torrascotia I have watched this movie twice so far, its at best an average thriller. I see quite a few high ratings for this movie and they usually refer to the fact its made by a female director. I think if it was made by a male director it would have an average rating. This isnt even her best movie, I much prefer Near Dark. The movie itself was written by James Cameron however this is not in the same league as Terminator or Aliens as far as quality or action goes. The story is quite straight forward, its a police corruption movie with the back drop of the turn of the century, with a sci-fi twist. There are a couple of plot twists within the film but nothing that is too surprising. There are a few reasons why I haven't rated this as above average. First off is the running time. It really doesn't justify taking up the best part of 3 hours. The reason? Quite a few scenes are almost like music promo videos of some once popular band from the 90s. So much of the movie seems to take place in a concert venue. There are maybe three different scenes when Juliette Lewis is on stage and this doesn't add to the plot at all. There are just far too many of these scenes. Also the director uses slow motion far too often and inter cuts other scenes with images of the city in chaos for no real reason. When you start to look at your watch throughout the movie and begin to notice all of these things which eat into the time of the movie its quite frustrating. This is basically a decent 90 min movie stretched out to almost twice its length by baggy content screaming to be cut out. As far as the main protagonists, we have a male lead who is supposed to have been a cop and is now part of the criminal underworld. However he is so incompetent during the fight scenes its laughable. How can he possibly have been a cop when hes so soft? Angela Basset is the side kick and if we are to believe this the toughest thing in the movie. We see her beat up groups of men and women well over 6ft tall, all 5 ft 4 inches of her. It doesn't seem believable when you notice the height differences. If people rated the movie as it is instead of inflating the score because of who directed it, because of their gender, which is also a form of prejudice, this would be reflected in the ratings. Its an average movie best watched with your finger on the fast forward button. There are better, shorter movies and you could probably fit two of them in instead of watching this.

gogoschka-1 Probably one of the best big-budget sci-fi films to never reach a big audience. Written and produced by James Cameron and expertly directed by Kathryn Bigelow, this film is more noir than actual sci-fi - although the sci-fi elements are important. With a great cast and an amazing atmosphere throughout, this is one not to miss for fans of thrillers, film noir, sci-fi and especially the subgenre knwon as cyberbunk. 8 stars out of 10.In case you're interested in more underrated masterpieces, here's a list with some of my favorites:imdb.com/list/ls070242495

lasttimeisaw Ms. Bigelow's fifth feature, STRANGE DAYS is written by her ex-husband James Cameron and co- writer Jay Cocks, which was an abysmal commercial disaster upon its release, its entire North American revenue only managed to collect one-sixth of its hefty 42-million price tag, which consequently put her director career on hold until THE WEIGHT OF WATER (2000). But in recent years, this 2-and-a-half-hour long dystopian cyberpunk has been justly touted as an under- appreciated mainstream artifact which pairs an unconventional interracial leads in the near-future where the world is cloaked by the turn-of-the-millennium panic and paranoia.Doomsday is coming, the story takes place in L.A. in the last two days of 1999, Lenny Nero (Fiennes, convincingly shedding his British accent), a former LAPD officer, now is a purveyor of an illegal virtual reality technology called SQUID, which is brilliantly prescient of its script written 20- odd years earlier, also provides a fillip for the technology team to revolutionize a tailor-made POV- shot camera, which in turn introduces a highly-voyeuristic and visceral experience to whoever puts on that sprawling helmet meanwhile, leaves audience a jag of vicarious thrill. Lenny hustles his commodity in seedy bars, reminisces in the clips of good old days with Faith (Lewis), his ex- girlfriend, a punk singer who jolts him for Philo Gant (Wincott), a sadistic, shady music industry bigwig, and only gods know why!The plot entails a heady mix-bag of murder, rape, rogue cops, racist hate crime and double- crossing, which pressingly couples a lovelorn, past-lingering Lenny with his limousine-driving, SQUID-repelling, forward-thinking friend Mace (an ass-kicking, sinewy Bassett in dreadlocks), who many a time comes to Lenny's rescue, thus, Bigelow has stimulatingly thrusts an anomaly in the hackneyed odd-couple mode, Mace and Lenny, a black-colored heroine vs. a white-skin antihero, a unique pair driven into the mystery and danger by their respective attachments - one is manifest, the other is latent; one is mired in the past while the other beckons a brand new future.Bigelow execution and Cameron's storyline thrive on a daring exploitation of violence and female- abuse, liken SQUID's strung-out mental effect to drug addiction (on a lesser note, the whole gambit can be replaced by videotapes and the story would go exactly the same way, minus the Sci- Fi appeal), and expertly concoct a grandiose milieu of an apocalyptic pandemonium. Ralph Fiennes mingles his genteel characteristic with squarely sympathetic vibes even he sticks to the wrong choice all the way (save the ending), a battered SQUID-addict doesn't care for his own safety but a lost soul doesn't need his extrication; Angela Bassett counteracts Fiennes' self-destructive inclination with her towering brio and incredible stamina, justly earns both a kiss from the one she has been secretly in love with for a long time and audience's extolment in the end of the day. Juliette Lewis gives thrilling live performances as a punk-head (with some gratuitous nudity as well), which is certainly in her wheelhouse. Lastly, the whodunit disclosure in the third-act fails to ferment transcendent empathy like the sub-genre's top-dog BLADE RUNNER (1982) has achieved, not the least because Tom Sizemore in that God-awful wig is really a turn-off, on other grounds, STRANGE DAYS is a distinctively one-off studio extravaganza, it defies the mass's expectation, and receives an unwarranted cold-shoulder, but any at rate one must give some credits to its boldness and finesse.

cinemamaestro1 This is truly an under-appreciated master work which deserves many, many, many repeat viewings. Initially released in 1995 to wan box office and mixed reception, "Strange Days" resonates more than ever today with its bleak depiction of a world dominated by virtual reality obsession and the desire to be anyone, anywhere else for a moment in time. Director Kathryn Bigelow meticulously and expertly stages every scene, from the opening roof top chase to the climactic New Year's Eve countdown. The film also features some of the best ever performances from Ralph Fiennes as a slick but conscientious hustler, Angela Bassett as a tough but honorable limo driver, Juliette Lewis as a confused rock singer, and Tom Sizemore as a seemingly non-threatening sidekick with a dark agenda. Had this film been released today and given a more careful marketing scheme, it would have really reached the audience it deserved. Never the less, it remains an A-grade, ahead of its time futuristic thriller.