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The Salton Sea stars Val Kilmer as a musician who witnessed the murder of his wife. Disguised as a drug dealer who works his way into a dangerous, violent world in a quest for revenge. He eventually must face off with a psychotic villain, played by Vincent D'Onofrio.

Tom Snyder (Movieguide) calls it "a moody, often funny thriller, with another excellent performance by Val Kilmer." But the film's "excessive scenes of violence, drug abuse and revenge" earn it a poor rating there.

Steven D. Greydanus (Decent Films) says the movie "is a stylishly filmed excursion into a world of bottom-feeding dopers and dealers, of all-night binge parties and drug-related killings. Director J. D. Caruso … brings a strong visual flair to the proceedings. What [he] can't do is make either of Val Kilmer's two personas interesting or worth caring about. Right in the middle of the movie is a hole where there needed to be a central character, and drug abuse, decadence, murder, lies, and revenge are all thrown together in a story that ultimately doesn't seem interested in shedding moral light on such behavior."

Some Christian critics have taken aim at the recent horror film Frailty for being anti-Christian. But in an article at Canadian Christianity, Peter T. Chattaway says the argument is presumptive.

Chattaway quotes Ed Vitagliano, director of research for the American Family Association, who wrote in a review at Agape Press that Frailty casts Christians in a negative light. Vitagliano declares that the movie proves Hollywood is "out to get" Christians." Vitagliano says, "We find this film—at least the description of it—to be a further indication of the fact that Hollywood, for the most part, has a vendetta against Christians, especially Christians who hold to the absolute truths of scripture."

Chattaway responds that there are several problems with this claim. "First, if Vitagliano is responding only to a 'description' of the film, then it sounds as though he is passing judgment on the film before he has even seen it. If that is the case, then he is speaking out of ignorance, and it is somewhat ironic when he complains later on that Hollywood always portrays Christians as 'loud-mouthed' and 'self-righteous.' Learning to think critically about films, and about art in general, is a necessary skill in this media-saturated age, and no one is helped when self-appointed culture warriors condemn obscure movies they've apparently never seen."

Next week: Early responses Star Wars, Episode 2: Attack of the Clones. Plus: Unfaithful.

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May (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46