Powder Blue
Featuring: Jessica Biel, Eddie Redmayne, Forest Whitaker, Ray Liotta, Lisa Kudrow, Patrick Swayze, Kris Kristofferson, Alejandro Romero
Genre: drama
Plot: A couple of days around Christmas in the lives of a few people whose life is on the brink.
Acting: Nothing to complain there though Jessica Biel makes for a really bad stripper.
Drama: Let’s see… one is dying, one’s kid is dying, and another one is begging to be killed, yep plenty of drama.
Action: a few bar brawls, nothing major.
Funny: Nope, it’s not supposed to be.
Visuals: Nothing outstanding, but it is nicely shot and pretty good editing as a whole.
Soundtrack: That was interesting because it had plenty of vocals and not just instrumental parts like most movie have. Wouldn’t mind getting a copy of that.
Official website: http://www.powderbluemovie.com
Comments: Since the beginning we get the feeling that this can’t end well, not with drug use, terminal cancer, coma, and suicidal characters. It’s pretty depressing. I wish people stopped making movies following the Crush recipe. This movie is far from it and I can’t say I liked even that one much. It’s about lost souls, and I found it a bit ironic and frustrating that the good man and the innocent child get the short end of the stick while the stripper and the priest get absolution. It doesn’t exactly seem fair. And the blue snow that's falling over LA is more then cheesy. I guess the producers/director/script writer thought they saved the movie once they gave it sort of a happy ending, but unless you really like Ray Liotta, like I do (I had to chuckle at the mention of his eyes), or want to see Jessica Biel wearing close to nothing, very few people will find it worth their time.
Rating: 6/10
Crossing Over
Featuring: Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, Jim Sturgess, Cliff Curtis, Summer Bishil, Alice Braga
Genre: drama
Plot: The immigration issues in the US.
Acting: Good enough for what the movie needs to portray.
Drama: Murder, blackmail, terrorism suspect, etc.
Action: Factory raids in search of illegal immigrants.
Funny: The young man trying to get a working visa by pretending to be a Jew, and especially the interview scene.
Visuals: Nicely shot and good editing, loved the colors of the city lights during the opening scene, but Harrisson Ford should stop wearing short sleeves while in front of the camera if he wants to preserve his image.
Soundtrack: -
Official website: http://www.weinsteinco.com/#/film/crossingover/
Comments: This is another movie that follows the trend started by Crush, only that this one deals with a more painful reality: immigrants’ situation. The intertwined stories are touching in their own way. We get a peek into the system and get an idea of how it works, how it can be cheated and how it can screw you. Harrisson Ford is supposed to play the lead but enough attention is paid to the other storylines. I have to say there are a few unnecessary sex scenes and they’re not even artistically done. Aside from that the movie achieves what it was meant to do, with a bittersweet ending that makes you think about what’s fair in the world and what isn’t. I have to make a comment on how aging doesn’t do any favors to Ashley Judd and Ray Liotta, and that’s a shame because they are both quite good looking or they were at some point. It’s funny how Liotta is such a softy when he plays a good guy and still can make a character so more interesting when he plays a bad guy.
Rating: 7/10
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