The greatest movie ever made..!

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

Strange Empire is fascinating story-telling. Superbly acted and superbly shot, this series is a constant reminder of how far we women have come and how strong we've always been. The lawlessness of Canada a mere 150 years ago, as portrayed in Strange Empire, is absolutely bone-chilling. The acting is all-round wonderful, but Aaron Poole's creation of the complex and multi-layered John Slotter is nothing short of brilliant. Slotter is one of those characters that will never completely leave your consciousness. Series creator, Laurie Finstad- Knizhnik, is first rate and adds to the already considerable Girl Power factor of Strange Empire. The downfall of this series is its cancellation. A grave disappointment given its caliber. What an irony that this website would not publish my review until I had corrected the "spelling errors" in my review. Initially, I spelled "caliber" the Canadian way: c-a-l-i-b-r-e.

This is one of the worst shows I have ever watched. I gave it all 13 episodes and was left wanting. There is absolutely no redeeming character on the show at all. Even the righteous Kate Loving who is good with a gun with her moral compass; she is weak and ineffective. She couldn't stop the miners from brawling and then she was working for the mine. Isabelle is ruthless and greedy with no shame or remorse. She was willing to kill the young mother just to keep her father-in-law on the hook. Which brings us to John Slotter who posses no charm, no wit, no vision and no sense. I don't just hate his characterization I really find the actor not very good either. It is a quagmire of bad writing and almost claustrophobic in the stylization of 1880s. If we are to believe this is the Canadian wilderness where is it? The smaller, simpler charters are not completely fleshed out but at least allow for some kind of hope of manna in the wilderness.Okay, maybe the young doctor wanting to do right is not too bad...

Westerns have been popular since the beginning of film. But Strange Empire is unique in that it is an Estrogen Western. The reduction of testosterone is long overdue. This refreshing series is well written, innovative, and imaginative while featuring strong women as the main characters. The acting is excellent and the camera work is exquisite. The muted tones of the beautiful scenery work well to set the tone. Can't help but feel the series could have found its audience if given more than one season. I would have liked to see the characters be given a chance to develop and Janestown be given a chance to grow. But the powers that be cut the heart right out of it. So very unfortunate as this is a true gem. I just found it on Netflix and was captivated.

Unlike muffin munro, I don't look to TV for history lessons or historical accuracy. I look for entertainment and new spins on the hackneyed, which Strange Empire delivers. Westerns are generally cheesy glorifications of a violent time in North American history. The ten or so years it took for settlers to migrate from the east to the west coast gave free-reign to greed and brutality.In SE, the women of Janestown continually redefine their alliances as they cope with the brutality of the man who killed their husbands in order to strand them as whores for a mining community. All the old male western stereotypes--marshal, miner, cowboy, doctor, bounty hunter, etc.--are trotted out at their creepy worst. And the women, despite beauty, money, intelligence and deadly aim, are flawed and periodically reduced to some form of prostitution by brute strength. No shiny heroes here, but enough tension and drama to make occasionally awkward syntax forgivable.