It was a week of rare occurrences. Not only did I finish a book that I was reading just for fun, but I also went to an actual movie theater and saw a first-run movie.

It was Ray, the biography of Ray Charles. Given how much I love his music, I was predisposed to enjoy the film, and I did. Jamie Foxx delivered a strong performance. The screenplay, although it included some apocryphal details, on the whole rang true. And while the running time was a bit long, that was only because there was so much of Ray's music included in the movie. I for one was left wanting more.

I've liked Foxx since I first saw him on the hilarious TV show In Living Color. In Ray, he took on an enormous challenge. And with his remarkable skills as a mimic and a pianist, he brought the role off well. It's hard to imagine another actor creating any better effect. Director Taylor Hackford kept the lens right in everyone's faces the whole time, so there was little room for error. Foxx didn't make any.

The kid who played Ray as a child (C.J. Sanders) was surprisingly good, too.

An added highlight was the trailer for an upcoming Bill Murray movie in which he sends up Jacques Cousteau (or at least, Cousteau types). That looks well worth another $8.50.