Comments on: Highly Chaotic, Explosive, Volatile, Armageddon-like Ending

By: Joe Valdez

Joe Valdez — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:12:45 +0000

Jim: Glad you enjoyed the piece. Strange Days isn't perfect or even great necessarily, but it definitely deserves to be more than a footnote in some puff piece on The Hurt Locker or the awards its director is winning. As for Lewis, I'm getting exasperated waiting for Whip It! to come off "Very Long Wait" on Netflix. Thanks for commenting, as always, and the b-day well wishes!

By: Moviezzz

Moviezzz — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:45:48 +0000

Great post. This is a film I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. With all the HURT LOCKER praise, I keep thinking back on how I always thought this was highly underrated.

The BRAINSTORM comparisons are interesting as that was indeed very similar.

And I also think that Lewis is underrated. She was quite good in WHIP IT from a few months back.

And happy birthday Joe!

By: Joe Valdez

Joe Valdez — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:01:48 +0000

Amanda: Leonard Maltin probably couldn't have said it better. The visceral kick Strange Days delivers is what stayed in my memory. The music biz conspiracy plot much less so, but the filmmakers definitely take us on a ride. Thanks for commenting! Monica: It wouldn't surprise me if Cameron bought a ticket for Brainstorm and thought he could do something much, much, much better with the concept. If that was the case -- after being sued by Harlan Ellison for "borrowing" some of the writer's material for The Terminator -- Cameron will probably never admit it. Thanks so much for the b-day well wishes! Karen: My perception of you as Queen of the Land Eclectic still stands. Strange Days is far from perfect and even then, not for everyone. Thanks for commenting! J.D.: Juliette Lewis gets a bad rap. She plays herself in every movie but this is what you ask of a character actor. She's there to punch up routine movies and always does so. The only reason not to channel surf past flicks like Enough or Catch and Release is that someone like Lewis is featured in them. I agree that she would have been better cast as Fiennes' buddy as opposed to the rock singer he's infatuated with, but then I haven't heard from anyone who thinks Strange Days isn't flawed on some level.

By: J.D.

J.D. — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:49:06 +0000

I quite like this film despite its flaws which, for me, consist of the complete miscasting of Juliette Lewis. Why Ralph Fiennes’ character would remain obsessed about her is a mystery, and the nonsensical ending. The entire film is building towards this explosive climax and you think that the city is going to boil over and then the script completely loses its mind for a disappointing conclusion that wraps things up a little too neatly for my taste. Still, up to that point Bigelow had me enthralled in a very exciting and engaging Cyberpunk film.

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:18:27 +0000

The movie was a little too strange for me. I caught it on TV once but never made it to the end.

By: Mrs. Thuro's Mom

Mrs. Thuro's Mom — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:49:52 +0000

I can’t help but wonder if James Cameron had seen the movie “Brainstorm”. It was Natalie Wood’s last film and it also dealt with recording human experiences. I really like “Strange Days”. Although the millennium was not as volatile and catastrophic as some fools thought it would be, it made great fodder for this type of film. BTW, happy birthday, Joe!

By: AR

AR — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:37:50 +0000

Haven’t seen this since 1996/1997 with a bunch of friends in college. I really liked it then and have a feeling I’d like it now, even though the plot is rather convoluted (admittedly a quality that describes a number of my favorite films). In terms of mood and visuals, though, it’s very memorable.