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Quint sails THE SALTON SEA!
Harry here with a film that no matter what I seem doomed to never see. It played in town during the AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL last year when I was bedbound... Moriarty saw it a million and 8 years ago it seems and then he even presented the film at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles as the first AICN Screening there. Well, it is finally coming to a theater near you. Check it out...
Ahoy, squirts! 'Tis everybody's favorite salty seaman, Quint, here with a look at DJ Caruso's directorial debut, The Salton Sea.
I saw this flick a long, long time ago, last October in fact. I have since seen it a second time at AICN's series at the Egyptian Theater, part of the American Cinematheque. Why didn't I review it earlier? Well, there are two reasons. One, this movie is great, an amazing debut from an incredibly gifted filmmaker, but it's a hard one to convey in words. Given the projected difficulty and my number 2 reason (I'm a lazy sumbitch) I had been putting the review off, instead thinking the film over and over again in my head.
It's a weird bird. It starts off as a movie about druggies, those lost to the real world, inhabiting an almost alternate universe of the perpetual party with a notable absence rules and sunlight. It's a place of amazingly close friendships, sometimes idol worship, yet, like most things that exist in this alternate universe, most of it is fake, a temporary need to be close to someone and get high.
Then it switches gears on you and turns into a neo-noir film with Val Kilmer playing our anti-hero. I happen to love films that do that to me, take me where I didn't expect to end up. I do recognize that there are those out there who hate it when a film changes gears like that. I've had endless debates about Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's From Dusk Till Dawn, where the switching of gears is so abrupt that it jarred a lot of people into a dislike of the film. I loved it. Surprise (although there wasn't much there if you had seen the trailer) is one of cinema's most magical attributes.
The Salton Sea refers to an actual place of some significance to Kilmer's character, an ex-trumpet player turned addict and a sort of bastard combination that can best be described as a vigilante private eye.
This is as good a place as any to talk about Val Kilmer's performance. We know Kilmer can act, but he hasn't given us much faith recently as to when he'll actually put forth the effort to give his characters dimension. I don't know how long he'll keep it up, but he pulls out all the stops in this film giving a truly fantastic and complex performance. There are so many different levels to his character that he conveys effortlessly. From stoned out junkie to grieving husband to police rat to drug dealer... he's all over the map in this film.
And before you talkbackers start bitching about him, just remember these films: Real Genius, Top Secret!, The Ghost and the Darkness, Heat, Tombstone, The Doors and his part in True Romance. Sure, I can already hear you shouting "Madmartigan!" and listing off several of his more lackluster films, but honestly folks... this man has made some great movies and has proven his ability. We know it's there just as sure as we know he can throw us a stinker or two, but I'm here to tell you that I've seen The Salton Sea and it's one of his great ones. Give him the benefit of the doubt. Do it for me.
Even if you're still too cynical to do that, I suggest you take a look at the fantastic supporting cast Caruso put together.
-Vincent D'Onofrio plays... well, a role that is uniquely and unsurprisingly perfect for him. He's a big drug dealer that snorted so much coke that his nose is gone... literally. The scene where he recreates the assassination of President Kennedy is one of the funniest and most wrong things I've seen in a long while.
-Adam Goldberg is a druggie, which again suits his acting talents. He's very much his character from Dazed and Confused, but 10 years older and addicted to coke. His Ocean's 11-ish complicated robbery plan will probably go down as one of the funniest scenes in movie history. I have a feeling that the more cynical viewers out there that will scoff at this movie just because it has been getting such good word will point this scene out as the only good thing about the movie. They'll be full of shit, but at least they'll give props to this fantastic, over-the-top sequence.
-Luis GUUUUUUUUUUUZZZZZZZZMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAANNNNN!!!! Who cares who Guuuzzmmmannnn plays in this film. He's in it. That should be all you need to know. The Guz is hands down one of the coolest character actors around right now and my only complaint about his role in The Salton Sea is the same complaint I have with his other films... He needs to be in it more. More Guzman! If this guy doesn't get a leading role in something soon I'm going to drive to LA, steal Steven Spielberg's feces and use the money I get from it on ebay to finance Guzman: The Movie. Just see if I don't.
-Doug Hutchison, the best sleazeball actor around who most remember for his truly slimy portrayal of Percy Wetmore in The Green Mile. Yet another great character actor who is perfect for his role, in Hutchison's case a dirty cop.
There are more character actors... Anthony LaPaglia, Glenn Plummer (yeah, the black guy who was the only thing worth watching in Speed 2), Danny "Definition of a Badass" Trejo, Meat Loaf and BD Wong, just to name a few... They're all great in the film, but Goldberg, D'Onofrio, Hutchison and Guuuzzmmaann were the standouts.
Now on to the direction. DJ Caruso is one of the new batch of filmmakers that have come out recently, in the same class as someone like Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko director)... you know, the next wave of young filmmakers showing great talent. Caruso has done a lot of TV and spent some time as a producer, but don't let that fool you. He's a protege of Frank Darabont and shows just as much talent. Does Caruso have a Shawshank Redemption in him? Only time will tell, but if The Salton Sea is any indication of his talent then he has more than a fair shot at making some great films.
The film comes out this Friday in limited release and it opens everywhere May 17th. I urge all of you out there to see it. I don't want this to be one of those great films that is completely overlooked, swept away in the wake of Episode II and Spider-Man. This is a great film to take in if you need a break from the pure entertainment of those two blockbusters. It'll remind what a dramatic film can do... then you can get back in line and see Attack of the Clones again.
I'm gonna shove off. Got a midnight screening of some forgotten blaxploitation classic called The Black Six at the Alamo Drafthouse here in Austin. I'll be back with some views of the new Jason flick, Sum of All Fears and some other goodness very soon. 'Til that day, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
email: I crave to fill the void in your life. Yes yours. Write me, it'll be magic, honest!
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I'd never given this film much thought, but this review has peaked my interest. One to watch out for it seems.
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Saw the trailer for this movie eons ago and it looked so damn good. Awesome review Quint and thanks for the reminder of the AMAZING cast. Not to sound too uncool or anything but I've always liked Kilmer. Maybe its just my childhood memories of Top Secret and Real Genius or maybe it's the more recent recollections of his awesome performance in Heat and my insane liking of that groovy little flick Thunderheart, but i've always had a soft spot for the guy, even to the point where I enjoyed Red Planet ... the less said on THAT the freakin better. He's like Ben Affleck in a way, in that given a worthwhile project and good director, he can come up with an impressive, credible performance. I mean think about it, the movies Kilmer has truly sucked in of late: The Saint, Batman Forever, The Real McCoy, Ghost and the Darkness, Moreau - they're hardly movies that might inspire effort or give any helpful support to an actor.
Anyway screw AOTC and Spiderman, (although of course I'll be booking my ticket well in advance for both of them heh heh) The Salton Sea will kick their collective summertime popcorn movie ass, maybe not in BO but when it comes to credibility and smarts. "Oh I hate it when he does that" yuck yuck Obi Wan, you cad! -
Nice review Quint but those hilarious scenes that you talk about would have come at least in part from the screenplay. Any chance we can some plaudits for the apparently forgotten talents that make these films happen.
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Apr 25, 2002 1:18:49 PM CDT
AICN is 10 years behind on this GUZMAN! obsessions....CLIFF CURT
by charles grady
Any true Guzman fan would have been into him back in his Q&A/Carlito's Way days. Now he's too trendy. When is Cliff Curtis going to take over the mantle as the NEW GUZMAN???? Curtis is the chameleon-like New Zealand character actor who's played a wide range of characters (and ethnicities) in such good or awesome films as Three Kings, Blow, Bringing Out the Dead, The Insider, Training Day, and Once Were Warriors. He was also the terrorist in Collateral Damage, which wasn't a good movie, but Curtis was awesome! CLIFF CURTIS IS THE NEW LUIS GUZMAN!!!!!
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The Adam Goldberg Ocean's 11 style robbery sequence is bad. BAD BAD BAD BAD. Amatuerish, tacked only for comic relief, adds nothing to the story, and almost brings a decent film down to the level stinker. Cut out those 5 minutes and the last 2 minutes and Salton Sea could stand as quality film. Too bad Caruso doesn't trust the audience enough to completely go where the movie is taking us. Also, the list of great actors is another frustration, because these people (besides D'Onofrio) are given nothing to do. Meatloaf? Was he on screen for more than 5 seconds? Lee Ermey - does he have any dialog? Same with Danny Trejo. Despite all this complaining Salton Sea is worth seeing, I just find it frustrating because it's obvious I see a better film wanting to come out.
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For god sake.
Kilmer has always shown tremendous talent. He was the youngest student ever admited to Julliard. ******************
The Saint, although a weak film, did show off the multi-talented actor that is Val Kilmer. He can chew up scene like the best character actors working. Case in point: Tombstone. Without him in that film, the movie is unmemorable.
Sadly, Kilmer went Mickey Rourke and his ego went out of control and pissed everyone off to the point where he was put to the back of the line.
Now the talent that is Affleck. Umm, err.........well he sure does get a lot of big time, high profile leads based upon.......errrrr, ummm the taller guy who was in the movie about that smartest guy in Boston who is really a janitor. For some f*cked up reason this lightweight is at the front of the line. **********************
Seen the new poster for Sum Of All Fears. Sure does downplay Benny compared to Morgan Freeman. Now there is an actor who can chew scenery. -
Why does every talkback these days revolve around how much you swines hate Affleck? Give the guy a break and move on. Fuck sake.
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He's always been one of my favorite actors. I personally don't care how big of a dick he might be in real life, I think he gives great performances. The Doors? Jesus. He WAS Jim Morrison. The only times I've been let down by him were when he was attached to hopelessly shitty movies (cough...Batman...cough....The Saint....cough). I even enjoyed Red Planet. Just for the record, I think he would have made an amazing DareDevil.
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Screw you, Otis. I found the robbery scene completely hillarious. Nice to have a little lightness injected into the film at that time... it was getting a bit heavy, and that shit helped ease the load a wee bit. But hey, fuck my opinion. I'm probably just some dumbass who can stand some fun in a movie.
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I loved him! I really, really, really, really, really, loved him! Who but Kilmer could play the part of a smirking swordsman who must save a princess baby and at the same time deal with midgest and 3 inch tall comic reliefs?
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as soon as i see someone on here totally dismiss and slam Affleck i know their life story. homely geek who watched guys like Affleck get the girls, and now thinks by calling Affleck a fag and a talentless actor they are getting even. news flash boys, you STILL won't get the chicks.
sure, Affleck has been in some stinkers, name ONE actor who hasn't? he's no all time great, but he has decent talent and i expect him to do a good job with Daredevil.
next, Tombstone sucked??? guess you prefer movies like Godzilla vs Mothra, eh? Kilmer MADE that movie, and it kicked the ever livin shit out of Costner's lame attempt at a Wyatt Earp movie. -
so, since you're such an expert, tell me. how do i get to your movie site? see a movie you've written, produced or directed? acted in? if not, shut your piehole or find somewhere else to waste space with your bitching.
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I don't know how we got on the subject of affleck after a Salton Sea review, which sounds pretty good by the way. Yeah, affleck isn't a bad actor. I have to admit that I liked that road flick he did with Sandra Bollock.
But the guy is just a dork in real life. My friend worked camera on one of his flicks and in between takes he would roll up his shirt sleeves and show off his puney little arms with his gay ass barbed wire tattoo. So the next day all the grips and camera guys drew barbed wire tattoos on their arms and when he rolled up his shirt one guy commented on what a cool tattoo that was. Then he noticed what was going on and ran off the set crying. Ok so I made up the last part, but it's a cool story anyway. The rest is true. He's a fuckin kook.
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