Customer Reviews

The Salton Sea

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Amazon, you need a sixth star to do full justice to this edgy, innovative masterpiece of ensemble acting. That lead actor Val Kilmer can shine so brilliantly amidst the endless stream of first rate supporting actors proves he is not only an actor of supreme ability, but a catalyst who has brought about small miracles in the roles of, among others, Sarsgaard, Wong, D'Onofrio, Plummer, Unger, Guzman --well the list is long and simply mind-boggling. The film was released in only four or five major cities and dropped. How the producers of this film could have been so dense in promoting it is beyond my scope of understanding. No doubt Kilmer will once again be passed over at Oscar time (remember Tombstone? The Doors? How about Heat?) but if making good films is his real source of satisfaction, he should be very proud of this film. His acting depicts a range of human emotions in this film that will leave you breathless.
Do yourself a favor and see this movie. Often.

This 2002 film is a rather weird and grotesque story set in the world of drugs. Val Kilmer is cast as a former trumpet player on a downward drug spiral. He's a middleman dealer, a police informant and a speed freak himself. The drug scenes are lurid and explicit. And the violence never stops. It's also a roller coaster ride for the audience, with a complicated plot that finally makes sense. There are also special effects and moments to make me cringe.

Vincent D'Onofrio is cast as a demented drug dealer who has lost his nose due to his habit. He's a sadist who boasts about torturing people who have tried to scam him and he puts Val Kilmer through some horrible moments. There's double crossing going on of course, and even triple crossing. This makes the plot rather interesting as our perception of our hero changes as the film moves along.

It's all a strange and unpleasant trip but I must give credit to fine performances and excellent and edgy directing. I enjoyed it but do stay away if you're squeamish in any way and don't want to be haunted by nightmarish images. Recommended only for the adventurous few.

Glad to see most of the reviews are favorable- "The Salton Sea" is one of my favorite movies. Why? The movie tells a special story in a unique way. Danny (AKA Tom) is on a personal mission that takes him into the squalidity of addiction and crime in LA. The story is unfolded in tangental vignettes, hyper-bizarre incidents and vivid flashbacks, and those of you with a keen eye for detail will recognize the logic of how and why the plotline is revealed this way. A lot of people will find some of the characters strange and over-the-top, and some of the incidents shocking, but that is the charm of the movie- never a dull moment.
My favorite aspects deal with the main themes of the movie: the value of true love, evil & hypocrisy, unlikely heroes and gutter saints. A Beautiful Film.

This is my favourite American film of all time. The imagery, acting, soundtrack, all were flawless. It's hard to describe what I found so appealing, you'd really have to see it.
Unlike many drug movies, you'd notice how nothing is glamourised, just strikingly honest. There are real consequences for everyone. The main character (Val Kilmer), although a "tweaker", elicits sympathy as he does what he feels right. Towards the end, I feel he did do what's right. I've never been involved with drug-dealing, but I imagine it would be at least similar to the movie. I'm gonna have to buy it. The DVD, not meth.

Val Kilmer plays a man leading two lives. He is Tom Van Allen; a trumpet player who watched his wife get murdered before his eyes. He is also Danny Parker; a meth addict, a "tweaker", who is a rat for the police. But whoever he is, Tom or Danny, he has his own agenda and is looking for the man who killed his wife. While this all may sound like a too familiar revenge themed thriller, it has a darkly comic vibe to it, mainly thanks to Kilmer's incredible (as usual) performance as a man wrestling with his demons. Vincent D'Onofrio is fantastic as noseless meth dealer Pooh Bear and nearly steals the entire film from Kilmer, but an all-star cast of character actors including Adam Goldberg, Doug Hutchison, Anthony LaPaglia, Peter Sarsgaard, B.D. Wong, Deborah Kara Unger, Luis Guzman, Glenn Plummer, Meat Loaf, Danny Trejo, and Buckcherry lead singer Josh Todd carries the entire film and makes it as great as it is. All that combined along with the near excellent direction from D.J. Caruso and the clever, twisting and turning screenplay make The Salton Sea a highly entertaining film noir that is destined to become a cult classic.

I can't believe some of the negative reviews generated by the critics, the same people who gave the boring, too long, cheesy, silly dialogue and over kill with boring characters Titanic 5 star greatness. How can you give a daring and dazzling character driven movie like this negative remarks, and give god awful seen it all before, cheesy Titanic super great marks, Titanic the king of the box office and this some how went pretty much unnoticed, there is no god. The Salton Sea is a must see movie really great, everything about this movie is top notch, Val Kilmer is great (I'd Like to see Leonardo DiCaprio star in a movie like this, he was awful in Gangs of New York), the directing is spot on, the script is clever even the support is great. Not a single dull moment the whole movie, I watched this movie twice which is a rarity for me. Any how this is a great movie don't listen to the critics who once bashed the great Blade runner, which is now considered the greatest SciFi movie of all time, any way the multi Oscar winning (how?)Titanic has been voted the worst movie of all time in a poll by the BBC.

Absolutely Beautiful. The best movie iv'e seen in YEARS. Vincent D'Onfrio is brilliant. Val Kilmer is beautiful. Peter Sarsgaard is unbelievably lovable. Debra Unger rocks. Luiz Guzman is always great, even in this small role.

The Salton Sea is one of my favorite movies this year(2002), and it's very unfourtanate that it didn't get the wide release that it deserved. This truly is the best Val Kilmer movie I seen, equaling his portrayal as Jim Morrison in The Doors. I enjoyed the movie because it was able to succesfully combine various styles(Black Comedy, Tragedy, Revenge, Violence, and coolness in sleek hip film making.) Now many would say that looking at these elements it can be seen as a simple Quentin Tarantino knock-off of Pulp Fiction,but that isn't the case. While there is Tarantino like-style in the movie, by no means is it a cheap rip off, Director D.J Caruso said himself that he Tarantino is not an influence. By the the last portion of the movie, many would argue that it ripped of Taxi Driver, but is it really fair to justify that claim? I think not. Just like it's not fair to say it ripped of Pulp Fiction. Hats down to Caruso, he and the cast did a terrific job of making this movie come to life. I recommend this to anyone with an open mind,likes stylish-thrillers, and likes the styles I mentioned earlier. However I wouldn't recommend this to anyone that is easily offended,closed-minded, and that does't like to sit in run down select theaters like I was forced to.

Directing: 10; Acting: 10; Story: 9.0 - If this movie had to rely on the acting alone, it'd be an excellent movie. Although, this is a "dark" movie - it could've been worse. If you're a "Kilmer fan" it is one of his best performances.

The story, the writing, the acting, the plot, the filming, the music, the sound, the editing--first rate. This is one of the better movies I've seen in a long time. Val Kilmer was absolutely perfect, as were all the other players. For a change, a script that doesn't pander to the audience. A movie with quirks that actually SUPPORT the movie. I've not read an accurate review by any of the "pros". It's not "Memento". It's not Tarantino. If it reminded me of anything, I would say "The Limey", by Steven Soderbergh. A fantastic movie!