Trigger

I caught some of this on cable awhile back and it intrigued me, so I picked it up as a blind buy and watched it tonight. I thought it was pretty great and wanted to discuss it, but I don't know where to start. It's quite a brilliant piece of film noir and it's too bad it didn't get a wider showing in theaters... I meant to catch it in the theater I remember, but it seemed to come and go so quickly and then I just forgot about it.

Jackskeleton

I really enjoyed the film. Haven't seen it in a while, but it surprised me how well it was written and how good Val kilmer(sp) was in it.

Painkiller

I was really expecting this to be a "drug" movie, much like Trainspotting. I was pretty surprised that it turned into a thriller and was pleased with the result. Good flick. I find myself rediscovering Val Kilmer of late.

harosa

The director's latest is Taking Lives and its a great thriller.

Trigger

Yeah - I noticed that he directed Taking Lives in my search for a Salton Sea thread... I guess I should check it out afterall.

And Jack... no doubt Val was brilliant in this - his performance from the little bit I caught on cable was what made me want to pick it up. I understand he's a pain in the ass to work with though... I've always felt he was a brilliant actor though (strange since I don't tend to like method actors) and this is one of his strongest performances I think.

painkiller - yeah, it seemed to want to make you think it was a drug movie and then surprise you with a solid thriller story with great characters. Vincent D was awesome in this as Pooh Bear. I think it was by design that it made you think it was a drug movie - kinda catch you off guard by being so much more.

Geofferson

I saw this a while back and was pleasantly surprised.

Groucho

I enjoyed it quite a bit. Not great, but certainly very good. This might have gotten bigger audiences with a better title..."The Salton Sea" sounds like a torrid costume drama to me.

In addition to Taking Lives, D.J. Caruso has also directed episodes of "The Shield" (which is the reason I rented this film in the first place).

ianholm

Excellent movie. Kudos to Val.

renaldow

I liked it up until it switched from being a drug movie to being a thriller. I felt cheated that by the movie. The first half really sucked me in, and then when it's let known 'what is really going on' I felt let down.

harosa

I appreciated the shift becasue the first half didnt forecast it and it stayed interesting throughout, in my opinion the druggie bit has been done to death so I appreciated the suprise.

chente

My family once took a vacation at the Salton Sea once. This was long ago before it turned into the stinking dead lake that it is now.

ArchibaldTuttle

I really enjoyed it, the only gripe I had about it was the heist part in the middle of the movie, although funny and I am glad its there, it didn't seem to fit into the plot of the movie at all, oh and the jfk pigeon gag was hilarious

Troy Stiffler

Wow. I didn't notice that. I'll be seeing Taking Lives now. But I would have never touched it if I didn't like The Salton Sea.

There was a stylistic choice that I didn't care for at the end. I'm talking about the 'bullet count' section. It just took me out of the serious intensity for a brief moment, and made the movie more fun; which I didn't feel fit correctly.

But otherwise, it was a very well rounded movie. I love watching a movie and not really knowing what's going to happen next. But twists have become so common, that they can be expected if the movie isn't crafted correctly. But Salton Sea managed to lead around, and actually had genuine surprise in it.

I especially liked Kilmer's friend. The "thanks for not laughing at me" scene was excellent. I dunno, the character was just very likeable; sort of like Glen Michaels in Out of Sight.

Johnny Zhivago

Excellent film (and a criminally overlooked one at that).