Powder Blue Tagged Articles at Cinematical

In this day and age, why can't someone be both? Jessica Biel's dramatic turn as a stripper in Timothy Linh Bui's Powder Blue, which just hit DVD and Blu-ray, has been competing for attention with the theatrical release of Stephen Elliott's Easy Virtue, which opened in New York and Los Angeles before expanding this weekend. Throw in the tempest in a teacup about her interview with Allure Magazine, in which the actress was quoted as complaining that her beauty was causing her to miss out on more serious roles that instead went to Natalie Portman or Scarlett Johansson, and it may be hard to know what to think of the actress.

I don't know if the Allure quotes are accurate are not, taken out of context or completely made up, but watching her in Easy Virtue made me forget all the career stuff and gossip and get caught up with the characters and the story. That's not something I expected from a period piece based on a play by Noël Coward. Biel plays Larita, an American race car driver from Detroit who marries the young, very British John Whittaker (Ben Barnes) after a whirlwind romance. John takes her home to meet his very proper mother (Kristin Scott Thomas), his remote yet welcoming father (Colin Firth), and his two flighty sisters (Kimberly Nixon and Katherine Parkinson).

It wouldn't be fair to say that Biel steals this very funny film (with a more serious streak that's gradually revealed). For one thing, Firth is exquisitely good; for another, Elliot's direction is quite engaging. Still, Biel is something of a minor marvel in the role.

Killshot
Sometimes a film comes with big names and notable filmmakers, but just can't get more than a barely-there release on the big screen. This is one of those films. An adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel about a couple embroiled in a mess with some sketchy types, this puppy comes from Shakespeare in Love director John Madden, and stars the likes of Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke, Thomas Jane, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Johnny Knoxville, and Rosario Dawson. EFilmCritic calls it "messy and unfocused." Skip it.

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Powder Blue
Now Jessica Biel might be lamenting her beauty and how that affects her career, but not so long ago she was taking it off for her work. This is that Christmas drama with the stripper (Biel), an ex-priest, an ex-con, and a mortician. It is, however, also (slightly) notable for being the film where Patrick Swayze plays the gentleman's club head "Velvet Larry." Skip it.

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New in Town
There's not much to perk up the last two "Skip It" picks, just another Renee Zellweger romcom -- this time, with Harry Connick Jr. She's an executive who winds up in a small town and discovers the charms of rural life. William Goss said it didn't have "even one iota of charm or humor," so Skip it on DVD and Blu-ray.

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Big news: another beautiful actress laments that her good looks limit her acting choices. Jessica Biel says that being so attractive "really is a problem ... I just want an opportunity," she told Allure for their June issue, on sale next week. "If you don't like the audition, then don't hire me! But if you don't want to even see me - that's hurtful."

The quick conclusion to draw is that Biel is seriously delusional, that she's another spoiled, overpaid pretty girl. "Wah wah wah! Poor, poor, pitiful me!" However, none of the interview is online, only quotes that are scattered among various online outlets, so it's impossible to evaluate the context of her quote. Biel may, in fact, be delusional about her own abilities; on the other hand, what's wrong with yearning for the opportunity to demonstrate a wider range of her skills, and not to be judged by her looks alone?

Of course, thousands (if not millions) of less attractive people will never get to have the opportunities that she currently enjoys, limited though she may feel they are. Given a choice between a more talented, average-looking actress and a less talented, more traditionally-attractive actress, guess who wins the role? It reminds me of a scene in James L. Brooks' Broadcast News: when the handsome news reporter William Hurt asks, "What do you do when your real life exceeds your dreams?," the less attractive but more talented news reporter Albert Brooks responds: "Keep it to yourself!" Good advice for Jessica Biel. You can watch her strip down for a dramatic role in Powder Blue, now available on DVD, or catch her in Easy Virtue, due out in theaters on Friday.

[ Via E! Online ]

Bruno
IMDB is giving the following as this film's informal alternative title: Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt. Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen adapts another character from Da Ali G show, this time assuming the persona of a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion designer. This is apparently shot in the same way they did Borat, with most of the people involved not realizing that Bruno is just a fictional character. I suspect this may be just as funny as Borat was, but we'll have to wait until July 10 to know for sure.

Fame
Really? A remake of the 1980 film? It's not something I would have thought people were clamoring for but the movie looks to be in the mold of modern dance flicks, and there's a catchy modernization of the classic theme song. If Step Up 2 The Streets is your kind of thing then Fame may work for you. Look for it on September 25.

Powder Blue
Indie drama about four individuals including a suicidal minister who has lost his faith (Forest Whitaker), a retired hit man (Ray Liotta), a single mom stripper (Jessica Biel) and a socially awkward mortician. In addition to these three stars we have Patrick Swayze and Kris Kristofferson rounding out an appealing cast. The story looks compelling, not just because of the strip tease scenes, but they certainly don't hurt. Watch for this in limited release on April 24.

Terminator: Salvation
Yes, we were teased with a few seconds of footage last week but at last we have the full length trailer for the new Terminator flick, and in a nutshell: it rocks. The movie opens on May 22.

Dragonball: Evolution
This new trailer isn't impressing me any more than the last one. There's plenty of sci-fi fantasy kung foolery here if that's your kind of thing. Fans of the anime don't seem too thrilled with this adaptation, so I don't see a bright future for it. If you're so inclined, watch for this one on April 8.

Powder Blue
Jessica Biel stripping and Forrest Whitaker committing suicide dressed like Santa are just two of interesting visuals on display here. Aside from a few words spoken at the end there is no dialogue and very little to go on as far as what the movie is about. Still the imagery is pretty gripping. No release date for this one just yet.

Good
Viggo Mortensen stars as a college professor in Germany during the rise of the Nazi regime. Essentially a good man, he finds himself compromising his principals and accepting membership in the Nazi party. Watch for this one in limited release on December 31.

The Proposal
A retread of the getting-married-to-stay-in-the-country premise with Ryan Reynolds being coerced to marry his Canadian boss played by Sandra Bullock. The leads have appeal but I can't get past the cookie cutter plot that reminds me of countless TV episodes. Look for this one on June 12.

For a sizable amount of the male population, this is probably the best news they will hear all day. Us Weekly reports that Jessica Biel has agreed to appear nude in the upcoming drama, Powder Blue. Biel will star as a single mother stripping to raise money to save her terminally ill son. Joining Biel are; Forest Whitaker, Ray Liotta (as Biel's father), and Patrick Swayze as the owner of the club where Biel works. Directed by Timothy Linh Bui, the story centers on four strangers whose lives intersect in strange ways on Christmas Eve. According to sources for Us Weekly, Biel will retain final say over what makes it into the movie, but, she has reportedly "signed a contract that explicitly details the bare minimum fans will see - including shots of her breasts and butt."

In the past, Biel had been unwilling to bare it all on screen -- much to the disappointment of many I'm sure. The actress had even commented that she had felt she had been overlooked for roles because of it. To be honest, I don't see what all the fuss is about; especially if you remember Biel's controversial Gear magazine shoot back in 2000 -- it's not like the actress has shied away from showing a little skin. Although, Biel was quoted in that same Us Weekly piece as saying that her time as a Gear cover girl left her feeling "humiliated." Biel even recently told Australia's Sunday Herald, "I wouldn't feel comfortable with the extent of the nudity in Monster's Ball, I would be terrified of a role like that right now." So there really must have been something special about Bui's film to change her mind. Blue is currently shooting in Los Angeles and set for release in 2008.

Our EIC, Erik Davis, came up with "The Swayze," and I have to say -- I like it! "The Swayze" just sounds so much better, and so much more epic than just Patrick Swayze. It sounds infamous, and even a little dance-like, which is entirely apt since the guy is a great dancer. Granted, it can also take on the tone of a cheesy number, like "Do the Bartman," but I am trying not to think of it that way. Anyway, The Swayze has just signed on to that flick called Powder Blue, which we have previously posted about here and here.

As you may remember, Blue is about four diverse characters who come together one Christmas Eve, and they are -- a mortician, an ex-con, a suicidal ex-priest and a stripper. While I'm really wishing the female role could be anything but a stripper, because that's so cliche, the lineup is: Forest Whitaker as the ex-priest, Ray Liotta as the ex-con and Jessica Biel as the stripper (and Liotta's daughter).

Now we've got Swayze as the strip club owner, Eddie Redmayne (Babington in the upcoming The Golden Age) as the mortician and newcomer Alejandro Romero as a transsexual prostitute who is close to Whitaker's character. Topping off the powerful male punch, Kris Kristofferson has also signed on as "the head of a corporate crime organization who tries to convince his former employee (Liotta) not to seek vengeance on his former co-workers." The Hollywood Reporter says that the four people meet "through chance, tragedy and divine intervention," so maybe we'll get a little godly action in there as well. Either way, we're sure to get lots and lots of on-screen dysfunctional testosterone.

It was back in May that Erik Davis posted about Powder Blue -- the new film from Timothy Linh Bui, which already set up two notable stars -- Forest Whitaker and Jessica Biel. In the post, Erik said: "Now there's a duo I didn't expect to see on screen together." Still banking on an eclectic mix, the latest name to hit the roster is none other than Ray Liotta, and he's going to be Biel's dad, if you can believe that. This is perfect timing for the actor, who has wrapped production on three new films -- Crossing Over, Hero Wanted and Battle in Seattle, and is currently filming his fourth, The Night Job.

As previously stated, the film follows the life of four different characters who spend Christmas Eve together, kind of like Mixed Nuts without the comedy. Whitaker is playing the suicidal ex-priest, Biel is the stripper, who has a terminally ill son and Liotta is her dad, an ex-con who has just spent 25 years in prison and wants to reconnect with her. There's only one main character left to cast now -- the mortician. Convention would suggest that this role will be played by another man who can pull off dysfunction, but I'm hoping for a woman. We always see the female stripper in films, so much so that aliens who catch our satellite waves might think Earth is a veritable cornucopia of them. So, why not? If Liotta can play Biel's dad, anything is possible.

Now there's a duo I didn't expect to see on screen together. Variety reports that Jessica Biel and Forest Whitaker have joined the cast of Powder Blue; an ensemble drama that's looking to begin production this July in Los Angeles. Pic is to be helmed by Timothy Linh Bui, brother and co-collaborator of Three Seasons director Tony Bui. Linh Bui's last feature (as a director) was the 2001 flick Green Dragon; a pic that also starred Whitaker, as well as Patrick Swayze. Powder Blue was set up by Eleven Eleven Films in association with Spirit Dance Entertainment and Grosvenor Park Media; it will be produced by Whitaker, Bobby Schwartz, Ross M. Dinerstein, Tracee Stanley-Newell and Timothy Linh Bui.

Like the Oscar-winning film Crash, Powder Blue will follow the lives of four very different characters who, for one reason or another, wind up together on Christmas Eve. Those characters are a mortician, an ex-con, a suicidal ex-priest and a stripper. No word yet on which roles Whitaker and Biel will take on, but if I were a betting man, I'd have to say Biel would look mighty fine playing a stripper. And I know I'm not alone in that belief. As for Whitaker, I say he plays either the mortician or the suicidal ex-priest -- heck, he'd do just fine in any of the roles except, well, I can't see him pulling off a thong. But that's me. Script was penned by Linh Bui, based off a story written by Stephanie Gauger (Owl and the Sparrow). With this role, it seems Biel has finally gotten her wish. The actress was complaining recently that she hasn't been given the opportunity to audition for gritty roles; that those parts have been going to ladies like Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman. Aww. Well, when you bring in the type of box office that those girls do (what did Next make, $14 million?), then I'm sure more stuff will begin to open up.