Powder Blue

ALMOST: (Timothy Linh Bui) Well, there is usually a reason when films go straight to DVD. Basically: It's not good enough to make people pay $10 for. Powder Blue is actually not good enough to make people pause life for its measly 106 minutes. Now, don't get me wrong, this film has some redeeming qualities that kept my machine playing. Forest Whitaker delivers a suspenseful and heartbreaking performance and Lisa Kudrow peaks into the plot as a refreshing quirky personality. And, while the storyline involving these two is minimal and secondary, it is by far supreme. Jessica Biel and Ray Liotta play the mainstream, an ill-matched customer-stripper with an unexplained relationship reaching deeper than what either admits out loud. Honestly, I didn't really care. Biel over acts her way through sweaty dancing and rainy sidewalks (an atmosphere also over done). Liotta has few words, yet relies on the same stoned facial expression for his entire appearance. In the end, I can't really say what this movie was about, what its bottom line was, or even how the title related. I was tempted to watch this movie because of the build up--now I ask, why was it even worth mentioning?