This is How Movies Should Be Made

terrible... so disappointed.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Strange Days has a very strange premise to it. Driven by James Cameron's powerful script, and Kathryn Bigelow's gut-wrenching direction, Strange Days is a movie that is very powerful and thought provoking. It also gives the viewer the point of view cameras they would wear to record certain events. They would include sex sessions, women taking showers, memories of loved ones, and so on. But, one clip, recorded by a prostitute, falls into the hands of a former cop turned disk dealer, played by Ralph Fiennes. And, then more twists and turns come our way when the prostitute is taken care of, and then we find out who killed her. And then from there, the clip actually becomes the most important item throughout the entire film. Strange Days is one of those movies that makes you ask questions about what's going on. Is Lenny going to survive? Is Mace going to help Lenny all throughout the film? What's on the clip? Why is the clip important? These questions make you ask so many good questions that you have to watch the movie more than once to get the answers. Is it worth watching the movie more than once. Hell, yeah.

Director Kathryn Bigelow, a true talent, pulls out all the stops in this stunning retro futuristic tale of paranoia, conspiracy, murder, and corruption set in the final few days before New Year's Eve of 1999, in a frenzied, chaotic, y2k swept Los Angeles.Ralph Fiennes plays Lenny Nero, a lovable ex cop sleaze all who sells 'wire trips' the newest street drug, which consists of plugging in someone else's pre-recorded experiences into your own cerebral cortex, and feeling, seeing, hearing, experiencing it for yourself. Naturally the technology becomes illegal, and much of the recorded content is of the lurid, fetishistic and sometimes downright nasty variety. Tensions arise as an unknown tormentor begins to send Nero vile snuff clips of themselves killing people who know too much about some nefarious deeds being committed on the eve of the new millennium. Saying anymore would spoil the fun, of which there is a tremendous amount of in this film.Fiennes is a scrappy goof as the lover not fighter Nero, and indeed the genre stereotype gets upended, leaving most of the violent heroics to his longtime friend and driver Mace, played with touching reserve and sexy tenacity by the excellent Angela Bassett, who carries the film by default, being pretty much the only well balanced, this side of sane character. Tom Sizemore is also a lovable goof as Lenny's ex cop buddy, the sultry Juliette Lewis is spellbinding (she does all her own singing) as Lenny's ex. The underrated Michael Wincott also shows up, as well as Vincent Donofrio and William Fichtner as two of the scariest, maniacal villains the film could ask for.I haven't the slightest idea why this film ever slipped through the cracks and wasn't more profilic upon release, it's is dazzling, flashy, intelligent and well ahead of its time. That news years party scene is a wonder to behold in blü ray and a huge highlight, creating a thundering climax that will rock your senses. Highly recommended.

It's the last days of 1999 in a violent Los Angeles. Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes) is an ex-cop who trades in clips of recorded memories. Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) records the wearer's brain waves which can be played and experienced. The technology is illegal and he works in the black market. Meanwhile, call girl Iris (Brigitte Bako) barely escapes from policemen Burton Steckler (Vincent D'Onofrio) and Dwayne Engelman (William Fichtner). They discover that she was wearing a SQUID. She finds her friend Lenny's car and slips him a clip. Lenny still misses his ex Faith Justin (Juliette Lewis) who left him for music producer Philo Gant (Michael Wincott). Max Peltier (Tom Sizemore) is Lenny's brash scraggly lowlife friend. Mace (Angela Bassett) is his more put-together friend.Fiennes has great jittery sleaziness. I like the idea of this gritty near-future including its campy touches. James Cameron may have stuffed in too much story. The movie needs to cut out something and I would probably pick Faith. Iris can instead be Lenny's ex. It would elevate the intense need to find her. The rest could be a great revenge film. The movie is so full that it doesn't really need the extra twist. Kathryn Bigelow's direction is good although she may need more substance to throw at the screen. She needs a bit more special effects and a little less of the cheaper looking real world stuff. A desolate street is just as effective as one filled with people. It looks like she tried to stage multiple riots which ends up looking cheesy. The money could be better spent with a trashed abandoned bad side of the town. The story gets a bit too complex and some simplification would be helpful.

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.