Powder

Rating:
Summary: An Extraordinary Ride
Review: This is a movie about an extraordinary individual Jeremy, whose nickname is Powder, due to being an albino. Just before his birth, his mother was hit by lightening, resulting in an incredibly heightened ability to 'play' with and use electrical fields.

As a teenager Powder's grandfather dies of natural causes, leaving him alone with the legal system. Because he's different he automatically attracts attention of the bad kind, which leads to some amazing and spectacular displays of what you can do with electricity, a Jacob's Ladder, and a dancing spoon.

This isn't your normal sort of movie, with "poor child with a problem turns out to be amazing, the bad guys become his friends and he gets the girl". Instead he was always amazing, he doesn't get really get the girl, the bad guys mainly stay trapped by fear, but Powder shows us the potential of the human heart and mind. It focusses on a theory of Einstein, who believed in life after death simply because energy does not disappear, it simply changes form. Powder can 'see inside' people, hear their thoughts, even those in a coma.

If you're looking for an action flick or a romance, go somewhere else. This is a thinking person's movie, despite several logical errors. It stirs the senses, opens the mind and spirit, and can give you hope for the future.

Rating:
Summary: A sleeper that you won't soon forget
Review: My favorite films are the ones that fly under the radar of critical acclaim (so that expectations are flatlined), only to discover personal treasures that escaped the masses. Powder is one of those personal treasures.

The story is not new (see Forrest Gump, Being There and K-PAX). Take the "abnormal" personality that, without choice, maintains innocence into adulthood, insert it into a world of "normal" personalities, and watch the paradox unfold. What sets Powder apart from the others is the depth of emotions evoked from the talents of second tier actors (with the exception of Jeff Goldblum), especially Sean Patrick Flanery as the lead character, and the feeling that you have just witnessed the unbelievable transform into the believable. Isn't that what good movies do?

Powder . . . one of the best I've seen in a while.

Rating:
Summary: Wanted to slap Powder across his face!
Review: I boy gets amazing powers. Does he use them for good? No he mopes around, complaining about how misunderstood he is! He needs a good kick in the pants! For a much better movie that covers a lot of the same ground check out John Travolta in Phenomenom.

Rating:
Summary: Great Message, But Bad Movie
Review: I thought this movie was very boring, I could harldy sit through it. It was practically painful (but I at least wanted to finish). The plot is pretty stupid. The guy gets hit by lighting and he becomes different from everyone else. The story drags on and on and on until the end which also stunk. Over all the movie stunk but it did have a great message. The message is to not judge people on thier apperance and that nobody is, can, or ever will be normal.

There, now after reading the message there is no point in watching the movie - lol. Go do something that you'll actually be glad you spent time doing. Just don't watch this movie or worse, buy it - lol

Rating:
Summary: Strong Spiritual Message
Review: Not everyone is ready for a leap in faith. We limit our world to the black and white, forgeting that we are more than this particular body that we inhabit in this life. POWDER makes you look past the mundane, hate, petty and the trival, to discover beauty that is there if you can really "see." One scene where the Sheriff, Powder (Jeremy) and the Sheriff's haunted vegatative dying wife displays this point nicely . Powder was the conduit between the husband and wife, discovering that forgiveness and love is what really matters and to discard past misunderstandings.
I was more interested in the message versus's the minor "gay innuendo" which some people may linger on, especially in our homophobic society.
The movie is a REAL MESSAGE movie and it makes you wonder that WE are more than our fear and physical body, ready to be released.

Rating:
Summary: Reminds me of Michael Jackson
Review: If anyone would want to know what it must be like to be Michael Jackson, this film would be it. People fear what they do not understand. Instead of Michael bending spoons, he has other talents such as his music and dancing. But what makes it truly a wonderful movie, is Michael Jackson has the same type of universal love that Powder has in the film. This is the most moving movie I have seen in a long time, and it moved me to tears at the end. There are beautiful people like Powder on this earth in real life. It is much easier for people to make fun of what they do not understand, instead of grasping the beauty people like Powder have to offer the world.

Rating:
Summary: Come on, people! It's a good movie, but not THAT good.
Review: I liked Powder. It's not a great movie--there are a few too many problems for that accolade. But it is creative in a number of respects, and certainly worth seeing. I must admit, however, that having recently seen that creepy interview with Michael Jackson, he might have seen this movie too, and his skin bleachings may well be proof.

First, the flaws. There's a gnawing and out-of-left-field piece of this film that is suggestive that one of the filmmaker's points was to glorify the "odd, smart, and sensitive, yet persecuted homosexual" stereotype. Perhaps the clearest indication of this is the scene in which Powder stares at a muscular jock in a boy's locker room. It was a scene that felt entirely out of place in the movie--an add-on that seemed to be intended as an "in your face" revelation that Powder represents gays. The camera also seem to linger a bit too long on the male characters, with the female characters left oddly de-sexualized. What was irritating about this apparent subtext was that it took away and trivialized what seemed to be a broader message, the message that human beings might well kill someone meant to save them. In this regard, the more powerful metaphor for Powder seemed to be a Jesus story--with an odd, highly empathic, and powerful "savior" born under strange circumstances and ultimately persecuted by those he tried to help. For me, it work on that level.

A number of critics pointed out that the story was derivative. I agree. But I thought it took various pieces from other stories and movies and wove them together in a compelling new way. For me, Powder also worked as a kind of comic book tale of how a superhero might come to pass, and what a person with such powers might be like in real life. (It was more successful in humanizing a superhero than Unbreakable, in my opinion.)

The casting could have been better, though. Jeff Goldblum was awful. Apart from his role in the Fly, where I thought he was perfect, he hasn't been able to pull together a decent performance. I hope Igby Goes Down, which I have yet to see, is redemptive for him. I've never liked Mary Steenbergen, and found nothing admirable in her performance. I thought the young actor who played Powder was solid in the role.

This is a pleasant entertainment with quite a bit to offer the viewer. It isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I think it merits three stars.

Rating:
Summary: Powder,The Greatest Movie Ever
Review: I am a teacher and I have seen this movie 8 times! I wish the world could be made to watch this movie and understand its importance. I wish people could see that jeremy stands for all the downtrodden and misunderstood people of the world. People should watch and understand that the way Jeremy was treated is the way African Americans are treated, Indians are treated, women, Jews, homosexuals, mentally impaired persons, old people, and anyone else society perceives as being different than they believe to be normal.
When I saw this movie for the first time I remember thinking that the author was a genius and because I like to write also I wished I could write something so insiteful, powerful and moving as he had. This is truely the greatest movie ever!

Rating:
Summary: IT'S ABOUT TIME!
Review: FINALLY SOMEONE MADE A MOVIE ABOUT THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT AND THAT SHOWS HOW LIMITLESS WE ARE! It also demonstates how we behave when someone is different from us. I would encourage every person to sit down and watch this with their children. Explain to them the importance of LOVE and seeing and feeling from another point of view. In all of the things that occur to hurt the main character Powder, he never demonstates any evil or pain back. This is a definite must see....Don't miss this movie!...

Rating:
Summary: Touching
Review: We could all learn a lesson from this movie. It touches your heart to see the compassion and love that Powder displays in this movie. And dispite all the cruelty he faces, he still continues to show his compassion. This movie takes the reality of our real lives and gives you a deeper sence. We all face prejudice, cruelty and hate each day, and this movie shows that there is good out in the world, and a little love goes a long way.