Walk the Line

I sometimes realize that I've been talking a lot about movies with my friends, but have neglected to talk to the internet about them too. I've been a Johnny Cash fan for a while - even when I didn't know it was Johnny Cash I was listening too. I also remember watching re-runs of Little House on the Prairie where he played a preacher that dressed in all black. The guy is The Man - in the freaking awesome sense. I had the pleasure of seeing this film back around Thanksgiving with the family in Iowa. It was quite a good experience. Joaquin Phoenix does an amazing job at playing Johnny from the look in his eye, to the gait in his step, even down to the warbling in his singing voice as his character "aged". He sounded so much like Cash I could close my eyes in the theater and imagine I was listening to the real thing. Reese Witherspoon also pulled off a great performance. I can't say I've been a big fan of her in roles like Legally Blonde, Cruel Intentions, etc. However, she has very much redeemed herself in my eyes. Besides pulling off a very good June Carter, she also learned how to play some instruments just for the movie. That always impresses me when actors try to do things like that. As I've said before, I'm a big sucker for movies that give us a peek into people's lives. I think Walk the Line is a much better movie than Ray for these types of reasons. Jamie Foxx had a great performance, but I didn't think the movie overall was that great. Walk the Line will suck you in to the life known as Johnny Cash from his childhood, to when his brother dies in a tragic accident, to his heading off to war, to his marriages, his children, through his career, his ongoing substance addictions and his redemption as a person. I'm going to tout this one up as a must see for the year. So get out and see it sometime if you haven't already. I don't think you'll be disappointed.