pure electricity onstage, driving the jam-packed audience over the edge with laughter! Jamie Foxx: I Might Need Security: You know him as a hilarious television star and when you watch his sold-out performance at the Paramount Theater in Oakland, California, you'll know him as one of the world's funniest comedians. Originally produced for HBO Television, this comedy special leaves no doubt that Jamie Foxx is at the top of his game! Jamie Foxx: Straight from the Foxxhole: The one-and-only Jamie Foxx does it all in his first comedy special-a must have for every Foxx fan. Aired on HBO as his popularity began to soar on TV#s In Living Color, Foxx is hilarious as that show's "ugliest woman"- the sex starved Wanda - and delivers a slew of sidesplitting impersonations, including Michael Jackson, Prince, Mike Tyson and Bill Cosby. In his irresistible, high-energy style, Foxx delivers a no-holds-barred performance, riffing on everything from his AIDS-fearing grandmother to the Rodney King beating. The multi-talented Foxx winds it all up with a smooth medley of songs from his hit album Peep This.

Release Date: 12/14/2004

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Jamie Foxx - I Might Need Security

You know him as an hilarious television star from "Roc," "In Living Color," and "The Jamie Foxx Show." You know him as a tremendous movie star from "Booty Call," "The Players Club," "Bait," "Any Given Sunday" and "Ali." And when you watch his sold-out performance at the Paramount Theater in Oakland, California, you'll know him as one of the world's funniest comedians. Originally produced for HBO Television, this comedy special leaves no doubt that Jamie Foxx is at the top of his game!

Release Date: 07/16/2002

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The Jamie Foxx Show - The Complete First Season

Not a great show, but you could see Foxx's potential
The first season would have been terrible, if not for the fact that Jamie Foxx had an obvious talent that was just looking for the right material. The writing is pretty weak, and the supporting cast lacks any kind of cohesiveness, but Foxx rescues the show with his comedy.

For most of the series' run, Jamie Foxx was miles ahead of the rest of the cast, and this first season is an example of that. There are some pretty funny moments, almost all of which come from Foxx. Great timing, good comedic mannerisms, and the willingness to make a fool of himself if it means a better laugh.

Not an essential purchase by any means, but it's fun to look back and see the development of a very funny man. -- Craig (Ohio)

Release Date: 02/08/2005

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Jamie Foxx Unleashed - Lost, Stolen and Leaked!

Jamie Foxx goes back to his Texas roots where he's more outrageous than ever in this no-holds-barred performance! Star of television ("In Living Color," "The Jamie Foxx Show") and film (Booty Call, Any Given Sunday), he's also one of America's hottest young stand-up comedians, telling it like it is on everything, from rap's angry lyrics to dating and sex. The master of physical humor combined with 100 percent real honesty and dead-on impersonations, Foxx is pure electricity onstage, driving the jam-packed audience over the edge with laughter!

Don't Know Too Many Stand Ups That Can Stand Next To This!!!
What can i say about this DVD! Incredible! No matter how many times i see it, same laughs. From start to finish. For many of you who have only seen this on HBO you need to know that alot of this show was cut to fit the time slot. I had recorded it off HBO onto my DVR and i recently seen the DVD and was like "hey this part wasn't on HBO!" Only about 10 minutes deleted. And the etras will have you rolling even more. It is worth buying. You need this DVD in your life!!! -- O. Calizaire Jr. "layinginsideyou@aol.com" (New York)

Release Date: 03/25/2003

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Ray - The Movie about Ray Charles with Jamie Fox 

The life and career of the legendary popular music pianist, Ray Charles.

Ray Charles has the distinction of being both a national treasure and an international phenomenon. By the early 1960's Ray Charles had accomplished his dream. He'd come of age musically. He'd made it to Carnegie Hall. The hit records "Georgia," "Born to Lose" successively kept climbing to the top of the charts. He'd made his first triumphant European concert tour in 1960 (a feat which, except for 1965, he's repeated at least once a year ever since). He had taken virtually every form of popular music and broken through its boundaries with such awe inspiring achievements as the LP's "Genius Plus Soul Equals Jazz" and "Modern Sounds in Country & Western." Rhythm & blues (or "race music" as it had been called) became universally respectable through his efforts. Jazz found a mainstream audience it had never previously enjoyed. And country & western music began to chart an unexpected course to general acceptance, then worldwide popularity. And along the way Ray Charles was instrumental in the invention of rock & roll. Jamie Fox (Any Given Sunday, Ali) is Ray Charles in this high-energy portrait of an exceptional man who has become an American icon. Born in a poor African American town in central Florida, Ray Charles went blind at the age of 7. With the staunch support of his determined single mother, he developed the fierce resolve, wit and incredible talent that would eventually enable him to overcome not only Jim Crow Racism and the cruel prejudices against the blind, but also discover his own sound which revolutionized American popular music. Nonetheless, as Ray's unprecedented fame grew, so did his weakness for drugs and women, until they threatened to strip away the very things he held most dear. This little known story of Ray Charles' meteoric rise from humble beginnings, his successful struggle to excel in a sighted world and his eventual defeat of his own personal demons make for an inspiring and unforgettable true story of human triumph.

Jamie Foxx's uncannily accurate performance isn't the only good thing about Ray. Riding high on a wave of Oscar buzz, Foxx proved himself worthy of all the hype by portraying blind R&B legend Ray Charles in a warts-and-all performance that Charles approved shortly before his death in June 2004.

Despite a few dramatic embellishments of actual incidents (such as the suggestion that the accidental drowning of Charles's younger brother caused all the inner demons that Charles would battle into adulthood), the film does a remarkable job of summarizing Charles's strengths as a musical innovator and his weaknesses as a philandering heroin addict who recorded some of his best songs while flying high as a kite. Foxx seems to be channeling Charles himself, and as he did with the life of Ritchie Valens in La Bamba, director Taylor Hackford gets most of the period details absolutely right as he chronicles Ray's rise from "chitlin circuit" performer in the early '50s to his much-deserved elevation to legendary status as one of the all-time great musicians. Foxx expertly lip-syncs to Ray Charles' classic recordings, but you could swear he's the real deal in a film that honors Ray Charles without sanitizing his once-messy life. -- Jeff Shannon

Ray (Full Screen Edition)

A very good film but an even greater lead performance
This is a very good movie that houses an exceptionally great performance by Jamie Fox as music legend Ray Charles. I must confess that as a genre, the biopic is not my favorite, especially of figures as well known as Ray Charles. We usually receive in such films distorted portraits of them, or undeserved adulation. RAY is one of the more balanced biopics I have seen. Ray Charles is presented as a musical genius who had managed to overcome physical disabilities that would have stopped most others, but it doesn't attempt to mute the serious and unflattering personal moral problems he had with drugs and his exploitative treatment of women. Nor is he revealed as a moral saint or loving person. Though pleasant with others for the most part, Ray is shown as a proud, independent, and slightly self-absorbed, a bit selfish in his treatment of women. As a result, Ray Charles emerges in the film as a believable human being, capable of unfortunate decisions, but also extraordinary music and the occasional powerful moral stand, such as when he refuses to perform in a racially segregated crowd in a venue in Georgia. In fact, the film is built around three foci: his early childhood when he witnessed the death of his younger brother and gradually lost his sight; his musical career from 1948 until the mid-1960s; and his heroin addiction. The film ends with his overcoming his heroin addiction, which also-as numerous music critics have noted--corresponds to the end of the peak of his career as a creative musical performer. Charles continued to make albums after getting off heroin, but all of the great songs that we associate with him were written and recorded while on heroin. For the last forty years of his career, his sets consisted almost entirely of songs he made famous in the fifties and early sixties, with covers of songs by other musicians. There has been a long debate as to whether his addiction somehow aided his musical creativity, but even if so, no one would have wished him to continue to endanger his health and life.

Jamie Fox will without any possible doubt receive an Oscar nomination for this performance. This is considerably more than a good impersonation of Charles: it is almost as if Fox channels him. As much as I loved other biopics of music legends like THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY or WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT, throughout each I was conscious that Gary Busey was playing Buddy Holly and Angela Bassett playing Tina Turner. I completely forgot that Jamie Fox was playing Ray Charles, and despite being quite familiar with him, imagined that I was actually watching Charles onscreen. Yes, he does a killer impersonation of Charles, but he manages that first on top of that provides an amazing dramatic performance. This is great acting, not merely a great impersonation. The only performance of recent years of an actor portraying a prominent entertainer as superb as this is Robert Downey in CHAPLIN.

I also really loved the look of the film. Since it ended in the mid-1960s, the entire film was essentially a period film. There was a sense of visual veracity from beginning to end. I loved the cars, the clothes (especially the ties! - am I alone in thinking that the 1950s was the great decade for neckties?), the interior decors, the furniture. The scenes in the shanty town where Charles was a child were very effective.

The cast aside from Fox was quite strong, made up mainly of relatively unknown performers. There were many other things to enjoy about the film. Of course, the music is absolutely sensational, consisting either of remasters of original Ray Charles's recordings, or new recordings for which Charles provided the vocals. I also loved the relationship in the film between Charles and Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records. There is nothing of the stereotypical relationship between artist and executives that invests so many of the stories of musicians in the 1950s and 1960s. Ertegun is rightfully remembered as one of the truly great figures in the recording industry, someone who was in it more for the music than for the money, and who treated his artists with a degree of respect that was too frequently absent. The film does a good job of presenting Charles's dilemma: ABC-Monument made him an offer that he simply couldn't refuse, yet at the same time we are all aware that Charles was, in a way, screwing Atlantic over by leaving them for ABC-Monument. All in all, I loved this warts and all approach to the subject matter. There is absolutely no question that Ray Charles was one of the most astonishing performers of the fifties and sixties, and doing all he did despite his blindness is an amazing saga. He truly was a genius, even if he was a somewhat flawed person. But you have to love the way that he managed to overcome his personal shortcomings to become not merely one of the most successful but one of the most beloved musical performers of his age. -- Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA)

Release Date: 02/01/2005

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Ray (Limited 2-Disc Special Edition)

Swaying from side to side, his back arched almost to the point of snapping, Jamie Foxx, as Ray Charles, seems pulled upward to the heavens and downward to the keys at the same time. This intelligent and tough-minded bio-pic, written by James L. White and Taylor Hackford and directed by Hackford, tells us a lot about Charles, but it doesn't tell us everything. Though properly awed by Charles's talent, "Ray" refuses to get chummy or possessive. The movie picks up Charles's story in the late forties, when he's an ambitious but wary teen-age musician, and carries him through his musical innovations and his personal pleasures and torments until 1964, when he's a world-famous artist and a miserable heroin addict. There's something both joyous and demonic about this guy, an insatiable energy in his insistence on driving soul and country sounds into the beats of R. & B. For many older people in the audience, the sound of Ray Charles's music is inseparable from memories of dating, dancing, lovemaking, and loss. The movie has the bold good grace to honor the enraptured kids they once were and the sterner but still hungry grownups they became. - David Denby

Release Date: 02/01/2005

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Ray (DVS Blind & Low Vision Enhanced Widescreen Edition)

The Life's story of an imperfect man who did amazing things
I went to see Ray in the theaters last night because my sister suggested it and because I was in a mood to see something "critically acclaimed". For the record, I knew very little about the man and so had very few preconceptions. What I saw made a deep impression in my mind and heart.

Ray Robinson, aka Ray Charles the singer, songwriter and musician, was blind since the age of 7. He had to deal not only with bigotry for his disability but for being black in Georgia before the civil rights movement. Throughout his life many people (both black and white) would try to take advantage of the blind man, ripping him off financially or hoarding his talent for their own gain. Ray had both the blessing and the curse of being a ladies' man, resulting in serial affairs while his wife stayed home and raised their family. It surprised me to learn that he fought an addiction to heroin for well over a decade before finally beating it in the `60s. Nevertheless, Ray carried all this baggage and more through the 40s and 50s as he made a name for himself playing piano in the Country, Jazz, etc. pop music circuits. Eventually of course he rose to become one of the most recognized and beloved musical artists worldwide.

The man that this film showed me was an incredible example of determination, charm and simple human spirit. I have heard others say that Jamie Foxx's acting was so good that they were half-convinced he was channeling Ray Charles' ghost. I'll take their word for it that it was an accurate performance, but regardless, it was also a great performance! Down the line each of the supporting actors was perfectly convincing and real, but none more so than Foxx. I will denounce the Academy if he isn't at least nominated for an Oscar.

The least of Ray's imperfections was his physical blindness --yet he had a powerful gift and the ability to reach into the collective soul of a nation. Over his long career as a musician and songwriter, Ray Charles Robinson created and performed some of the most memorable music to audiences across the country. Your color, age and creed doesn't matter; chances are, you've heard and loved at least one Ray Charles song in your lifetime. We'll never have another like him.
- Ryan "Merribelle" (Westminster, CA USA)

Release Date: 05/20/2005

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Jamie Foxx Music 

Peep This

1. Peep This
2. Experiment
3. Miss You
4. Dog House
5. Infatuation
6. Baby Don't Cry
7. Precious
8. Your Love
9. Summertime
10. If You Love Me
11. Don't Let the Sun Go Down
12. Peep This Out
13. Light a Candle

Release Date: 07/19/1994

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Unpredictable

1. Unpredictable
2. Warm Bed
3. DJ Play A Love Song
4. With You
5. Can I Take You Home
6. Love Changes
7. Extravaganza
8. Three Letter Word
9. Get This Money
10. VIP
11. Do What It Do
12. Storm (Forcass)
13. U Still Got It
14. Heaven
15. Wish U Were Here

Lest you think Jamie Foxx is simply capitalizing on his Oscar-winning turn in Ray, don't forget that Unpredictable is actually a follow-up (albeit 11 years later) to his 1994 debut, Peep This. In fact, Unpredictable even sounds like a slow jams album from the '90s; despite featuring guests like Snoop, Kanye West, and The Game, Foxx isn't trying to out- club Ciara or Amerie with a series of hip-hop-flavored tracks. Instead, he relies on getting his croon on with tried-and-true R&B balladry. Unpredictable actually gets rather predictable over the course of 15 songs, too many of which begin to meld into one another. But on the best songs, like the sublimely acoustic "Heaven" and his duet with Mary J Blige ("Love Changes"), Foxx reminds you that he has been singing just as long as he's been acting; this is no Jamie-Come-Lately. --Oliver Wang

Release Date: 12/20/2005

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Extravaganza

1. Extravaganza
2. Extravaganza (Shux Mix)
3. Extravaganza (Jamie's Live Mix)
4. Don't Know You Anymore

Release Date: 07/03/2006

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Jamie Foxx Videos 

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Jamie Foxx - Brady Bunch

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Jamie Foxx Filmography - Jamie Foxx Movies 

Jamie Foxx Films

1988 Coming To America
1992 Toys
1993 Straight from the Foxxhole
1996 The Truth About Cats & Dogs
1996 The Great White Hype
1997 Booty Call
1998 The Players Club
1999 Held Up
1999 Any Given Sunday
2000 All Jokes Aside
2000 Bait
2001 Ali
2002 I Might Need Security
2003 Shade
2004 Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story
2004 Breakin' All the Rules
2004 Collateral
2004 Ray
2005 Stealth
2005 Jarhead
2006 Miami Vice
2006 Dreamgirls
2007 The Kingdom
2007 Damage Control
2007 The Ski Mask Way
2008 The Soloist

Dreamgirls - Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Beyoncé Knowles 

The spirit of Motown runs through the long-awaited film adaption of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, which centers around a young female singing trio who burst upon the music scene in the '60s, complete with bouffant hairdos, glitzy gowns, and a soul sound new to the white-bread American music charts. Sound familiar?

You aren't the first one to draw comparisons to the meteoric rise of the Supremes, and despite any protests to the contrary, this is most definitely a thinly veiled reinterpretation of that success story. The Dreamettes--statuesque Deena (Beyonce Knowles), daffy Lorell (Anika Noni Rose) and brassy Effie (Jennifer Hudson)--are a girl group making the talent-show rounds when they're discovered by car salesman and aspiring music manager Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx). Sensing greatness (as well as a new marketing opportunity) Curtis signs the Dreamettes as backup singers for R&B star James "Thunder" Early (Eddie Murphy).

But when Early's mercurial ways and singing style don't mesh with primarily white audiences, Curtis moves the newly-renamed Dreams to center stage -- with Deena as lead singer in place of Effie. And that's not the only arena in which Effie is replaced, as Curtis abandons their love affair for a relationship with star-in-the-making Deena.

Besides the Supremes comparison, one can't talk about Dreamgirls now without revisiting its notorious Oscar snub; though it received eight nominations, the most for any film from 2006, it was shut out of the Best Picture and Director races entirely. Was the oversight justified? While Dreamgirls is certainly a handsomely mounted, lovingly executed and often vibrant film adaptation, it inspires more respect than passion, only getting under your skin during the musical numbers, which become more sporadic as the film goes on.

Writer-director Bill Condon is definitely focused on recreating the Motown milieu (down to uncanny photographs of Knowles in full Diana Ross mode), he often forgets to flesh out his characters, who even on the Broadway stage were underwritten and relied on powerhouse performances to sell them to audiences. (Stage fans will also note that numerous songs are either truncated or dropped entirely from the film.)

Condon has assembled a game cast, as Knowles does a canny riff on the essence of Diana Ross' glamour (as opposed to an all-out impersonation) and Rose makes a peripheral character surprisingly vibrant; only Foxx, who never gets to pour on the charisma, is miscast. Still, there are two things even the most cranky viewers will warm to in Dreamgirls: the performances of veteran Eddie Murphy and newcomer Jennifer Hudson. Murphy is all sly charm and dazzling energy as the devilish Early, who's part James Brown, part Little Richard, and all showman. And Hudson, an American Idol contestant who didn't even make the top three, makes an impressive debut as the larger-than-life Effie, whose voice matches her passions and stubbornness. Though she sometimes may seem too young for the role, Hudson nails the movie's signature song, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," with a breathtaking power that must be seen and heard to believe. And for those five minutes, if not more, you will be in Dreamgirls' thrall. -- Mark Englehart

Dreamgirls (Widescreen Edition)

For those of you who aren't familiar with DREAMGIRLS it was a hit Broadway musical, created in 1981, based "loosely" on the real monster girl group The Supremes, Berry Gordy and Motown. And although it took almost 25 years to make, the movie version is spectacular.

Following the meteoric rise of the fictitious "Dreams" the story takes place in Detroit in 1962 and ends in Los Angeles in 1975. In between, you witness the joy, sorrow, and bitterness--as some dreams die, while others live. And being a period movie, DREAMGIRLS doesn't feel dated or unrealistic. It captures the excitement and turbulence of the 60s, or at least the romanicized idea of it, perfectly.

Anyway enough about the movie and on to the DVD.

This dvd set contains two dvds:

***DVD #1 FEATURE FILM; 12 EXTENDED/ADDITIONAL MUSICAL NUMBERS

I won't list the 12 songs but the title track "Dreamgirls" and the show stopper "And I'm Telling You" are not part of this 12. With the exception of the song "Effie, Sing My Song," at least from what I could tell, most of these musical numbers are just different edits/film cuts than those that made it into the film. For instance, you'll see more of the performance rather than the cutaways to other scenes, which you see in the movie...so they're not sung differently.
What's good about this is that you get to see the entire performance of the opening acts(The Stepp Sisters, L'il Albert and The Tru-Tones, Tiny Joe Dixon) without the cutaway shots that show what's going on behind the stage. No additional lyrics; the songs are exactly as they are on the deluxe edition music cd of "Dreamgirls."
One alternative musical number that's very different is the song "Effie, Sing My Song." In the movie, the lines are spoken, however they did film the song version where C.C. and Effie share a duet. And that's included here.

***DVD #2 DOCUMENTARY ON THE MAKING OF DREAMGIRLS; ORIGINAL AUDITION AND SCREEN TEST VIDEOS; FEATURETTES ABOUT THE FASHION, FILM EDITING, THEATRICAL LIGHTING; PREVISUALIZATION SEQUENCES; IMAGE GALLERY

In all fairness, I haven't seen the entire second dvd. The reason being is that the documentary on the making of DREAMGIRLS is nearly TWO-HOURS long! Running at one-hour and fifty-five minutes, the documentary called "Building the Dream" chronicles the journey that started as an idea from Broadway creators Tom Eyen, Henry Krieger, and Michael Bennett to finally becomming the most hyped and anticipated film of 2006. But don't worry, that's not the beef of the documentary. Most of it takes you behind the scenes of what it took to put this huge movie together from the set design to the casting; from the choreography to staying true to the original score.
It's a fascinating look at the challenges director Bill Condon faced when deciding to take on this project. I always thought that "Dreamgirls" would've been easy to make into a film because you already started with everything in place. How wrong I was! Not only are you competing in a genre not too popular today, but you have to compete with the beloved original. Well, I must pay homage to Condon. He pulled it off.
Anyway, the documentary is told through home video of the recording sessions, casting calls, set design, rehearsals etc., as well as principal cast member interviews and of course the main people working behind the scenes like director Condon, executive producers, choreographers, music producers etc.

If nothing else, this documentary alone is worth the extra price for the two-set dvd of DREAMGIRLS.

And for those of you die hard fans of the original Broadway show or soundtrack, who liked this movie version, will be happy to know that the song "A'int No Party" is supposed to be included in the "audition tapes" section of the special features. There is a snippet of it in the documentary and Anika Noni Rose was working that song. So I'm sure it has to be included in the screen tests. But even if it isn't, remember I haven't seen the entire second dvd, the documentary "Building The Dream" makes up for it.

Anyway, if you enjoyed the movie, you'll enjoy this dvd set. It's a dream that will give you "more and more." If you haven't seen the movie, well you're in for a treat. It's exciting and keeps you at the edge of your seat. And not being an action film, that's saying a lot!
-- Alex Honda "onyx575" (Los Angeles, CA USA)

Release Date: 05/01/2007

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Redemption - The Stan "Tookie" Williams Story - Jamie Foxx 

In the annals of acting, 2004 will be remembered as a banner year for Jamie Foxx.

Before his acclaimed turns in Collateral, alongside Tom Cruise, and Ray, the Ray Charles biopic, he produced and starred in this made-for-cable movie about former gangbanger Stan "Tookie" Williams. Directed by actor-turned-filmmaker Vondie Curtis Hall (Gridlock'd), Redemption tracks Tookie's rise as co-founder of L.A.'s notorious Crips, fall to death-row inmate, and rise again to Nobel Prize Nominee.

Tookie's reminiscences to journalist Barbara Becnel (Lynn Whitfield), while he is on death row, frame the story. Virtually unrecognizable from his days on In Living Color, a buffed-up, dreadlocked Foxx gives an effectively low-key performance, while Whitfield also shines in a less rewarding role.

Redemption may not have the grandeur of Malcolm X or The Hurricane--and Tookie's transformation from man of violence to man of peace happens too quickly--but his story is just as inspirational. -- Kathleen C. Fennessy

Redemption - The Stan "Tookie" Williams Story

Fox is the man right now!!!
This movie to me truly showed Jamie Fox's acting capabilities!!! With this poignant film, he has shown that he really takes his acting seriously. This performance is as good as his performance in Ali!!! This film based on the life of gang cofounder and death row inmate Stanley "Tookie" Williams. What kept me so mesmerized was to the story was not only the great acting, but the fact that Mr. Williams truly realized the error of his way, he recognized his ignorance, and he was sorry, and he wanted to share his true story to prevent other young men from doing the same ignorant thing he did. The very thing he started, he wanted to bring to an end. The fact that someone in prison won a Nobel Peace Prize was amazing. While watching this film you could feel the different emotions. You can feel his anger, and then his remorse. When you can feel emotion, you know you know you have yourself a good quality film, with good quality acting. I feel this is an important and very worthwhile film. A film that I hope will be seen by the audience that should really see it. The youth who think their only option is to join a gang, and live the life they live. This film truly shows that no matter your situation, if you want to make a positive change and positive impact on the lives of others you can. -- S. M. Anderson "sma331" (Lithia Springs, GA)

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Collateral - Jamie Fox 

Collateral offers a change of pace for Tom Cruise as a ruthless contract killer, but that's just one of many reasons to recommend this well-crafted thriller. It's from Michael Mann, after all, and the director's stellar track record with crime thrillers (Thief, Manhunter, and especially Heat) guarantees a rich combination of intelligent plotting, well-drawn characters, and escalating tension, beginning here when icy hit-man Vincent (Cruise) recruits cab driver Max (Jamie Foxx) to drive him through a nocturnal tour of Los Angeles, during which he will execute five people in a 10-hour spree.

While Stuart Beattie's screenplay deftly combines intimate character study with raw bursts of action (in keeping with Mann's directorial trademark), Jamie Foxx does the best work of his career to date (between his excellent performance in Ali and his title-role showcase in Ray), and Cruise is fiercely convincing as an ultra-disciplined sociopath. Jada Pinkett-Smith rises above the limitations of a supporting role, and Mann directs with the confidence of a master, turning L.A. into a third major character (much as it was in the Mann-produced TV series Robbery Homicide Division). Collateral is a bit slow at first, but as it develops subtle themes of elusive dreams and lives on the edge, it shifts into overdrive and races, with breathtaking precision, toward a nail-biting climax. -- Jeff Shannon

DVD features:
The seemingly obligatory director's commentary is not on this two-disc set of Michael Mann's slick thriller yet the extras are so good you won't miss it. On the surface, there's nothing out of the ordinary here with the exception of a few minutes of rehearsal footage, but everything is just so darn interesting to watch. Mann and his stars dish about the making of the film, including the creation of Cruise's assassin. The nighttime shooting (shot digitally and transferred sublimely) is examined along with a single deleted scene (with a clear explanation on why it was cut). Think the climatic finale aboard a train was shot on a subway for convenience? No, Mann just wanted to control the backgrounds! Best of all, hit "play all" and view the entire second disc with no return-to-menu nuisance. -- Doug Thomas

Collateral (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Convincing Characters & Dialogue Work Wonders.
Director Michael Mann does what he does best with "Collateral", a well-written (by Stuart Beattie), entertaining thriller that knows just when to be intense and when to be mellow. "Collateral" takes place overnight in Los Angeles. Max (Jamie Foxx), a veteran cab driver who dreams of owning a limousine service, picks up Vincent (Tom Cruise), a slick, talkative fare who offers him $600 for a night's work: 5 stops and get him to the airport by 6 a.m. Sounds good, but when a bloody corpse lands on his windshield, Max comes to the abrupt realization that Vincent is an assassin. He becomes an unwilling accomplice in a murder spree, as Vincent attempts to fulfill his professional obligations and Max tries to walk the line between thwarting a killer and saving himself.

Much of "Collateral" is distinctly mellow in tone. Low-key conversations play out over the classical music in Max's cab. This makes the bursts of action more intense and surprising. No one could call "Collateral" realistic, but the attention to detail in the characters' speech makes it seem so. I have to admire Tom Cruise for embracing villain roles at this point in his career, where other stars have shunned them or insisted on watered-down scripts. Cruise has nothing to lose by playing unlikable characters, and they will among his most memorable work. Vincent's self-possession lends him great presence and charm, while his moral bankruptcy makes him revolting. Cruise is perfect for the role. Jamie Foxx plays the film's "everyman" who rises to the occasion when circumstances demand it. He's stressed, put-upon, and trapped, and he acts it. Jada Pinkett Smith does a nice job in a supporting role as a prosecutor, Annie, who takes a ride in Max's cab, as does Mark Ruffalo as Police Detective Fanning, who suspects trouble in Max's cab after one of his informants is murdered. Great cast, great dialogue, and perfect pacing make "Collateral" an engaging, character-driven thriller that almost everyone will enjoy. -- mirasreviews (McLean, VA USA)

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Miami Vice - Jamie Foxx 

(Unrated Director's Cut)

Bearing absolutely no resemblance to the 1980s TV series that helped to propel Michael Mann into big-time filmmaking, Miami Vice is the kind of serious, and seriously stylish, crime drama that Mann does better than anyone else. As written by Mann himself, this undercover sting thriller doesn't reach the peak intensity of Mann's 1995 classic Heat, and it lacks the tight, nail-biting suspense of Collateral, but that doesn't mean it doesn't occasionally pack a wallop. As Miami detectives Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs (respectively), Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx don't have to do much but mumble their plot-thickening dialogue and look ultra-cool in the casual cop attire, and their partnership is rather lifeless on screen (perhaps owing to the fact that this was a troubled production, with an actual shooting that occurred during filming, and Foxx's refusal to risk his life on dangerous locations in South America). But once Mann shifts into high gear with a plot to foil a powerful drug kingpin (Luis Tosar) and his ruthless middle-man (John Ortiz), Vice pays off with the kind of smart, realistic action that Mann's fans have come to expect. With Chinese superstar Gong Li as Crockett's love interest on the wrong side of the law, Miami Vice covers territory that's a little too familiar, and one suspects Mann's screenplay might've been punched up with a polish or two. Still, this is an above-average crime thriller that demands and rewards close attention, with a climactic shoot-out that's pure Mann, worthy of the brooding drama that precedes it. --Jeff Shannon

Miami Vice (Unrated Director's Cut)

Michael Mann gives us the real, down and dirty underbelly of Miami Vice.
Michael Mann has always been in the forefront of experimenting and trying out new film techniques and styles to tell his stories. His last film, 2003's Collateral, was a veritable masterpiece of directing modern, urban noir. He even made Tom Cruise very believable as a sociopathic character. It is now 2006 and Michael Mann has followed up Collateral with another trip down the darkside of the law and crime. Taking a concept he made into a cultural phenomenon during the mid 80's, Mann reinvents Miami Vice from the pastel colors, hedonistic and over-the-top drug-culture Miami to a more down, dirty and shadowy world where extremes by both the cops and the criminals rule the seedy, forgotten side of Miami.

Michael Mann's films have always dealt with the extremes in its characters. Whether its James Caan's thief character Frank in Thief, the dueling detective and thief of Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro, up to Foxx and Cruise's taxi driver and assassin. They all have had one thing in common. They're individuals dedicated to their chosen craft. Professional in all respect and so focused to doing their job right that they've crossed the line to obsession. These men have an obsession to doing their jobs to the point that its become like a drug to keep them going. This theme continues in Mann's film reboot of his TV series Miami Vice. The characters remain the same. There's still the two main characters of Vice Detectives Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs. This time around these titular characters were played by Colin Farrell (in a look that echoes Gregg Allman more than Don Johnson) and Jamie Foxx. From the first second all the way through to the final fade to black in the end of the film the audience was thrust immediately into the meat of the action. Mann dispenses with the need for any sort of opening credits. In fact, the title of the film doesn't appear until the end of the film and the same goes for the names of all involved. I thought this was a nice touch. It gave the film a stronger realism throughout.

The film's story was a mixture of past classic episodes rolled into one two-hour long film with the episode "Smuggler's Blues" being the main influence on the story. The glamour and glitz that were so prevalent in the original series does show up in the film, but it's not used too much that it turned the characters of Crockett, Tubbs and the rest of the cast into caricatures. The glamour seems more of a thin veneer to hide the danger inherent in all the parties involved. These people were all dangerous from the cops to the criminals. There's alot of the so-called "gray areas" between what makes a cop and what makes a criminal. Mann's always been great in blurring those lines and in showing that people on either side of the line have much more in common than they realize.

Miami Vice's story doesn't leave much for back story exposition for the main leads. Michael Mann takes the minimalist approach and just introduces the characters right from the beginning with nothing to explain who they were outside of the roles they played --- whether they be law-enforcement or drug dealers. The script allows for little personal backstory and instead lets the actors' performance show just what moves, motivates and inspires these characters. Again, Jamie Foxx steals the film from his more glamorous co-star in Colin Farrell. Farrell did a fine job in making Crockett the high-risk taking and intense half of the partnership, but Foxx's no-nonsense, focused intensity as Tubbs was the highlight performance throughout the film. The rest of the cast do a fine job in the their roles. From Gong Li as Isabella the drug-lord's moll who also double's as his organization's brains behind the finances to Luis Tosar as the mastermind drug kingping Arcángel de Jesús Montoya. Tosar as Montoya also does a standout performance, but was in the screen for too less a time.

This film wouldn't be much of a police crime drama if it was all talk and no action. The action in Miami Vice comes fast and tight. Each scene was played out with a tightness and intensity which prepped the audience to the point that the violence that suddenly arrives was almost a release. Everyone in the theater knew what was coming and when the violence and action does arrive it goes in hard and fast with little or no tricks of rapid editing, slow-motion sequences or fancy camera angles and tricks like most action films. Instead Michael Mann continues his theme of going for realism even in these pivotal moments in the film. The shootouts doesn't have the feel of artificiality. The gunshot inflicted on the people in the film were brutal, violent and quick. The camera doesn't linger on the dead and wounded. These scenes must've taken only a few minutes of the film's running time, but they were minutes that were executed with Swiss-like precision.

The look of the film was where Mann's signature could be seen from beginning to end. He started using digital cameras heavily in Collateral. He used it to great effect to give the film a sense of "in the now" realism. His decision to use digital cameras for that film also was due to a story mostly set at night. The use of digital allowed him to capture the deepest black to off-set the grays and blues of Los Angeles at night. Mann does the same for Miami Vice, but he does Collateral one better by using digital cameras from beginning to end. Digital lent abit of graininess to some scenes, but it really wasn't as distracting as some reviewers would have you believe. In fact, it made Miami Vice seem like a tale straight out of COPS or one of those reality police shows. Again, Michael Mann stretches the limits of his mind and technology could accomplish when working in concert. Mann's direction and overall work in Miami Vice could only be described as being as focused and obsessive over the smallest detail as the characters in his films. This is a filmmaker who seem to want nothing but perfection in each scene shot.

Michael Mann has done the unthinkable and actually made a film adaptation of a TV show look like an art-film posing as a tight police drama. Everyone who have given the film a less than stellar review seem to have done so because Mann didn't use the 80's imagery and sensibilities from the original show. There were no pastel designer clothes and homes. There was no pet alligator and little friendly banter and joking around. Mann goes the other way and keeps the mood deadly serious. This was very apropo since the two leads led mortally dangerous lives as undercover agents who could die at the slightest mistake. The fun and jokes of the original series would've broken the mood and feel of this film. I, for one, am glad Mann went this route and not paid homage to the original series. This some saw as a major flaw, but I saw it as the main advantage in keeping Miami Vice from becoming a self-referential film bordering on camp.

Miami Vice was not your typical action-drama for the 2006 summer blockbuster season. Like Collateral in 2004, Michael Mann forgo large effects and drawn out action to sell his film, but made a finished product thats smart, stylish, and innovative crime drama. This was a film that people would either love despite some of the flaws, or one people would hate due to not being like the original TV series. Those who decide to skip watching Miami Vice because of the latter would miss a great film from one of this generation's best directors. Those who do give this Miami Vice a chance would be rewarded with one of the best films of 2006. -- A. Sandoc "sussarakhen" (San Pablo, California United States)

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Audio Book Download 

Foxe's Book of Martyrs - John Foxe Religion & Spiritual
Download this MP3 Audio Book: John Foxe carefully compiled records of the suffering and persecution of Christians. The Book of Martyrs became a sensational best-seller as a result. As interesting as fiction, it is written with ... - John Foxe - Narrator: Robin Lawson - Quality Audiobooks from AudioB
Fantastic Mr. Fox - Roald Dahl Kids Audio Books / Animal Stories for Children
Download this MP3 Audio Book: Dahl at his very best, a superb children's novel to encourage them into the world of literature - Roald Dahl - Narrator: Roald Dahl - Quality Audiobooks from AudioBooksCorner.com
Lucky Man: A Memoir - Michael J. Fox Biography Audio Books / TV & Film - Actor's Biographies
Download this MP3 Audio Book: Combining his trademark ironic sensibility and keen sense of the absurd, Michael J. Fox recounts his life, from his childhood in a small town in Canada to his meteoric rise in film and television. - Michael J. Fox - Narrator: Michael J. Fox - Quality Audiobooks from Aud
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen Fiction Audio Books / Classic Fiction
Download this MP3 Audio Book: This marvellous account of family life in Regency England is read with vigour and style by Emilia Fox. - Jane Austen - Narrator: Emilia Fox - Quality Audiobooks from AudioBooksCorner.com
Beyond Tuesday Morning - Karen Kingsbury Fiction Audio Books / Religious Fiction
Download this MP3 Audio Book: In this sequel to the bestselling One Tuesday Morning, to widow Jamie Bryan it is still September 12, 2001. What will move her from living in the pas - Karen Kingsbury - Narrator: Kathy Garver - Quality Audiobooks from AudioBooksCorner.com
Doctor Who - The Highlanders - Various Fiction Audio Books / Sci-Fi & Fantasy / Sci-Fi Fiction
Download this MP3 Audio Book: Frazer Mines provides the linking narration for the digitally remastered soundtrack in which he made his first appearance as Jamie. - Various - Narrator: Full Cast Production - Quality Audiobooks from AudioBooksCorner.com
Hawkes Harbor - S. E. Hinton Fiction Audio Books / Thriller Audios / Horror & Suspense
Download this MP3 Audio Book: Hawkes Harbor is the story of Jamie Sommers - a petty criminal and a lost soul who finds redemption through his encounter with a monster. - S. E. Hinton - Narrator: Dick Hill - Quality Audiobooks from AudioBooksCorner.com

by calebl

The movie world is full of beautiful, talented people. I admire actors and actresses!
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