User reviews

Allow me to get one thing out of the way right now: if you are a straight male (or gay woman) between the ages of 18-50 you might as well consider this movie required viewing simply because of Jessica Biel's topless scenes. To be honest it's not the greatest thing since sliced bread and it's not really in a sexualized context, but just to say you saw it should be enough. A little juvenile? Sure...but there it is. I'm kidding of course (kind of) but really...not bad.

Basically what you have here feels kind of like a lame rip off of Crash. A lot of stories happening in the same time line that feel like they should intersect a lot more than they do. Without that intersection it feels like a lot of little pieces rather than a whole. I can't help but feel like some of these actors were slumming it, particularly Ray Liotta. Has there been a movie since Field Of Dreams where he didn't play either a dirt bag or a stand up guy with a shady past? Talk about typecasting. There also seems to be a waste of perfectly good Lisa Kudrow in the film. I guess I don't understand casting her in the movie at all for such a small part when I'm sure they could've found someone just as good for a lot less money.

One small technical annoyance...the film has a pronounced grain to it that I assume is supposed to give it a gritty feel. The problem is that the subject matter isn't as gritty as the production values, so it feels a bit over done. Aside from that it's not a bad movie, but not a good movie either. I would have liked it a lot more if the writers had tried to tie the stories together more. As I said before, the way it is feels more like a collection of pieces more than a whole film. I wouldn't pass it by, but I certainly wouldn't tell everyone I know to check it out. It is what it is...pretty mediocre.

I went to the theater tonight expecting something very similar to "The Air I Breathe" and the composition was similar in deed, "Powder Blue" is the story of four people, struggling with themselves and their fates.

However, i must disappoint all users that bashed this movie in advance. The story is captivating, comprehensible and sensitively told and the acting is perfect, something one can expect by looking at the cast.

"Powder Blue" didn't blow me away like TAIB but it is a descent drama with a top cast and a touching though sometimes a bit kitschy and predictable Story.

The comparisons to Crash (a great film) are inevitable. Powder Blue has a stellar cast in a story that is really a collection of stories that sometimes interconnect.

Forest Whitaker, Jessica Biel, Ray Liotta, Lisa Kudrow, Patrick Swayze et al. populate the dark world of Powder Blue. From the first scenes, we realize that this world is filled with crime, violence and poverty. This world becomes a "character" in the sense that it has as much (or more) to do with the motivations and actions of the characters as other characters do.

The first character introduced is a man, played by Forest Whitaker, who is living on the edge of desperation and hope. As the stories develop, we find that most of the characters are similarly dealing with issues of mortality and day-to-day negotiations with an uncaring world. Everyone is hurting.

Most viewers can probably identify with the sense of desperation that pervades the movie, either because they have experienced it or because they were in situations that could have taken them down a dark path. Thus, the film has an inherent honesty. Some viewers may not want to visit the demons that this film will resuscitate. But there are positive moments and acts of kindness in Powder Blue. For some viewers these moments may "redeem" the movie.

Overall, the acting is excellent. Although I thought Jessica Biel embodied her role as a mother who strips for a living, I felt that a few of her scenes were less convincing.

The film 'Crash' was a hit, as it used multiple characters' individual narratives to intertwine a story which all ties up together. Here, 'Powder Blue' attempts to do the same - with mixed results.

First of all, I didn't like it. But it is quite a long film and I persevered. Now, looking back on it, I'm glad I did. It's not as good as Crash and it is kind of overloaded with sentimentality - every scene seems to be trying to get you to cry for each and every character. Perhaps it was nice to see some Hollywood characters feeling as down and miserable as the rest of us? Either way, the performances are pretty good - naturally from Forest Whittaker and Ray Liotta, but also from Jessica Biel (who comes in for more than her fair share of acting criticism these days).

It is certainly a slow-burner. Not much happens during the beginning and it takes a while to get going. So, although it doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel in terms of film-making, it's not a bad little piece, but I feel it's one of those films that you have to be well in the mood for to really appreciate. It should probably come with a warning not to watch it if you don't want to be depressed or brought down by one tale of woe after the next.

My rating: 7.6

It was better than expected. It definitely reminded me of "Crash" and especially "The air I breathe" with multiple story's, drama and the city atmosphere, it has a similar feel to it.

Despite a few REALLY cheesy scenes in the end, it really was entertaining all the way trough. The acting was good, most noticeable by the mesmerizing Jessica Biel and the always strong actor Forrest Whittaker.

Biel has a few nudes scenes in the movie which was done very tasteful and very sexy ! and if you didn't think much of her before, you most like will be in love after watching her dance :-). Too bad this is probably the only thing this movie will be known for, as it lacks serious promotion and probably will go straight to DVD.

Hope it will do good, just spread the word I guess.

It should find it's indie audience I'm sure.

Deep, moody film, unsettling, with an overdose of despondency. Ideal fare for those who wish to wallow in their own terminally depressive states. Me, I'm just a perv, I was checking up on STRIPTEASE on Wikipedia, when I Googled I got a link to the best striptease movies ever, so last week I watched CLOSER, this week, POWDER BLUE. I was thrilled to hear that Jessica Biel was in it, as a stripper, mind you, hell, she made me look at (I still can only shake my head) that show with the reverend, I'm not going to even mention its name, but really, me watch the Religious Right's flagship TV show? I just hovered around the TV and watched when she and her kid sister was on. This, of course, is way at the other end of the spectrum. Too dark, too melancholy, too depressing, but the sight of Jessica on stage is worth my every effort. So, it's a long way from the old days of a politically-correct holy-righteous TV show to this mixture of lust and redemption. Still, when I think of her, I'd always remember SUMMER CATCH, again, not my kind of movie, too much damned baseball, but what a dreamgirl.

Show me all the nudity in the world, if it doesn't come along with the soulful eyes, what's the point? And Jessica has them. Lovely eyes you can gaze into, and see love. A thing of beauty, as that other reviewer said.

Of course, the people who watched that unmentioned TV show wouldn't watch POWDER BLUE, unless on the sly, what with the straying-from-the-flock menfolk...

Getting back to the movie itself, it is not exactly guaranteed to put you in a fun frame of mind. An ex-priest who lost his young wife and wishes to be put out of his misery, but who doesn't want to pull the trigger himself, entices all and sundry, including a transsexual prostitute, with the lure of big money, into doing the deed. He meets Sandy (Lisa Kudrow, downbeat from FRIENDS), a waitress, and life seems to begin to have meaning again. A stripper with a cocaine habit and a kid in a coma, is confronted by her long-lost, morose and dying Dad, even as she finds love with a mortician, a geeky misfit who shares her love for animals. Whole lot of drug use, origin of movie title, obviously.

I have to stipulate, my DVD is just a plain version, no subtitles, and there are a lot of places where subtitles would have really helped. Watching for a second tine now, I catch on to stuff I missed the first time round. The blue snow bit I find to be overly-dramatic. After all, it hardly ever even rains in California, and here you have this blue ice...? Heaps of it?

If it wasn't for Jessica, I wouldn't have been remotely interested in this. Yes, there are powerful emotions here, but, no, the story itself is not the kind of thing I want to watch. Not that there aren't cute romantic moments, like the trolley cart scene.

P.S. Hell, that was Patrick Swayze???? Went through the entire movie without realizing.

No doubt this movie had potential. The cast offers a handful of well-known actors, several of which are more than capable of good acting (Whitaker in particular is usually superb). Unfortunately, most of the well-known stars in this film only had bit parts. Kristofferson, Swayze and Kudrow each maybe have five lines of dialogue in the entire thing. There were several scenes in the movie, one in particular near the end, which simply had no business being in the film at all. Even worse, NONE of the characters' back stories were developed whatsoever, something which may have actually prevented the story from falling completely flat.

This film will obviously be compared to Crash and The Air I Breathe, as I've seen already in several other reviews. Just because a story is "gritty" and emotionally charged does not make it good or even entertaining. This film was plagued by the same issues as The Air I Breathe: mediocre writing, unnatural dialogue and virtually no character development. Crash was successful because it had character development, the story was poignant and somewhat believable, the film itself was artfully edited and the dialogue was well written and very well acted. As the audience, we need to be able to suspend our disbelief in order to accept a "strangers' lives intersecting" type of plot. I had no problem suspending disbelief in Crash. Not the case with Powder Blue.

Putting comparisons aside, was it the worst film I've ever seen? No. In fact, it was still considerably better than The Air I Breathe. The music and cinematography was actually above average. Liotta's character was disappointingly wooden (no surprise there). Whitaker probably did the best he could. Biel definitely offered a brave performance and appeared to really pour herself into her role, although seemed to lose momentum in the end. Bottom line: don't go into Powder Blue with too high expectations.

I rented this movie although many people crucified this movie as being a Crash sequel or just a blurred copy of The Air I Breathe.. Being a great fan of the existential dramas, where destinies cross each other only to emphasize the true value of life and most important the heart mending result of doing something right, (even it is too late) i decided to watch this movie in hope of seeing something equally thrilling to Crash. In fact, Powder Blue has some similarities to Crash or The Air I Breathe, but director Tim Bui manages to underline the most important idea of human destiny: the miracle. Here we see the miracle of destiny that incorporates the miracle of love (Rose and Qwerty), the miracle of divine intervention and hope (Charlie and the trans gender prostitute) and the miracle of sacrifice. (Jack for his daughter Rose)

In conclusion this movie is not to be compared to Crash, even it is based on the same destinies-cross-each other-structure. And of course the soundtrack which is surprisingly good, with featured artists like Bliss or Imogen Heap.

I recommend this movie 8,5/10

This is the price we must pay for the success of "Crash" - atrocious copycat films. This film is slightly better than the similar "The Air I Breathe," but that's not saying much. Bui's script is pretentious and his direction is heavy-handed. He thinks he is creating an emotional powerhouse, but the development is so poor that it is hard to care about the characters. The plot line featuring Whitaker (who now specializes in these types of films) is ludicrous. What's most ludicrous is that Biel and Kudrow (not exactly ugly women) throw themselves at men who reject them. About the only reason for watching this turkey is Biel putting her considerable assets on display.

On paper one wonders "how can a film with such a powerful cast not receive a theatrical release?". Before becoming paranoid or just lamenting the boneheadedness of today's ignorant Hollywood moguls, the answer is simple: the finished product is a disaster.

Anyone who's regularly attended industry screenings, especially organized film markets like AFM, Mifed or the old IFFM in NYC, knows that acquisition reps and distributors take a tough look at films on spec. This isn't a major studio production, or a Weinstein Brothers film, but yet another of the literally thousands of indies cranked out because money was flowing freely -this was produced in 2007, before the financial world went into turmoil and borrowing money for anything (let alone as risky a prospect as making a movie) seized up entirely.

I let my Netflix fingers do the walking, and painlessly rented this one last week, but it was a chore and a half getting through to the bitter end. The young filmmaker in charge has concocted a very poor script, one that would never have been green lighted by a major studio or even a mini-major -even if the studio mogul was demented enough to order his underlings to "GET ME A 'CRASH', after that Paul Haggis special made such a big splash at the Oscars. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Kieslowski fan -I've seen all his feature films and even some of his short films & TV work shown in local retrospectives, but his own investigations of how chance/coincidence/fate rules the lives of FICTIONAL characters fail to justify the dozens of crappy Chaos Theory movies being made. Obviously many scatterbrained film festival directors and programmers eat up this stuff, but I find nearly all of the recent efforts in this non-genre to be examples of poor writing. And that includes the aptly titled but way overrated BABEL, or the more obvious forerunner to this project, the unbearably contrived 11:14 (which, surprise, surprise, also failed to get a theatrical release in the U.S.).

It's obvious why good actors work for scale in junk like this -they have the prospect of juicy roles (regardless of the absence of a viable structure from which those roles can hang), the half-assed inverted prestige of "going indie", and above all else can relish the opportunity of chewing the scenery for an untested, timid director - you know, the famous Klaus Kinski syndrome -he always preferred to work for hacks rather than geniuses like Leone and Herzog, because he could trample all over them.

Case in point: in Powder Blue we have a lapsed priest played by Forest, obviously aware that you don't have to give back Oscar statuettes based on subsequent poor efforts. His attempts at getting folks to kill him are so preposterously and awkwardly written and staged by our writer/director here that the film basically self-destructs in the first couple of reels.

The connectors between the characters and movie references are lame in the extreme -not worthy of a '60s sexploitation film by Michael Findlay or Doris Wishman (I'm being mean on purpose, but let's face it, this auteur is NOT as advanced in his plot development as say a Russ Meyer or Joe Sarno). The guy watching the stripper turns out to be her long-lost father; the hooker's dog is found by her nerd in shining armor, the creepy young funeral director; Jessica's anecdote quoting ANNIE HALL; the sudden, highly symbolic snowfall helps connect beautiful romanticism to the corny frieze (pun intended) of Liotta's corpse in the snow, giving way to a "Six People You'll Meet in Heaven" beach scene of grandpa stiff and grandson stiff cavorting in what looks like a lift from the idiotic finale of Jodie Foster on the beach with daddy David Morse in CONTACT; Swayze's real-life brother Don popping up as the bouncer in Patrick's strip joint; the heartfelt through-the-glass, phones at ears scene of Biel & Liotta is a remake of an infinitely better Nastassja Kinski scene in Wenders' classic Paris, Texas; the Eddie/Biel "Let's Hug" scene that is straight out of an acting class exercise; and a "Two Tickets to Paris" finale in which Biel's last line is barely audible, etc., etc. Flunk this guy out of screen writing class already.

Yes, the indigestible collection of scenes immortalized in the final cut, for DVD, of POWDER BLUE is just the sort of thing folks shake their heads at when attending film markets. I was always astounded back in the day (about 25 years back) at people who would duck in out of the salles at the Cannes Market or Mifed, watching a reel or two of a film, and then rushing to check out the other films screening simultaneously in nearby theaters. As a film buff I was inculcated with watching films in their entirety -even in the later ages of VHS and DVD I adhere to this policy, not checking out excerpts or jumping to future "chapters". But when you see a film as badly constructed as Powder Blue you can understand why the hard-headed mercenaries of this industry think they can tell early on whether a film is headed nowhere. It's unfair, since even a terrible film is presumably eligible for "redemption" in its final reels, but I'm beginning to see the logic in such impatient behavior.

Sometimes people want to see a movie for what some would call "the wrong reason." Powder Blue is a prime example of this: it was well-hyped before its straight-to-DVD release to be the first movie wherein the beautiful Jessica Biel has several nude scenes. And I will admit, I fell victim to buying and watching this for said wrong reason, however, was not disappointed behind my initial intent in addition to the rest of how the movie played out.

Powder Blue, written and directed by Timothy Linh Bui, focuses on the downward-spiraling lives of four main characters, played by Forest Whitaker, Jessica Biel, Ray Liotta, and relative newcomer Eddie Redmayne. The inimitable Whitaker's character, Charlie, desires someone to murder him, so that through his cast-aside faith in Catholicism he would not necessarily be committing suicide and therefore a mortal sin. Charlie's search for a murder-for-hire brings him to mortician Qwerty Doolittle, played by Redmayne. Qwerty, in addition to being involved slightly with Charlie's emotive plot line, also becomes more deeply involved with Biel's character, the interestingly-named Rose-Johnny, a stripper attempting to maintain her chaotic life whilst paying medical bills for her hospital-committed and comatose son. Lastly, Liotta's soft-spoken Jack befriends Rose-Johnny, and in doing so sets the stage for a Magnolia-esquire plot-switching film that is quite compelling and interesting to follow.

The acting is quite well-done, not surprisingly in particular by Whitaker and Liotta (though Biel does shine as well), and Patrick Swayze and Lisa Kudrow provide smaller supporting roles. In spite of the well-written story and good performances, however, the full package is not quite engaging enough to allow the viewer to pity the characters; instead, paying attention to Powder Blue allows a viewing into the lives of four people, trying to save theirs by getting involved with others'. To be sure, an enthralling, yet slightly overused theme in cinema, such material needs to be cohesive and fulfilling to succeed, and where it is obvious Linh Bui intends to tell a story of huge grandeur and emotional impact, Powder Blue falls a bit short. Special mention, however, goes to the film's score and soundtrack, the latter of which contains several very catchy trip-hop, jazzy numbers used during Biel's club sequences.

In all, Powder Blue is a sufficient dark drama that suffices to keep the viewer entertained for its duration, but unfortunately, certain viewers who may not be as impressed by intertwining story lines and good character acting may always label Powder Blue as the "Biel naked movie." For those of us who enjoy related movies, however, said label is a fantastic fringe benefit, to a film that is impressive yet sometimes forgettable in some other respects.

Just finished watching this movie noticed on clearance at our local Blockbuster. I noticed some big names like Forrest Whitaker, Ray Liotta, Kris Kristofferson. Put it in and was very moved by the acting of Liotta and Whitaker and the fine actor who played the loner mortician, can not remember his name. Fine supporting turns by Patrick Swayze and Lisa Kudrow. The setting for the movie was bleak and this added to the feel of the movie. The only disappointment I had with this movie was the stripper role played by Jessica Biel, she has no depth to her acting and her line reading was very leaden. I noticed some other comments talking about her nude scenes well she was a stripper in the movie nuff said. I wish though some good director would put Ray Liotta in more prominent films as he is the best thing in this movie and if Mickey Rourke can have a big comeback why cannot Ray Liotta who always steals the show with his acting.

I guess that there are no comments in this section because people are speechless after watching the movie. The clichéd label of a film where worlds collide, doesn't do it justice. Anyone who has ever felt the emotional pain of having it all and then seemingly having nothing will understand the message behind this tale. Also the raw emotions that are born through loneliness and suffering. Above all of this there seems to be an underlying message of the goodness of human nature and the fact that the world keeps on turning no matter what. Needless to say i really liked it and thought the acting was second to none. The most touching movie I have seen in a long time.

I'm not a big fan of dramas because they usually leave me sobbing in the corner of my room and thinking why life is so damn unfair. That doesn't mean that I think those movies are rubbish, just that I don't watch them often. So there is no need to tell that I approached this movie with caution but, as it turned out, I had nothing to be afraid of.

Four different tales of powerlessness and loneliness and what wouldn't people do to escape it. The movie doesn't leave you helpless and questioning the meaning of life, which, in my case, is important, but instead you except that neither them nor you can do anything about it and that, though you do the best you can, life still sucks.

But what impressed me the most was the music. If you heard the songs on the radio, you probably wouldn't think them special in any way (I know I wouldn't), but as background music to most of the scenes it just works. It makes them more real and (for the lack of a better word) close.

So,the verdict is: it is sad, yes, but just enough.

"Powder Blue" wasn't one of those big cinema releases, yet it was a film with a gripping powerful story of the intersecting of complex paths in the city of L.A.. And the all star cast made the film watchable. Set in modern day L.A. on the tough and rumble streets the films main focus is on four characters and it involves the showing of their everyday hardships and problems only all will collide by luck, destiny, and happens chance. Jessica Biel who's always beautiful and such a pleasure to view really shines as a young desperate single mom with a dying kid who's only hope is to earn money to support her cocaine habit by doing nude dancing as a stripper. Enter Ray Liotta as an ex con just released yet he has terminal cancer only he will discover thru Biel's character that life finally does have some touching emotional moments. And Forrest Whitaker is a character you feel desperate for as he is a man with no will to live after losing his wife as he will go to any lengths to be killed. And to round out you have a young mortician played by Eddie Redmayne who's lonely only in the end destiny will have it he will find love with the Biel character. This film is pretty powerful for it's message it sends that no matter how desperate life is for some unexpected hope can be found and everyone has a destiny. Plus no matter how different and complex people are they are all the same as their paths were meant to cross to help one another as in the end that leads to a heavenly and peaceful ending. Overall great film with an all star cast that proves life is a harsh struggle yet with help and connecting their is hope.

This is another of those films that look at the twists and turns that life throws at us at one time or another. OK it is not a happy film and very dark. Having said that I personally related to some parts of this film as a reflection of things that have happened in my own life and I could easily have shunned it for the reason that I would find it upsetting.

However, and also on a personal note, it made me feel as if I was not alone. A lot of people would rather put their head in the sand than acknowledge that life can be cruel but if you like a balanced view on life i.e. the good AND the bad then this is well worth watching.