Powder Blue (2009)

Featured Audience Ratings

• KJ P

  
  "Powder Blue" is the type of movie that everyone would love to hate! Personally, I think it is one of the more overshadowed films that were released in 2009. With many big name B-List actors involved, they really gave it their all to make this film as much as it is. It… More
  "Powder Blue" is the type of movie that everyone would love to hate! Personally, I think it is one of the more overshadowed films that were released in 2009. With many big name B-List actors involved, they really gave it their all to make this film as much as it is. It follows two separate plot lines that never connect, so I felt myself scratching my head sometimes, but the dark feel of strip clubs truly adds to the mood of suicide and broken romance. However, I must hand it to Eddie Redmayne, whose performance really had me engaging in the events of the film. There are many scenes that will have you rolling your eyes, due to the over dramatic attempts, but overall, it's a very low-budget stylistic film that will have you feeling every emotions the characters are feeling, and you will wish that death is always as peaceful as it is in this film. "Powder Blue" is a very solid drama!

• Dean !

  
  One of those multi-layered, character films, whose lives overlap in one way or another. It has a fine cast, including Patrick Swayze's last role along side Ray Liotta, Forest Whitaker. However it will be more well known for the film where Jessica Biel plays the part of an… More
  One of those multi-layered, character films, whose lives overlap in one way or another. It has a fine cast, including Patrick Swayze's last role along side Ray Liotta, Forest Whitaker. However it will be more well known for the film where Jessica Biel plays the part of an "exotic dancer" and strips off. It's main theme is one of loneliness, despair and seeking companionship. It's ok but some story lines are weaker than others and the ending seems a little rushed. Overall ok for a one time watch.

• Red L

  
  I like interconnected movies. Powder Blue is just such a movie where the lives of a stripper, an ex-convict, an ex-priest and a mortician come together just before Christmas. OK, so its a little strange, but it has hope. Three things, I had no idea Patrick Swayze was in it until I… More
  I like interconnected movies. Powder Blue is just such a movie where the lives of a stripper, an ex-convict, an ex-priest and a mortician come together just before Christmas. OK, so its a little strange, but it has hope. Three things, I had no idea Patrick Swayze was in it until I saw the credits. It was his last movie, and not a typical role. Second, we see a lot of Jessica Biel skin - that is not so bad. Third, it snows blue snow in LA on Christmas. That is just weird. The epilogue - I saw this movie twice - six months apart, and liked it a lot more the second viewing than the first.

• Chris G

  
  Powder Blue is one of those films that takes a group of separate people, tell their story, and then tie it all together in the end. It all started with Magnolia and in the last decade plus everyone wants to do it. The thing about Powder Blue is that it tries to be one of those films,… More
  Powder Blue is one of those films that takes a group of separate people, tell their story, and then tie it all together in the end. It all started with Magnolia and in the last decade plus everyone wants to do it. The thing about Powder Blue is that it tries to be one of those films, but the structure is haphazard at best. The core character in the film is Rose Johnny (Jessica Biel), your typical stripper with a drug problem who also happens to have a dying son in the hospital. Next we have Jack (Ray Liotta), a guy that just go out of the clink, picks up a briefcase full of bills, and goes out to right the wrongs that have happened in his life. Attach to that Qwerty (Eddie Redmayne) the son of a dead mortician who is drowning in bills. Finally we get to Charlie (Forrest Whittaker) who is driving around seedy areas of town carrying fifty grand for the one person that will shoot him in the heart. It's a fine cast. That's not really the problem. It's just that we've seen it all before. The stripper trying to save her kid. The father that regrets a life of not being there. The main core of the film is standard film fodder, leaving the morticians story, which isn't much of a story at all other than finally serving its purpose in the third act of the film. This brings us to Charlie's saga that is pasted to the rest of the film near the beginning and then refusing to intersect again. It's an interesting story, but what it has to do with the rest of the film is a mystery to me. It would have made a fine separate film instead of being an added attraction to the club standard that the rest of the film appears to be. This is a basic, paint by numbers film that doesn't really do anything above and beyond the norm. There is a very creepy Patrick Swayze in this that blows the mind in his filth and vulgarity that could interest some. Otherwise this is a film that tries to be more than what it is and fails at it.

• Curtis L

  
  Way better than I expected. At first it seemed like another "real life sucks" movie, which I enjoy, but it ended very hopeful and nice for a change. Not sure why the snow was blue, but I think more snow should be blue. And more snow should feature frozen Ray Liottas.

• Manu G

  
  Pretty good movie I gotta say. Great Acting from Jessica Biel and I think this was Patrick Swayze's last movie so it was glad to see him even though his role was less than his usual style. Angelenos meet on Christmas Eve through chance, tragedy and divine intervention. Velvet… More
  Pretty good movie I gotta say. Great Acting from Jessica Biel and I think this was Patrick Swayze's last movie so it was glad to see him even though his role was less than his usual style. Angelenos meet on Christmas Eve through chance, tragedy and divine intervention. Velvet Larry is the sleazy owner of the strip club where Rose Johnny dances. Qwerty Doolittle is a mortician who falls in love with her. Randall is the head of a corporate crime organization who tries to convince a former employee not to seek vengeance on his former co-workers. Charlie is a suicidal ex-priest. Lexus is a transsexual prostitute who shares an unexpected bond with the priest.

• Cassie H

  
  One of the worst movies ever. I don't know why i left it on. The only actors performances I enjoyed were that of Lisa Kudrow & Forest Whitaker. Don't watch this movie!!!!!

• Jason S

  
  I'm a sucker for Forest Whitaker. I checked out the movie because of this and was a little disappointed when all was said and done. We follow a few people around the city of LA as Christmas day comes near. I expected the folks to be down on their luck and they were. I thought… More
  I'm a sucker for Forest Whitaker. I checked out the movie because of this and was a little disappointed when all was said and done. We follow a few people around the city of LA as Christmas day comes near. I expected the folks to be down on their luck and they were. I thought things would get better for them and for the most part they did. Sort of. Not as good as I would have liked though. It seems to me that there was only one story worth following in the movie and it did take up most of the time. When we did pop back to the other story I found myself going "oh yeah". I kept forgetting that the other story was going on. A couple good performances but on the most part a depressing and dull movie.

• Al S

  
  A powerfully intense and emotionally enduring movie. A dark, compelling, beautifully depressing and truly unforgettable film that shines with originality and brilliance. A damn near perfect film thats written terifficly and superbly crafted. A deeply moving and heart-wrenching… More
  A powerfully intense and emotionally enduring movie. A dark, compelling, beautifully depressing and truly unforgettable film that shines with originality and brilliance. A damn near perfect film thats written terifficly and superbly crafted. A deeply moving and heart-wrenching character piece thats fuelled by an astonishing cast of amasing actors that all do an exceptional and wonderful job with their performances. Forest Whitaker is extroadinary, his best performance since The Last King Of Scottland. Jessica Biel gives an excellent and surprisingly satisfying performance. She not only shows she is a gorgious woman but shows here that she is pure leading lady material. Ray Liotta is incrediable, always knowing how to deliver a powerful and fearless performance.

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"Every life has a breaking point"</i> Four Los Angelenos -- a mortician, an ex-con, a suicidal ex-priest, and a stripper -- are brought together on Christmas Eve by a mixture of circumstances. <center><font size=+2 face="Century… More
  <i>"Every life has a breaking point"</i> Four Los Angelenos -- a mortician, an ex-con, a suicidal ex-priest, and a stripper -- are brought together on Christmas Eve by a mixture of circumstances. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> Four desperate people drift together over Christmas. One a stripper with a little boy in a coma, another is an ex-con who looks for salvation, a mortuary worker faces foreclosure on his business and an ex-priest looks for someone to do a job for him. Well made and very well acted tale has plot lines that are so over done that they border on silly. Talk about stacking the deck, these people have enough going on for five years of soap operas. The cast almost sells the (overly) heartfelt emotion, but its just too much. How much of this would really happen to four people over a couple of days? My interest began to wander about a half an hour in because I felt that the film was manipulating things for no really good reason. I understand why the cast was drawn to the material since it allows them to dig in and chow down on the scenery. Its not a bad movie, its just an over done one.

• Mark A

  
  A powerful tale of loss and despair and the courage to go on when one's hope lies at your feet like pile of ashes. Like Crash, this film relies on a fortuitous set of intertwined lives coming together and then parting. There is a lot of pain on display here. Yet, in the midst of… More
  A powerful tale of loss and despair and the courage to go on when one's hope lies at your feet like pile of ashes. Like Crash, this film relies on a fortuitous set of intertwined lives coming together and then parting. There is a lot of pain on display here. Yet, in the midst of the pain, like a flower pushing up through the cracks in the pavement, some of these characters emerge on the other side with a new reason to go on. An excellent cast pulled this together for this viewer. In the hands of less skilled performaers this might have been merely grotesque, impossibly trite, macabre, or even maudlin. But each character brought something special to the film. The cinematography was stunning. The DP's use of color to convey different emotions and to thematically highlight each character was just brilliant. Even through the gloom, there was a touch of humor, like the glint of sunshine off the crest of a wave just before it comes crashing down.

• Sol C

  
  The performances are the main reason to check out this film. The film is well cast and everyone delivers. The problem with the film is that the pacing is off at times. Also the film reminded me too much of films like Crash and Magnolia, especially in their styles and structure. I… More
  The performances are the main reason to check out this film. The film is well cast and everyone delivers. The problem with the film is that the pacing is off at times. Also the film reminded me too much of films like Crash and Magnolia, especially in their styles and structure. I think the filmmakers should have tried their best to avoid the Crash and Magnolia similarities. Every time, I saw Patrick Swayze on screen with his long hair, he reminded me of his To Wong Foo look from that film.

• Christopher H

  
  Powder Blue was just gritty enough to work, unraveling two parallel stories in the city of Los Angeles. One story follows stripper Jessica Biel as she juggles her vegetative son and her working nightlife, encountering a strange gentlemen played by Ray Liotta, who has a mysterious… More
  Powder Blue was just gritty enough to work, unraveling two parallel stories in the city of Los Angeles. One story follows stripper Jessica Biel as she juggles her vegetative son and her working nightlife, encountering a strange gentlemen played by Ray Liotta, who has a mysterious infatuation with her, and a young mortician who accidentally hits her dog with his car and falls for her immediately after their meeting. The second story follows Forest Whittaker as he searches for anyone heartless enough (or passionate enough) to assist him in his death, following the brutal death of his wife. The stories do not quite intersect, but they are still packed with enough significant twists to allow audiences a different experience than that of films like "Crash".

• Nicolas K

  
  It is no credit to the director who had amazing talents in his hands and managed to bring the film to the level where it can only be recommended for the erotic dancing of Biel.

• Adam M

  
  Not bad but slightly boring ensemble drama. This is one of those films where we see things from the viewpoint of a few different people whose "lives will change forever" etc. Seen it all before but its the strong cast that carries this film and makes it just about worth… More
  Not bad but slightly boring ensemble drama. This is one of those films where we see things from the viewpoint of a few different people whose "lives will change forever" etc. Seen it all before but its the strong cast that carries this film and makes it just about worth watching. Ray Liota is an ex-con who's just got out of jail and is looking for his duaghter, Rose, played by sexy Jessica Biel who's an exotic dancer with a young son in a coma. Forest Whitaker is a priest who seems to blame himself for his wifes death and another dude who's name escapes me is a loner destined to meet his soulmate. I do generally like these type of movies and the idea of setting it in LA, this huge city, was cool but you don't ever feel like they're in a massive place, it could be anywhere. This seems more based around its seedy underbelly and i felt somehow they could have shown how intimidating the characters surroundings are but the way it comes together is pretty cool but that was actually expected as its been done so many times. Saying that, this was probably the best performance i've seen yet from Jessica Biel who is totally believable as a struggling single mum under pressure with work and money issues and her final dance scene is a definate highlight in an average film that you have to be in the mood for. People that enjoyed the superior ensemble piece, The Air I Breathe, might enjoy this to. It also stars Forest Whitaker.This is also worth a look for appearances from the late Patrick Swayze, Lisa Kudrow and Kris Kristofferson.

• Erin C

  
  It reminded me a lot of Crash, but a little less confusing. It was a dark film, and the cast was pretty good. However, it was not very original.

• d j

  
  Excellent cast! They all did an amazing job..WOW!! All I can say is watch this movie.. You'll be shocked a few times, you'll cry, but in the end you'll understand and have hope. Excellent writing. I can't say enough about this movie.. it's one of the best… More
  Excellent cast! They all did an amazing job..WOW!! All I can say is watch this movie.. You'll be shocked a few times, you'll cry, but in the end you'll understand and have hope. Excellent writing. I can't say enough about this movie.. it's one of the best I've seen in a long time. There is despair, death, love, loss, a few ghosts, and even some really sexy scenes. This movie makes you feel as if, even if the worst possible thing imaginable happens.. there is still hope and happiness ..if you let it. Wow..

Read all 17 featured audience ratings