The Stray

The Stray is one of those movies we are tempted to turn off in the first few minutes. The story gets off to a murky start and the direction is uninspired. Yet, as the pace builds, so does the tension and we begin to care just a little more. By that time we are hooked, and too much of the running time has elapsed to give up.

Michael Madsen plays the boyfriend of Angie Everhart, a beautiful and successful restaurant owner who "mistakenly" hits a seeming drifter on her way to work. This drifter winds up staying on the premises of Everhart's house where he begins to meddle and then wreak havoc on her and her boyfriend's lives.

The plot does not break the barriers of originality. It reminds us of Fatal Attraction and perhaps a host of lesser derivatives that followed. Yet, the effectiveness of the movie lies in its mounting tension. There is also a nice chase scene at the beginning and other well directed scenes of terror. Beyond that, The Stray is a competent "B" movie thriller, one that holds its own opposite a dozen other less known or unknown movies on any given cable movie channel.

Its hard to believe that Michael Madsen could swoop so low and make such a calamity of a movie. Didn't he pick up any tips from Tarantino during Reservoir Dogs..tut, tut, tut

First of all, the car chase at the beginning of the movie is from Basic Instinct (literally...except the inside the car shots...that for me was pretty pathetic)

As the film evolves, however, it just get worse. A poor script, bad acting and sloppy, unattractive directing is a basic summary of this movie. The music of the film is also pity-full.

Oh, by the way, the story is about this cop (Madsen) on pursuit of a killer. His partner gets killed and the killer wriggles his way into the cop's girlfriend's life. The film has a dark secret which is supposed to keep you "glued" to the screen...

My advice is don't make the same mistake I did and watch it...Just think about all the other things I could have done instead ...like make a salad or wash my dog...

This is a straight-to-DVD movie, so don't have too high expectations. The story is simple, the acting is acceptable and the action scenes are OK. It's a typical low budget B movie.

Angie Everhart plays a wealthy restaurant owner, who lost her father two months ago. Michael Madsen is an LAPD detective, who tries to catch some bad guys and he's the boyfriend of Angie. Stefan Lysenko is the stray. I'm an Angie fan, so I'm probably not the most objective guy. Not surprisingly she's gorgeous in this film too. She's always very elegant and her outfits are amazing The custome designers did a really good job. She plays the rich businesswoman role nicely. Michael Madsen was a bit out of shape here, he looks thick. I don't know this was intentional or not, but it's weird. He's not bad, but not great either. Lysenko is an unknown actor and he's acceptable. The rest of the cast is just there to fill up time.

The locations are beautiful, especially Angie's huge house. We also see the usual California sights too. The beaches, fancy restaurant and good neighborhood. The action scenes are mixed. The car chase is very bad and it's entirely from a different film. However the crossbike chase is decent.

I think this movie is only good for Angie's fans. We see her a lot and as I mentioned she's pretty eye-catching here. Otherwise this is an average B movie. If you like her and you didn't see this so far, give it a try, maybe you'll enjoy it. If you are not a fan, then avoid it.

The Stray is a good action thriller and i don't understand why all the bad comments are made about it. OK, so it may not have as much action as Die Hard or be as mysterious as Mystic River, but if you want a movie you can munch popcorn to and be at the edge of your seat, this is the movie for you! Michael Madsen has stunning performances in it, as well as the rest of the crew! This is basically a mysterious/action/thriller that boys will love because of the action and girls will love because of.. well, Michael Madsen! If you are very impatient, however, and like stories to start straight away, without not tensity, then better give this a miss and rent out Jackie Brown..

First off, on the box art for "The Stray" it has a clean shaven Michael Madsen on the cover, but really he has a beard. This is not an action movie. This is a drama\mystery. Madsen can easily carry a movie with the right material. He does a good job here as Ben. Angie Everhart looks pretty, and she has some acting chops. The plot is about Everhart running over a drifter and wanting to help him recover from his wounds. Usually PM entertainment makes action films but this I think is their first drama. They pull it off with ease. There are some action scenes, but they are just forced in there, so you won't fall asleep. The bike chase was exciting though. If you see it at a video store, give it chance, you probably won't be disappointed.

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