Strange Days Reviews

With ‘The Hurt Locker’, Kathryn Bigelow has made one of the most impressive come-backs in motion picture history. Indeed, after ‘Point Break’ became a cult classic, she struggled almost 20 years and made only 1 other feature in the 90’s. As a matter of fact, even though this movie was a flop when it was released, I actually liked it and, in my opinion, it is actually superior to ‘Point Break’. Actually, if you check this movie on the internet, you will notice that it shows up very often in lists and articles about the great cult classics that you haven’t seen and I think it does fit this movie. Indeed, many people who saw it actually loved it and even though I wouldn’t go as far as saying that it was amazing, I definitely enjoyed most of it. Indeed, Bigelow managed to create a fascinating futuristic world and the first 30 minutes were just downright amazing and strongly reminded me of the awesomness displayed in ‘Blade Runner’. The other masterstroke was to have Ralph Fiennes play the lead. Indeed, Fiennes is probably one of the best actors nowadays and it was great to see him doing some SF for a change. Unfortunately, the plot was nothing really amazing and it was rather pedestrian in my opinion so the whole thing never became really exceptional but there was definitely something quite spellbinding about it. To conclude, even though it never really fulfilled its potential, it still remains an intriguing SF feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

OTT, tries hard does not always succeed. Good enough. To Jerry-springery.

Corrupt cops and Government

Well this film has it all. It’s like it read the manual and threw all the elements together. The result therefore has to be enjoyable and intriguing. The plot is acceptable, the end twist is predictable but still fun to watch it play out, even the shoddy acting from Juliet Lewis can slide due to the OTT nature of the film. It’s the run up to the new years eve of the millennium when Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes), a heart-broken dealer of memories and real life experiences, comes into possession of a snuff clip which entangles him in the dark seedy world of murder and blackmail, which runs right up to the highest level. Will all be solved and saved before the bell tolls midnight?

I think the snag that I have with the film comes right at the end. Why do things always have to turn out ok, and why must the love interests always kiss and ruin the tension the whole film has built? I spent the film enjoying the love triangles only to have it ruined in one of the many closing scenes, which must rival ‘Lord of the Rings-Return of the King’ in longevity.

I think I feel so jaded by this because it did have great potential and held together a great many elements of the dystopian genre creating a formidable apocalyptic atmosphere which was just let down in places by a few bad acting sequences and directed moments.