The Movie: I hadn't actually ever heard of this movie before Cami brought it home, but I was pleasantly surprised at its imagination and originality. Yes, I suppose you could call this a "drug movie" but there is actually very little focus on actual drug use. The Salton Sea isn't really about drugs, the meth use in the film is really just an incidental factor in the true story about a man (played by Val Kilmer) doing everything he can to avenge the death of his wife when they coincidentally got caught up in a meth related gunfight. Now he must delve into the underworld of methamphetamine users, dealers and cooks in order to get his revenge.

It's a strange, stylized visual story telling that drifts in and out of reality and over-the-top wackiness, strung together with a plot that keeps you interested in finding out more details about the strange life of Val Kilmer's character.

You'll find many familiar faces from TV and film playing major and minor roles, here, including Vincent D'Onofrio (NBC's Law & Order: Criminal Intent), Anthony LaPalglia (CBS's Without A Trace), Luis Guzmán (who just got his own show on FOX), Danny Trejo, Meatloaf, R. Lee Ermey, and one of the producers of the film was Eriq La Salle, a.k.a. Dr. Peter Benton from E.R..

The Salton Sea is definitely a very interesting film with a raw, not your typical Hollywood fluff independent feel which you'll definitely love if you're into that kind of thing. Personally, I feel the whole film is worth it just for the gun dealer scene alone. Check it out if you're looking for something a little different to watch tonight!

The DVD: The anamorphic video is bright, clean, with vivid colors, and nary a compression artifact, and the only grain you see is consistent with most films shot in the 1.85:1 "flat" shooting format. In other words, a great transfer. Audio is also clean, with easy to understand dialog, though use of the surround soundstage was sparse, even in areas that I feel could have benefited from a bit of spread-out sound.

Special features turned out to be not so special, with a couple of behind the scenes documentaries, a trailer (in anamorphic widescreen), and your usual array of text-based filmographies and such.

Overall a great presentation of a film worth checking out!