Powder Blue

source: Powder Blue

It can't be that so many well known actors were the reason that this is such a bad movie. Nobody but writer/director Timothy Linh Bui can be blamed for this mess. I've never been a big Patrick Swayze fan, but it's a shame that this will more than likely be his last feature film. At least he wasn't one of the main characters. I'm not much of a fan of the other actors either, but none of them should have agreed to be part of such a cheesy story. There were two main unrelated story lines. One was about Jessica Biel's character and the other about Forest Whitaker's. Not once during the movie did I relate to or feel anything for either. I think this is mostly because the story appeared to be written by a junior high school student who learned everything they know by watching made for television movies. The writer/director must have thought that having a fair amount of gratuitous nudity sprinkled in here and there would somehow add to the credibility of the story. Of course Jessica character was a * and that would make it so much more interesting, right? Ray Liotta has really been a disappointment in everything that I've seen him in lately. He has not aged well at all. And one small scene with Kris Kristofferson on the bus with Ray Liotta. Why did he bother? It seemed that the director was simply trying to assemble enough well know names in this stinker to draw in diverse audiences. I'm sure that most, if not all of them look back on this movie and wonder "what was I thinking...how did I get sucked into this?" I was able to get this from my library for free, so all it cost me was my time. If you want to see it, check with your library first, if all you want to do is waste your time.

This movie is one of a number of pictures in the last five years that attempts to mimic "Crash." You know--tell a number of little vignettes and then tie it all together at the end of the movie in some way that purports to represent the meaning of life...or something like that. This ain't no "Crash." This is one of the most pointless movies I have ever seen. It wanders all over the place with soap opera like clumsiness. The people who made this awful waste of celluloid must have had a checklist in front of them. A very large checklist. Let's see--there is the single mom with the dying child who's forced into prostitution to save the little nipper. There is Grandpa, just out of the can, looking for redemption. There is the man who wants to be a woman who ultimately kills himself, because no one will love him. There is the man who goes door to door looking for someone who will shoot him in the heart for $50,000, because he took his eyes off the road and killed his new bride. They even remembered the struggling waitress with the hillbilly ex-husband and a dorky white kid who is desperate for love, but my God, they forgot to include an incest victim (although they almost got there). And just for good measure, like your local evening news every night, they did work in a missing dog story. How can anyone watch this stuff? It is so contrived that it's unwatchable. One last question about this movie. What is this fascination about snowfall in Los Angeles with these Hollywood types? It was kind of cute in the remake of "Father of the Bride." It was kind of interesting in "Crash." It was downright silly in this movie, especially when Grandpa dies in a snowdrift the size of which they would never get in LA. We get snowdrifts like that here in Minnesota, but I have yet to see one that is blue. We also see powdery snow here and I can tell you that it doesn't look like the gravel at the bottom of your fishbowl. Blue Powder is truly one of the worst pictures I have ever seen. By the time we get to the scene with dead Ray Liotta teaching the dead little nipper how to fly a kite on the beach, I couldn't stop myself from laughing. It got only funnier when the dorky white kid was kissing the prostitute Mom at the bus stop with two tickets to Paris in her hand. This was really one of the most horrendously dumb movies of the decade.

Ironically I rec'd this movie from Netflix on a weekend I was seriously wanting to end it all & had a plan. Being the chicken-sh*t that I am, I didn't execute (obviously). This movie didn't give me the will to live but it made me want to keep going a little longer. My situation is bad, but not as bad as it could be. All of the characters portrayed had their struggles but made it through via communications that wouldn't have happened otherwise. . Anything can happen in Hollywood so the rest of us shouldn't give up so soon - yeah, right!! The 2 most poignant points for me were when Johnny asked Qwerty to go to Paris after her trauma - life goes on when other aspects don't. The shopping cart scene was too cool too! ;-) We should be so lucky to have some one who's willing to stay close during hard times. The other point is, I guess, there's hope,somewhere, somehow!! Charlie saw the light, so to speak, amidst his struggle with mortality. The potential homicidal,scenes were particularly hard to watch. Not because I wanted to do it (I still do) but that it would affect people who might actually give a scant or separate interest. Thanks Tim Linh Bui & producers who made this movie happen. The noose remains loose!

I'll start off saying that I cried at the end of this movie, which no movie has achieved in the past few years. The story of despair and love reaches into your soul and creates a connection with the characters. It's hard to dismiss them as you see them struggle in their own way. This is not light entertainment, you should watch this movie with the proper mood. When you are looking for a story with deep character development and not a relaxing flick. Jessica Biel delivers a great performance. These I words that I never thought I was say about her. The only thing that put me off is her comments I read here about the leak of her * scene ruining the theatrical release. Jessica you should be outraged that the movie's merits didn't get a theatrical release, not your cans. Forest Whitaker is brilliant as always. In short this movie delivers a great emotional release. Makes you think about what's important in your life. 8/10

Why "Powder Blue"? One can only assume it's a reference to the (seriously fake-looking) blue snow that the ex-priest plays with in front of the church. It represents hope, get it? The writing: I _have_ to mention the extended soft-focus Hallmark scene where the dead grandfather meets the dead grandson IN HEAVEN! ON THE BEACH! I literally said, "Oh my god" when I saw it. I can't believe they actually filmed this cliché in the 21st century. Keep in mind that this is only minutes after the scene where the ex-priest meets his dead wife in a graveyard (considering it was him who put her there, you'd think she might not be so friendly!). The characters: a * with a heart of gold, a priest who has lost his way, a geek, and an old man (not really a criminal as the back story is not really developed). The snow may be fresh, but these characters ain't. The plot: a geek, though he passes out merely at the sight of a plain girl, gets it on with a beautiful one (and _she_ suggests it!), a father chooses to reunite with his long-lost daughter in the sex room of a strip club, a woman suddenly offers sex to a doctor so that he can somehow better "help" her dying son, a waitress who is working late suddenly goes home with (and then comes on to) an unkempt stranger who was passed out at her diner only moments before, a guy loses his wife on their wedding day because he's fooling around with the video-cam in their car, the same person somehow has his car stolen in the dead of night while he is only a few feet away (this guy has bad luck with cars!), a male prostitute, though he refused a lot of money to kill a willing victim, suddenly kills _himself_ for no apparent reason, the youth of 2009 are readily entertained by a puppet show (with only one puppet, no dialogue, and a visible puppeteer!), a guy rejects a beautiful girl's offer to come in, a guy thrusts a gun into the hands of strangers and asks them to kill him, etc. Perhaps "unlikely" is the kindest word that can be used here. Casting: casting Ray Liotta as a walking dead man was apt, as he certainly looks the part. I thought Swayze and Phoebe from Friends were "ironic" choices, but it looks like...not. As far as the * actress, most here seem concerned only with her * scenes, but she was passable as the main character. It's not well-made, no matter how you slice it and it's certainly not "excellent" (!) as some here might have you believe. It's a made-for-TV Crash, is what it is.

You would think that notable actors/actresses such as Ray Liotta, Forest Whitaker, Jessica Biel, and Lisa Kudrow would've lit the stage in this movie.However, this was definitely not the case - especially in a poorly plotted movie. Biel and Whitaker in particular, really did a sub par job in terms of their acting performance. Briefly explained, Biel is a stressed single mom * in pursuit of supporting her son who is in a Coma. Her father, Liotta, is a guilt-filled man whom has just been released after being incarcerated for 25 years. Throughout the movie, he attempts to enter his daughter's life and gain her forgiveness. Biel, financially frustrated has never seen her father since birth. On the other side of the story, Whitaker, also a stressed man after killing his wife in a car accident, loses meaning in life and is on the brink of suicide with guilt on his shoulders. However, his Christian faith prevents him from taking his own life - an apparent sin. In turn, he attempts to seek someone that will take part in his assisted-suicide. Although the scenarios in this movie are heart-warming bounded, they are put to the shitter with the poor acting. Oh well, I guess Biel's first actual frontal * scene does make up for the garbage acting. It does not matter if you are lesbian or not,one must admit, Jessica Biel is a fine species of woman.

The story is a bit of a Christmas story were people are struggling with their lives and finances and are looking for warmth and humanity. Good acting by all major actors! Jessica Biel is easy on the eyes and her character's impulsive sweetness really touches the hart.(great job!) Forest Whitaker character Charlie takes longer to develop but you can really share his pain. It was nice to see Patrick Swayze again (hope he is doing OK) It is not really a feel good movie but the major problems get "solved"in the end and it leaves me wishing all the best for all the people. A part of the movie reminded me of the Wrestler:people at the edge of society with money and narcotic problems just trying to cope (show must go on!). The style is like an independent movie (but with a larger budget) Some other movies that you might like if you liked Powder Blue are: Leaving Las Vegas or Showgirls(worse)

Our main character is a chubby black man that wants to die now that he has lost his wife and is trying to pay various random people to kill him, one of the people he asks to kill him is part of another movie running alongside his dumb deathwish- the other half of the movie is about a disturbing looking geeky dweeb who finds a *'s dog- and since every * has a heart of gold- they hit it off when they meet/return it because he was so sensitive to take care of her puppy wuppy *sigh*. Take two hard to swallow yet still -totally boring- stories and begin to tell the other one as soon as the first gets boring to keep your mind off the fact that they are BOTH stupid AND boring plots with dopey actors. This movie sucks and uses a popular editing trick to try and make it seem like it doesn't by continually changing the focus of the movie.. sort of like a retarded attempt at being slick I guess. It fails, this movie fails.

'Powder Blue' tries hard to be effective but for the most part it falls flat. The film is about four isolated lives which at some point during the movie, connect with one another. Yet, the stories are half-baked and theatrical and the characters actions hardly make sense. Moreover they're loaded with cheesy dialogues that are poorly delivered. The characters beg the viewer's sympathy but I found myself caring less for what happens to them. 'Powder Blue' tries to be like 'Magnolia' and it grossly fails to reach anywhere near the superiority of that movie. Forest Whitaker appears too whiny. His best scenes are those with Kudrow. Ray Liotta perhaps has the best role and he does a fine job here. Jessica Biel has her moments of good acting and abysmal acting but she proves to be a very good dancer. Eddie Redmayne looks confused most of the time. There are small appearances by Lisa Kudrow, Kris Kristopherson, Riki Lindhome, and Patrick Swayze but their characters lack development. Swayze is barely recognizable and he successfully provides comic relief. Lisa Kudrow delivers the most natural performance as she stands out in a small role (in my opinion, a role too small to do justice to her immense talent). I liked how the film was executed, mostly under a cold colour tone reflecting the gloominess of the atmosphere and the cold Christmas weather. The use of digital camera also gives the film a raw look that adds to the scenes. 'Powder Blue' is not among the worst films but it seriously needed rewriting because now it is almost very much a half-baked and insipid soap opera