Reviews: The Salton Sea

[JoBlo]

JoBlo's 7/10 review of THE SALTON SEA can be found here: http://www.joblo.com/saltonsea.htm

And what did you think of the movie? Add your comments below.

GUIDELINES: CONSTRUCTIVE REVIEWS ONLY!

1) If you haven't seen the movie, don't post here, because it will be deleted.
2) If you add two-bit comments like "it rocked" or "it sucked the big one" or just a grade, it will be deleted.
3) If you insult anyone from the board in your post, it will be deleted and you will receive a warning from the board. A second warning and you will be banned altogether. You can disagree with others all you want but no putdowns are necessary to make your points.

In order for others to know whether or not you would recommend the movie, please click on the desired icon of your choice when posting:

Recommended = http://www.joblo.com/ubb/icons/icon7.gif
Not recommended = http://www.joblo.com/ubb/icons/icon8.gif
In the middle = http://www.joblo.com/ubb/icons/icon9.gif

[Puck Bond]

The Salton Sea 7/10...

The Salton Sea is weird and wild movie with a very nice performance from Val Kilmer as a tweeker, loving husband, avenging angel, a dirty rat, a trumpet player...as he says its for you the viewer to decide. I liked seeing a world that I haven't seen before (although I have done a little speed) the world of the tweeker.I won't go in to too much plot detail...but there are plenty of sleazy and shady characters to involve yourself with...but with-out a doubt Vincent D'Onofrio as a nose-less drug dealer is one of the nastiest and just plain creepy villains I have ever seen on film. You have not lived until you have seen a re-creation of the JFK assassin using a remote controlled car and pigeons! Overall The Salton Sea is a good thriller filled with zany characters and a world unknown to most with a nice performance by Val Kilmer.

[Deckard]

SALTON SEA (7/10)

Quite enjoyed this little Fight Club/Memento knockoff- Cool cinematography, awesome soundtrack and some enjoyable acting.

Does fal flat in some parts but overall I recommend this one to anyone who likes think piece thrillers.

[The Delfonics]

The Salton Sea - (7.5/10)
Info: (2002) R, Val Kilmer, Vincent D'Onfrio
Genre: Crime/Drama/Dark Comedy
Comments: Salton Sea has a Fight Club like feel to it and does a great job not copying it in any way. Val Kilmer plays a nark that helps two officers with drug busts and what not. Kilmer's character has split personalities. One is a man who is normal and plays the trumpet. The other is a half punk / half druggie. As the film progresses we find that he is seeking revenge for the death of his wife. The film unfolds sort of backwards ala Memento or even Fight Club. At times it can be confusing and there are only a few minor plot holes which you will probably never notice. There is plenty of comedy mixed in with the drama. One character named Pooh-Bear doesn't have a nose! There are also some great visual effects. The movie was very well put together and the story is very engaging to the very last moment. At times it's a sad story and in the end it ends up as a good revenge flick that flows at a slower pace than most.

Dialogue - 7/10 (Kilmer at his best. Pooh-Bear has some funny lines)
Violence/Gore - 6/10 (Shooting and beatings, nothing extreme)
T&A - 1/10 - (Some small stuff, not worth mentioning)

[bowieee]

The salton sea was a movie that I had no idea what i was getting into when I signed up to watch it. In order to watch it 5 friends and I drove around trying to find the one damn theatre in San Diego that was playing it. Eventually we found it and we settled in only knowing that this movie had good word of mouth and vil played a tweek adiict and had gnarly tattoos. Well wehn the movie had ended I was in a daze. The movie was filmed beautifully. There were some shots that still stick out in my mind like a sore thumb (In a good way). The scene where he opens the door at the start of the film and the sun light shooting in being one of them. what a great shot. There were tons more but if you've seen the movie I'm sure you have an idea of the high points in the camerawork.

The acting in this movie was way above par compared to most of the stuff being released in the past few years. Kilmer pulled off the tweak addict schtick well as the other layers the movie required him to play too. The various people he encounters are also played to a tee. I enjoyed all the characters in this madhouse of a film especially the wacko ones. Overall this movie was a great experience and I'm glad I got to see it on the big screen

9/10

[Droog989]

I really enjoyed this film, despite being predictable and a rather dissapointing ending (although the final shot of Kilmer throwing his trumpet into the water was superb).

I loved the beginning of this film. The confrontation with the drug dealer and his speargun was...tense to say the least. "You'll have to forgive me, for I am the Ocean". The hell is that supposed to mean ?:D

Quotable dialogue is spread throughout this film, and I really love so many parts of it that the good outweights the bad. It's worth seeing just for D'ONofrio's performance alone. He commands the character of Pooh Bear and doesn't let up. He's an absolute blast to watch, and once again shows why he is such a respected actor (at least by those who I know :) ). I suppose all in all I recommend this film quite highly, just as long as the rather clichéd ending doesn't bother you too much.

8/10

[Ed]

9/10 I really can't tell what kept me from seeing this flick. Because It had too many things I liked. Cinematography, music, 'style', acting, direction, dialogue, etc... it was all amusing for me really. I mean, it is not a perfect movie, but everything just clicked with me and I just got a natural high by watching it. I recomend this to everyone.

[Buc_Nonsense]

9/10

I enjoyed the movie alot. Script was excellant, acting was great. Great performance from Val Kilmer.

[RogueSpear]

The Salton Sea

Year of Release: 2002
Date of Review: July 15, 2003

**Some possible minor spoilers throughout**

Fueled with rage following his wife's brutal murder, a trumpet player named Tom Van Allen, finds himself trapped in a world of drugs, mystery, intrigue, and doublecrosses all the while searching for revenge.

Although The Salton Sea may garner some comparison's to Memento I think both are still separate films. They both deal with men who have fallen from grace while searching for their spouse's murderer, but their stories are completely different. In The Salton Sea Val Kilmer, in his best performance in a long time, plays Tom Van Allen, also known by pseudonym Danny Parker. Parker is his undercover name and he's been undercover searching for his wife's killer for so long that at times he forgets who he really is. The line between Tom Van Allen and Danny Parker was blurred so long ago that Tom/Danny has to get out his old clothes and trumpet every so often just to remind himself who he is and what he is doing.

The story also involves some corrupt cops, the F.B.I., a group of "tweakers" (drug users) with an insane plot to steal something of Bob Hope's, and a drug dealer with a prosthetic nose played brilliantly by Vincent D'Onofrio and the Mexican mafia.

As can be expected from a noirish thriller such as this, there are the usual number of twists and turns in the plot. In most movies these twists seem tired and forced, in The Salton Sea they actually work and seem just right for the movie.

The ending is a tad cliched, so much so that the narrarator even mentions that it is and some of the scenes seem like they don't belong, but overall this is a cool and stylish little thriller that probably didn't get the wide release in theaters that it deserved.

Final Score - 7/10

[dxhc99]

I Liked this movie a lot. I thought Val Kilmer was really good and so was Vincent D'nofrio. Well done movie and well acted.

The Salton Sea: 8/10

[ze424]

Yup, this was a surprise for me too. The movie has a terrific "look" and performances are great (Val Kilmer was never better). The cinematography was also great . The script, while sometimes either predictable or dull didn't disappoint as a whole. For those which were disappointed by the ending (as I did) watch it again...It felt better the second time I saw it.

Great to know people like this movie... 8/10