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The Salton Sea (2002)

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153 Nutzerkommentare insgesamt

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51 out of 58 people found the following comment useful :-
A Crystal Meth Film Noir, 20. März 2004
Author: Craig McPherson von Montreal, Canada

I avoided watching this film for quite some time after its release. In part this was because what little I knew about the story hit a little too close to home in terms of substance abuse problems, and equally so because I'd generally read negative reviews about how bleak, depressing and meandering it was.

Boy was I wrong. As it turns out this is a stylishly photographed, atmospheric little film noir set in the world of crystal meth junkies and hoods. Val Kilmer registers a most impressive performance as a musician turned junkie turned.... well, I won't give anything more away.

The film's story line just seems to flow out toward the viewer in a languishing, yet engrossing stream, sucking you along in its undertow. Couple that with enough plot twists to catch your interest and this film makes for a perfect evening of quiet movie watching over a bowl of popcorn.

Give this little gem a chance. Odds are you won't be disappointed.

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46 out of 57 people found the following comment useful :-
A true attention-getter of a film., 3. März 2004

Author: gridoon

Excellent adult thriller. Stylish, intense, funny and unexpectedly moving. Intricately plotted (it will always be one step ahead of you) and fluidly, inventively directed (including a unique twist on Eastwood's classic "Did I fire six bullets...or only five?" line). Well-acted, especially by Kilmer. The less you know about it beforehand the better, though, so I'll just add this: this film is not always pleasant to watch, but it has personality and will take you on quite a journey. Don't read about it, see it. (***)

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26 out of 30 people found the following comment useful :-
...A decent mystery, darkish thriller, some noir, drugs, love lost, and cops..., 25. Januar 2005

Author: HuckDJ von Australia

The Salton Sea is an interesting film. It is a film that looks initially to be about drugs and the people who take them. Val Kilmer is in the lead role as a tweaker of crystal meth, and other substances, as well as a quite good sounding trumpet player. He begins by telling the viewer, via narration, explaining that he does not know who he really is and asks you to decide as we wind back through a recent period of his life to see how he came to where we first meet him.

The movie gets its title from a key event to the film occurred at the Salton Sea and Kilmer's character has a huge tattoo in memory of this.

What unravels is an intricate mystery that holds the viewers' attention but only just. The story is quite good but it is not in your face as one might expect a film of this acting calibre. It sunk at the cinema but maybe due to its art-house feel and advertising did not communicate this.

Vincent D'Onofrio is nearly unrecognizably as unpredictable drug dealer Pooh Bear, named as such because of his flat nose, and Danny Trejo is here as one of his scary henchmen.

If you are looking for a decent mystery, darkish thriller, some noir, drugs, love lost, and cops, then you could not go far wrong renting The Salton Sea.

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24 out of 27 people found the following comment useful :-
Great movie, it's just that simple..., 2. Juli 2004
Author: dcobbimdb

This movie was great, this time I'm actually glad I took the Blockbuster guy's advice and rented it. It's not like LOTR or a Rocky movie where you come out feeling like you're on top of the world, but you will feel spun like by a great rollercoaster. I wouldn't say it starts off slow, but it definitely eases you into things, then move on to the drug fests and the story starts to take shape, but without really revealing itself all at once. As you watch more, you get that much more involved and gripped. I found myself really captured by the movie to the point of having anxiety myself in some of the Poo bear scenes. So towards the end I was strapped to my chair waiting to see what was going to happen, I did care about Kilmer's character, and I loved it how the movie keeps you guessing and on your seat till the end. Being such a dark movie though, it wouldn't have been so memorable for me if the ending had been different.

Kilmer's performance was good and he held his own, but Vincent D'Onofrio was brilliant in his role of Poo bear. I also liked the scene with Bobby `hobby' as it was definitely memorable.

I loved this movie, but as other reviews have said, if you are faint of heart then this movie is not for you. It is dark, druggy, very pawn scum of life kind of thing, and you watch it with your guts in a knot for some of the movie, but it's worth the knot I tell you! Did I mention that I liked the ending too? Even though it was a dark movie overall, I left with the sensation of `Damn that was a good movie…'

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18 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
Kilmer's best yet, 25. Mai 2003
Author: lagapalooza von vancouver, canada

This is the back shelf treasure that everyone hopes for when browsing the not-so-recent releases at the video store. Pay attention to the other reviews posted here - they're not kidding. This is a very well made film on every level. Great script, acting is standout, direction is thoughtful and involved. Not for kids.

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18 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
A real classic, 9. Februar 2004
Author: Tom (tlazar@freetimes.com) von Cleveland, OH

Although having seen this seemingly obscure movie for the first time a few months ago, I truly feel like it makes my Top 15 list. Val Kilmer is convincing as a tweaker and has a crew around him that is priceless for their absolute comedic value (of course this is all with their brains on chemical overload). Also, Vincent D'onofrio is brilliant as Pooh Bear (especially when you consider his Law & Order CI character "Goran").

I like this film becuase of the complexity of the story, the graphic and sobering nature of Danny Parker's drug culture and the intermittent comedic value with Pooh Bear, Kujo, Finn and Creeper.

A must see if you have the chance to find this hardly publicized film.

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19 out of 28 people found the following comment useful :-
****1/2 out of 5, 15. September 2002
Author: mike (casey_choas66@hotmail.com) von walkerton

Val Kilmer stars as Tom, a trumpet player, or is that Danny, a low life tweaker? I don't know, you decide. This film is a tense crime drama or was that a journey through the human mind with comedic overtones like Fight Club, or could it have been a drug analogy like Trainspotting? I don't know, you decide. The theme of the film involves one mans quest for vengence or was it one mans quest to renew himself, maybe it was one mans quest to find his identity? I don't know, you decide. Get the picture yet? Val Kilmer is one man with two identites. As Tom he is out to hunt down the men who killed his wife. As Danny he is helping a pair of cops make their drug busts to keep him out of jail. Both men are walking down the same path but they come to a fork in the road. Path one, forget everything and take the easy way out. Path two, the long hard road to success filled with corruption, greed, scandal and drugs galore. At the end of either path, Poo Bear, a fat, psychotic, rec-neck drug dealer with no nose. The story is very complex and director D.J, Caruso does a fabulous job od weaving together the life of Tom and the life od Danny and brings them together very nicely in the end. I also like how he portrays Danny as a guy who isn't really in tune with reality. Curaso's camera movement make it seem like the world is going on around him, but Danny doesn't seem to be living in it. Val Kilmer is finally given a role that he can shine in and Vincent D'Onofrio is either an idiot or a genious for taking one the role of Poo-Bear, one of the most original villians I have seen in years. The film is brilliant in how complex in which the story is told but that is also the films biggest downfall. It has so many genres rolled into one that it is often tedious until about half way through when the film finally finds itself and steadies out. It's original, it's complex, it's compelling, it suspenseful, it's funny and it's honest, it's everything you could ask for but is it worth checking out? I don't know, I haven't decided yet, but I like it's odds.

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7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Great Kilmer In A Great Flick, 15. Dezember 2002

Author: Signet von Baltimore

Val Kilmer has made some of the most peculiar and daring career choices of any actor now working. His decision to appear in the disastrous remake of "The Island of Dr. Moreau" with Marlon Brando could have sunk him once and for all, save for his exceedingly nasty (and accurate) impersonation of Brando, tics and all, late in the film. Now, as his features have thickened and he is well past his pretty boy phase ( something he can apparently give up, and Tom Cruise wouldn't dare: we might notice there was no talent underneath the face cream), he is assuming roles that make full use of this brutalized looks. SALTON SEA is a magnificent performance in a wholly satisfying film, with Kilmer being fully assisted by a dazzling supporting cast. There are elements of classical balance in this story that make it not merely intellectually stimulating but emotionally moving. It has everything: great acting, great writing, and great directing. Don't miss it.

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11 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
Pretty good, 29. August 2004

Author: Lupercali von Tasmania

This is a moody, creepy thriller which reminds me a great deal of Philip K Dick's 'A Scanner Darkly' in some respects. Val Kilmer isn't exactly amazing (is he ever?) but he gets the job done. Most of the movie's high points come from the portrayal of the mindset of the drug subculture. Again, I'm reminded so much of PKD's comment about kids "playing in the road" even after they watched their friends getting run over one after another.

A couple of the flashback/hallucination sequences were a little confusing, but I got the general drift. The film has a seedy, nasty, slightly hallucinogenic quality to it. Kilmer seems slightly out of place - not messed up enough. Actually, that ends up making sense, but I won't give anything away.

Not a great film, but different and stylish enough to deserve the 7.2 average it currently enjoys here. That's about what I'd give it.

Also nice to see a drug/crime thriller where everything isn't blowing up every 30 seconds.

Oh, I forgot to mention: there are a few scenes in the film that are really darn funny. How that doesn't ruin the mood of the thing, I don't know, because it's a bit like laughing at a car wreck.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Nicely turned thriller about speed, 10. August 2003

Author: pksky1 von Northern California

This movie is all about speed or meth, the synthetic stimulant used as a recreational drug. It's a bit of a parable too, but it's rather hard to figure out what it all means. The story focuses on one character who finds himself deep in the speed drug scene, but as the story progresses we find that he is more then he seems to be. ... or maybe it is less. It is an unusual film with some nice bold strokes in cinematography.

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