Before "CRASH" achieved acclaim for its powerful reflections of a wide array of characters dealing with life in Los Angeles, there was a lesser known film with similar ambitions, "PLAYING BY HEART." Although "PLAYING BY HEART" failed on many levels wherein "CRASH" succeeded, it also succeeded on many levels where "POWDER BLUE" doesn't!
 
All of the characters, save for the one played by Lisa Kudrow, appear doomed from the beginning, and while it's easy to believe in Ray Liotta's performance as a former inmate trying to rebuild a relationship with his long-suffering, unloved daughter, before he dies from cancer, the rest of the cast never make their characters feel real. Of course, the beleagured script, filled with ridiculously contrived caricatures, doesn't help. While many and Justin Timberlake may consider Jessica Biehl to be beautiful, her performance as a stripper is dreadful!!! It really ranks with one of the most unbelievably bad performances of all time.  Swayze's performance isn't that good either, but he's proven his ability as an actor with "CITY OF GOD" and other films, and one can forgive anyone having to speak the embarassing dialogue his club owner character has to offer.  "POWDER BLUE" does succeed, technically in bridging some narrative puzzles together by its end, but it's hard to perceive viewers being either entertained or moved by the film when it's finally ended.
 
IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT has provided the correct 2.40:1 aspect ratio for this 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 blu-ray.  While grain borders on intrusive at times, the unique color designs(sometimes monochromatic)given to individual storylines, is consistently impressive, save for any and all scenes within Swayze's club. It's within this zone that the image falls completely flat and colors are oversaturated. In any other scene, depth is typically three-dimensional.
 
IMAGE has provided a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix.  While the lossy mix provides some dynamic moments, most of the soundtrack is enemic. With this mix, the hustle and bustle of LA streets sounds more like the post-apocalyptic streets of "I AM LEGEND." Little is offered to bring the viewer into the already troubled film. Dialogue is always intelligible and free of distortion.
 
Along with a photo gallery, a trailer for the film(standard definition), a featurette with cast/crew interviews(standard definition)and a hard-to-sit-through audio commentary with the film's director and producer is offered. These two think they've created a bold film, but they need to go back to film school.