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The Salton Sea

The Salton Sea

List Price: $14.97
Your Price: $13.47
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Surprisingly Excellent!
Review: I thought this movie was going to be a bad one becuase of how badly it was promoted. Well it was a great movie. The cinemetagraphy was excellent not to mention the great job Val Kilmer did in this role. The movie was on the dark side but still a captivating experience. I definately recommend this movie..

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: wow
Review: I'm amazed that so few people heard of this movie. It really is one of Val Kilmer's best roles. I have recommend this to many people and have yet to dissappoint. Mix between Blow and Memento, as Kilmer is left with the mystery of his wife's murder, while he slips in to a drug scene of meth users.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Gorgeous scenes, decent acting, so-so storyline
Review: "The Salton Sea" is a mystery/trippy/twisty film that is enjoyable and quite beautiful. Val Kilmer plays Danny, a speed freak, whom we meet as he plays the trumpet and a building burns down around him. There is a bit of a monologue asking for the audience to hear how it all come to this, and the rest of the film is played out in a series of flashbacks and dream sequences.

Kilmer is a little bit too old to play this role, but as usual, he does an excellent job with his part despite standing out like a sore thumb in the crowd of young tweakers. His supporting cast is good, and of special note are Peter Sarsgaard (as Jimmy the Finn - his performance is absolutely spot-on) and Vincent D'Onofrio (as Pooh-Bear - you'd almost never know it was him, so convincing is his performance.)

There are some movies, such as "Trainspotting," which transport the viewer into the mind of a drug addict so completely that one might feel unsettled, and even a little high. "The Salton Sea," while beautifully directed, is not one of these films - one local viewer quoted "it was kind of just like watching a bunch of drug addicts." I feel it was much more than this, though, because as the movie plays out, we realize this is more than Just Another Druggie Story, and the fact that we're not drawn into the drug experiences is just fine. As layers of the film unfold, we learn of quite a few surprises - why Danny/Tom is a tweaker, why we only see his wife in his hallucinations and dreams, why he has a tattoo of the Salton Sea on his back, how and why he became involved with the police to begin with, and more. These are not plot twists that will leave your teeth on the floor, but they do provide interesting entertainment.

All in all, this is not an outstanding movie, nor is it an amazing movie...but it *is* a very beautiful movie with strong elements. I'd imagine that it would have played better on the big screen than on television, simply because the gorgeous scenery would have been, well, bigger. Still, worth seeing - perhaps when you're in one of those moods when you can't decide what kind of movie you feel like watching.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: on my top 5 movies of all time
Review: hello-
i am a film critic and film analyst so take my advice when i say that this movie is one of the greatest movies in cinema- philosophical, fantastic plot and good violence.
5 stars!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: SALTON SEA is dead in the water
Review: Produced by Frank Darabont and ER's Eriq La Salle. This film noir stars Val Kilmer as a tattooed dope fiend who may be a nark for the LAPD, but then again he might not be. Why should we care?
As soon as Kilmer begins his opening narrative, you know you're not going to be seeing another SUNSET BLVD. THE SALTON SEA is stylishly shot; but then again, it wouldn't be film noir if it didn't LOOK good would it?
Early on a junkie nearly shoots a spear gun through Kilmer's eye. If only he'd gone through with it we'd all have been spared THE SALTON SEA. Even if you manage to watch the entire 100 minutes, you won't gain your sealegs. This isn't quite as mind numbingly awful as FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, but it comes close.
Even though the make-up department may be able to paint convincing tattoos on Kilmer's back they can't disguise the fact that the man is (still) a lousy actor. Dear God. Save us from more movies this awful. The DVDs extras includes interviews with the cast and crew praising this mind numbing travesty of celluloid. For those of you who are now bored senseless, let's recap the movies' supposed plot. Val Kilmer may (or may not) be an LAPD nark. Try writing a thesis on this one. Yet again. my review stinks but so does the movie, and it's not worth wasting my energy reviewing it properly. Counting sheep is more fun than watching this, but then again, you'd expect a NZer to say that wouldn't you?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Nicely written and acted thriller
Review: ... The Salton Sea is an updated noirish mystery tweaked with speed. A good film, though not excellent, it's worth watching for Kilmer's performance, Vincent D'Onfrio as a drug dealer missing a nose, and mostly for the well-written script. Honestly, there are better movies than this in the neo-noir genre, but this is a solid example of good storytelling and has some tense moments.

Overall worth watching.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Salton Sea
Review: I really enjoyed this flick. I see way too many movies and i must say this is one of the better ones out there today. Val Kilmer is excellent as a druggy and the whole way he deals with things and the way the movie is played out is definatly choice!
Later!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: You have to watch it at least once
Review: I've never taken the time to write a review before, but I thought that this film deserved my attention. All I thought about when I saw this, is that I haven't seen a film this good since Fight club. Well it is not up to par with fight club, but it is the best thing to come along in awhile. I know alot of people that won't see a movie because Val Kilmer is in it, but he does a great job portraying Tom Van Allen(a.k.a. Danny Parker). It has some great visuals that just gives a great feel to the whole film. To tell the truth I've gotten lost in Japanese animation lately and this film brought me back to live action film. It delves into the dirty yet seductive world of drugs. Tom Van Allen is on a mission, but you'll have to find out what it is on your own. You get to meet some of his "friends", who are an "interesting" bunch to say the least. Actually they are a bunch of [] tweekers who don't work as far as I know and have dreams of stealing a Bob Hope stool sample. And one more thing, watch out for badgers-they do bite. It is a great flick and I would suggest that anyone at least rent it if not buy it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great
Review: I bought this movie not expecting too much about it, but after seen it I realized that suddenly became one of my favorites. I usually prefer to watch European movies, because they are realistic, dramatic and usually gets directly to my hart and the same results gave me the Salton Sea movie. You won't regret about this movie: money well spent.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Salton Sea: All Wet
Review: Equal parts "Pulp Fiction" and "Memento", "The Salton Sea" only reminds us of how artfully assembled those two films are. Val Kilmer does a fairly good job as a mysterious crystal meth addict with an agenda. But his charisma alone doesn't illuminate the character. And neither does this clumsy, stumbling screenplay, nor the film's beautifully shot images. Oh, and though Vincent D'Onofrio (one of my favorite actors) doesn't actually give a bad performance, he comes so close, it's almost painful to watch. Verdit: A half-hearted film noir pastiche.


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