1995’s Strange Days seems like it should have been a success. Directed by Kathryn Bigalow, co-written by James Cameron and starring Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett and Juliette Lewis, it appeared to have all the ingredients of a sure-fire hit. But it was, in fact, a commercial failure and critical opinion was divided to almost polar extremes.

I saw it circa 1996 in the form of a video rental, back when such a thing was the norm and I didn’t hate it. Set in (what was then) the near future of the last days of 1999, its slightly dystopic take on the denouement of the last millennium seemed fairly plausible at the time. Of course that perception hasn’t aged well, and much more recent re-watch required much more suspending of my disbelief.

That said, I still didn’t hate it. It’s slightly too long, and occasionally slow-moving, but it still seems quite innovative and it’s entertaining enough, with some solid performances from the leads.

Maybe not an all-time classic, but it’s definitely a movie that deserved to fare a little better at the box-office than it actually did.

Score for Christmasishness

Set in the last days of 1999, in the period between Christmas and New Year, it definitely doesn’t ignore the festivity of the time of year. There are Christmas decorations and trees aplenty in various scenes throughout. We also see a store Santa Claus being mugged in the background as Fiennes character drives through an anarchic LA early in the movie. It’s never especially cheery, but it’s fairly Christmas(ish) nonetheless.