2/5 Disappointment
  by J. Moreland (Dallas, TX)
Disappointment is an understatement. You would think that a movie with this cast of talent would be great. Nope, the only great thing about this movie... is Jessica Biel and her nude body scene.

1/5 Jessica Biel Naked
  by john m mozuke
I like watching Jessica Biel naked. But Jessica it's Go Go not... cry cry. Forrest Whitaker irritated the excrement out of me. Jessica Biel is not a good actress but the story with her and Ray Liotta was semi interesting. But still this movie blows... except for Jessica Biel stripping and being naked, something that most hollywood actress's who play strippers can't seem to figure out (strippers take their clothes off).

2/5 it took a heroic effort to finish it...
  by T. Dugan (Houston, TX USA)
yeah, so...i did want to see how it turned out but the ending was mostly so @#@# cliche... it's not the increduality of the stripper hooking up with the nerd mortician but just everything else so predictable. there was some potential. but it didn't pan out...about 1/2 way through the film i was tracking how much time was left and using my utmost personal control to not Fast Forward to the end.

that movie plot technic, very-loosely-interrelated collage of stories that make up a single film...it's worn thin already. eg, forest whitaker never meets jessica biel in the film but they both related to the mortician at different times--but did the mortician (being the only mortician in the film) get the boys body? the tranny's body?



4/5 A Dark L.A. Love Story, Not For All Tastes...
  by Benjamin J Burgraff (Las Vegas)
Writer/Director Timothy Linh Bui, in the 'Making Of' Special Feature for "Powder Blue", explains that he intended to tell an 'L.A.' story, of people out of the mainstream, living in the darker corners, and he succeeds, but in choosing this path, his visions of love, redemption, and hope may seem more depressing than inspirational, and the film won't please some viewers. Add to this the publicity value of seeing Jessica Biel strip (she does have a topless scene), and Patrick Swayze, in his last big screen appearance (in a supporting role), which have overshadowed the story, itself, and you have a worthy, if moody film, that really never had the chance it deserved to stand on it's own merits.

The film consists of multiple love stories, but each of the loves has been crushed, leaving a void. Convict Ray Liotta, released from prison after 25 years, with terminal cancer, is rewarded by the mob boss he took the rap for (Kris Kristofferson), but his wife is long dead, and she had told their daughter (Jessica Biel) he'd died, years before. Biel's young son is in an irreversable coma, and she is forced to work as a stripper for sleazy club owner Patrick Swayze, to pay for the hospital expenses. Her only joy is her dog...who runs away, and is hit by the car of a young, guileless mortician (Eddie Redmayne). He has spent his entire life helping others, only to discover his father had only left him debts, and he is about to lose everything. And in the major plotline, an ex-priest (Forest Whitaker), whose wife was killed on their wedding day, has decided God is punishing him for leaving His service...and as his faith prevents him from committing suicide, he is searching for somebody to kill him, and put him out of his grief...

Not the most cheerful of scenarios, for anyone in this group!

The stories are all involving, but dark, and the resolutions are not all simple and upbeat. Healing, Linh Bui points out, is never simple, and is an ongoing process, often moving in directions you wouldn't anticipate.

The cast is uniformly excellent, particularly Whitaker, whose performance is Oscar-worthy, and Liotta, in one of his most subdued portrayals in recent years. Watch for Lisa Kudrow, in a supporting role, as well; she is a beacon of happiness amidst all the gloom!

If you enjoy films that challenge, and aren't geared to the lowest common denominator of viewer, "Powder Blue" may be just the film you're looking for.






1/5 A tragic waste of talent
  by Raymond A. Cronin
The cast provides memorable performances but the story is totally lacking due to a sub-standard script.
It fails to make up for the poor writing, production and direction.
I wish that I never had purchased it.