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Powder Blue

Powder Blue

Drama · 2009

On the gritty streets of LA, the destinies of four people desperate for connection and redemption are about to collide.

Movie details

Powder Blue

“Every life has a breaking point.”

2009 Drama 1h 46m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.1 / 10

Community rating

On the gritty streets of LA, the destinies of four people desperate for connection and redemption are about to collide.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Powder Blue?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Joe Gideon is at the top of the heap, one of the most successful directors and choreographers in musical theater. But he can feel his world slowly collapsing around him - his obsession with work has almost destroyed his personal life, and only his bottles of pills keep him going.

Levity

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Crime · 2003

Manuel Jordan is a man who is free after serving 23 years for killing a teenager during an attempted robbery. After nearly two decades of staring at his victim's face on a newspaper clipping in his cell, the newly paroled man seeks redemption. Instead, redemption—in the form of a mysterious minister and two needy women— finds him.

True Confessions

True Confessions

Crime · 1981

A cop clashes with his priest brother while investigating the brutal murder of a young prostitute.

Bad Lieutenant

Bad Lieutenant

Crime · 1992

While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness.

The Place Beyond the Pines

The Place Beyond the Pines

Drama · 2013

A motorcycle stunt rider considers committing a crime in order to provide for his wife and child, an act that puts him on a collision course with a cop-turned-politician.

Wonderland

Wonderland

Crime · 2003

On the afternoon of July 1, 1981, Los Angeles police responded to a distress call on Wonderland Avenue and discovered a grisly quadruple homicide. The police investigation that followed uncovered two versions of the events leading up to the brutal murders - both involving legendary porn actor John Holmes.

Breakwater

Breakwater

Thriller · 2023

A young ex-con risks his newfound freedom to track down the estranged daughter of a fellow inmate, and unknowingly brings a devil from her past straight to her doorstep.

21 Grams

21 Grams

Drama · 2003

Paul Rivers, an ailing mathematician lovelessly married to an English émigré; Christina Peck, an upper-middle-class suburban housewife and mother of two girls; and Jack Jordan, a born-again ex-con, are brought together by a terrible accident that changes their lives.

Shot Caller

Shot Caller

Crime · 2017

A newly-released prison gangster is forced by the leaders of his gang to orchestrate a major crime with a brutal rival gang on the streets of Southern California.

Where it lives

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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Timothy Linh Bui

Written by

Timothy Linh Bui · Stephane Gauger

Jessica Biel

Jessica Biel

Rose Johnny

Eddie Redmayne

Eddie Redmayne

Qwerty Doolittle

Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker

Charlie

Ray Liotta

Ray Liotta

Jack Doheny

Patrick Swayze

Patrick Swayze

Velvet Larry

Lisa Kudrow

Lisa Kudrow

Sally

Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson

Randall

Court is in session

Put Powder Blue on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.