Good start, but then it gets ruined

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

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.

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.

And if your memories could be recorded in a disc and you could see and feel everything again as you were right back on that specific moment? That's the premise for STRANGE DAYS! We are in L.A. at 30th December of 1999 and the new millennium is about to begin. In the black-market you can buy a new "drug" which can drive you into POV experiences of other people's lives, seeing, hearing and feeling what that person recorded. And it could be anything, from someone making sex, running at the beach, making an assault or even the "blackjacks": violations, murders and even the death of the person who was recording! That's a voyeuristic kind of experience but also an addiction that could be easily compared to a drug...But that's just the premise of the movie, and the most interesting part of it in my opinion (In fact I watched this film for the first time back in 1996 and that was the only thing I remembered from it...). So the 2000's new years eve and this "new drug" are just the context to what is in fact an action thriller about cops, the abuse of authority, and the tension between cops and black people in L.A...I enjoyed the movie, but also the soundtrack! It has some nice kicking rock songs of the 90's (including the ones sung by Juliette Lewis!) and it made me feel like 20 years ago listening to those songs. The acting is also fine, especially from Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett. I score it 7/10.

Have you ever wanted to experience life in someone else's shoes? Wanted to feel what they felt? See exactly what they say? See what another sees through his/her mind? Strange Days takes you closer to this than ever before, turning adrenaline junkies into full-fledged addicts. Brand new at the literal turn of the century this highly addictive and as of yet unattainable type of Virtual Reality takes over the city. One in which Adrenaline junkies get addicted to the high of living vicariously through the memories of other people. Dealers deal "hardware" and "clips". The story follows Nero, one such dealer. While there are difficulties with the plot this film forces us to live the reality of that which entertains us. Rather than inundating the audience with random acts of violence as simple entertainment, we are forced to recognize individual acts of violence as memories in people's real lives. We are able to see our own death through the eyes of our killer. This Virtual Reality experience highlights the sordid reality of what entertains us as people.