Southland Tales (2006)

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

This is one of the few movies i have attempted to watch and could not finish. I did sit through 40+ minutes and skipped to the end where both Sean William Scotts are in an Ice Cream Truck that is floating in the air.

 

They should totally review this movie but i feel bad for wasting 2 hours of their life.

I remember watching the first half pretty closely, thinking there'd be SOMETHING I'd have to pay attention to to get whatever happened later, but after what felt like three hours, I looked and saw that I was less than an hour and a half in, so I sort of gave up and started doing other things while I had it on, and I don't think I really missed anything by not having my eyes glued to the screen the whole time. I'm pretty glad though that I didn't know anyone that had seen it, that no one ruined it for me, because it was much more satisfying to watch as the movie ruined itself.

[MatthewDellaPorta 1]

Is this movie actually enjoyable to watch? I think it's better if movies get reviewed that are funny/bad not unwatchable/bad.

[jimkiler 84]

Is this movie actually enjoyable to watch? I think it's better if movies get reviewed that are funny/bad not unwatchable/bad.

 

No! This movie is a chore to watch unlike movies like Sleepaway camp which are entertaining.

[Foxtrot1 67]

Is this movie actually enjoyable to watch? I think it's better if movies get reviewed that are funny/bad not unwatchable/bad.

I really liked it, but I was definitely not sober at the time. It's fun if you just forget about trying to follow the story and say "Hey, I wonder what miscast tv actor will show up next!"

 

There are some amazing visuals and some undeniably cool scenes - Seann William Scott in the mirror proves somewhere inside Richard Kelly's bizarre mind he still knows how to film a great scene - but the story is absolutely ludicrous. Watch it with some friends and make fun of it, it's definitely a blast.

 

And come on, the last 15 minutes of this film are, to quote Jason, as "next-level bonkers" as anything ever put to film. The floating ice cream truck, the blimp - it's awesomely terrible. Kevin Smith has a tendency to monopolize the conversation but I would love to hear an extra-long episode devoted to breaking this film down.

[Foxtrot1 67]

Also this is the best:

 

Teen horniness is not a crime

[Rory McDuckula 12]

Guys, two words: Bai Ling

 

 

I can't believe the gang hasn't done this one yet. It's bat shit crazy for 144 minutes.

[oldmanduggan 1]

If you can show me a bigger clusterfuck of a "film," I'll give you money. This movie is a total disaster. Everyone but Wood Harris is terrible in it. And it's got this:

[justinmh05 1968]

Guys, two words: Bai Ling

 

 

I can't believe the gang hasn't done this one yet. It's bat shit crazy for 144 minutes.

 

They might not want to sit through the 2 hours and 24 minute running time. Which is understandable.

 

Wasn't In the Name of the King tortuously long enough?

[PhillipMedoc 648]

It's a crazy movie, much too long and possibly overly ambitious -- one could mistake lack of cohesion for ambition here. But there's moments that are wonderful, such as all of Dwayne A Rock Johnson and that great Justin Timberlake bit where it turns into a music video for no reason.

 

I do think this movie proves that Richard Kelly got really lucky with Donnie Darko. The subsequent director's cut of that film turned it into a piece of junk and his other movie -- The Box -- got a lot of mediocre reviews, maybe haters just hating.

[Johnny Unusual 525]

Yeah, I think sometimes the art is better than the artist, a sort of dovetailing of what is intended and what occurs naturally from outside sources. Shame it seems that everything else he's done is bad, but I think this is probably a M. Night scenario: he still has ideas and ambitions, but he doesn't have enough of the proper talents to make another good movie. This isn't to say that either are talentless, but they use their talents poorly and they don't have the talent to... well... control their talent. Sort of like modern day Frank Miller: there's still originality and creativity but in service of poorly conceived or wrongheaded works.

[MarkShilansky 0]

This is a great film. No derision please.

[jarrycanada 2483]

Bai Ling is amazing in this movie, shes a delicate flower...

[SeraphisSet 0]

Edit:

[chad1138 1]

I'm a big Richard Kelly fan. I love Donnie Darko and I really like Southland Tales. In a lot of ways ST is too ambitious for its own good. I think people should atleast understand what he was going for before they jump down his throat. Anybody familiar with Philip K. Dick's work will realise that his work definitely inspired this movie. I'm a huge PKD fan and appreciate this movie for what it is and what it tries to do. That being said, if they did this flick on the show I would completely understand. Do yourself a favor and read Philip K. Dick.

[jarrycanada 2483]

I got around to watching The Box this weekend, I think Ryan Sz here recommend it to me . it's the last of Richard Kelly movies I've yet to have seen. I couldn't agree more with you about Donnie Darko and Philip K. Dick. I also sorta like Southland Tales but I found at times it tried to hard at times. I think it could of been a great movie like Donnie darko but it wasn't. I blame Justin Timberlake for ruining this movie for me. but it's hard to pin the nail on the donkey here. it's simply not Richard Kelly best work. I feel he over loaded the film with a lot actors who didn't really add much to the story. like ohh look there is Christopher Lambert and some of the Donnie darko actors. that clearly had no place in this film.

 

I only hope he doesn't do anymore studio type movies like the box. as you can clearly tell from watching that film that he had another story in mind yet tried to incorporate the twilight zone "the box" story theme into his story. but it didn't work.

 

But love this movie or hate it, you got to love Dwayne Johnson AKA the rock he delivers in this movie a entertaining night of good movie watching. Plus The Pixies - "Wave of Mutilation" god I love that song. This movie had elements that are good but it just all didn't connect or work well together in the end.

 

Dare I say it i like this movie but it doesn't work, like Donnie darko did.

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

This thing needs to stay on the front page!

[jarrycanada 2483]

This thing needs to stay on the front page!

 

LOL

 

http://fyi.earwolf.c...esult/178779288

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

This movie is MADE of bonkers.

[PhillipMedoc 648]

But love this movie or hate it, you got to love Dwayne Johnson AKA the rock he delivers in this movie a entertaining night of good movie watching. Plus The Pixies - "Wave of Mutilation" god I love that song. This movie had elements that are good but it just all didn't connect or work well together in the end.

 

Dare I say it i like this movie but it doesn't work, like Donnie darko did.

My opinion matches yours completely. (Congratulations; here's an Olive Garden gift certificate for $11 dollars.)

 

Apart from... ahh... Heaven's Gate, I can't think of a movie where the ambition was so off the chart and it tried, tried so hard and fell, fell so hard to Bizarro Earth. I do think that Richard Kelly is possibly a genius, although I don't believe he's a great maker of films.

 

The first time I watched Donnie Darko, back in the bronze age of DVD, when it ended I fucking cried like a little boy. And I immediately watched it again, with the commentary on. I do think he has some interesting, creative stuff going on; I'm just not convinced that film is the best method for him.

 

Southland Tales is so legit crazy; Richard Kelly was able to get frickin Wallace Shawn and Mandy Patinkin on board. And Justin Timberlake. And Seann William Scott got a chance to act in a real movie.

 

Existing outside of "for real" bad/good movies (The Room, Troll 2, etc), Southland Tales is a very curious object, worthy of study.

[SeraphisSet 0]

Edit:

[Quarky 9]

When Donnie Darko became a hit, they let Richard Kelly do whatever he wanted. He did this (and then The Box - which could also be done).

 

 

He was given free reign and he had also done a prequel comic series for people to watch before the movie. It's mind boggling the amount of work he put in. These are always the best failures:: The passion projects. Right up there with Toys and Hudson Hawk.

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

When Donnie Darko became a hit, they let Richard Kelly do whatever he wanted. He did this (and then The Box - which could also be done).

 

 

He was given free reign and he had also done a prequel comic series for people to watch before the movie. It's mind boggling the amount of work he put in. These are always the best failures:: The passion projects. Right up there with Toys and Hudson Hawk.

Actually, Darko wasn't a hit at all. It got some acclaim, it got everyone noticed, and it put Kelly on the map, but it barely got released in theaters and picked up a cult following later on. While it may have gotten him some extra clout, he wasn't M. Night coming off of Sixth Sense or anything like that where he was going to get free reign over the cut of his movie, how it was released, etc. Southland Tales looks to be the work of a guy that was up his own ass waaaayyyy more than he had any right to be (which is odd, it being his own ass and all), and I think the comics came about more because of what he couldn't get for the movie. Sometimes it's fun to go outside the movie for extra information, but when it's required reading to understand what's going on, when it's homework, it's the fault of the filmmaker a for not making a coherent self-contained thing. Holy shit, does this movie ever need to get done. A perfect guest would be just about anyone that was on SNL around the turn if the century, because I think the ENTIRE CAST is in this movie.

[sillstaw 414]

I think the comics came about more because of what he couldn't get for the movie. Sometimes it's fun to go outside the movie for extra information, but when it's required reading to understand what's going on, when it's homework, it's the fault of the filmmaker a for not making a coherent self-contained thing.

 

I've heard that the comics were part of an extended multimedia idea he wanted to use for the film. He also wanted to have websites for the characters that fans could explore. The only problem was that the comics and websites were ready and released long before the film; by the time it went into its limited release, the comics had landed with a thud and the websites were forgotten.

 

Also, someone else from another site I went to said he read the comics, and that they didn't help one damn bit in understanding the film.

[Blast Hardcheese 636]

Southland Tales is the very definition of "inexplicible."

 

I watched this in chunks on YouTube, and found the comments defending this psuedo-intellectual dreck as "deep" and "multi-layered" far more entertaining than the film itself (highly caffinated homework brigade types - gotta love 'em).

 

I couldn't tell you what this movie is about, or why you're supposed to care about any of the numberous characters that populate it. This film seems to be going somewhere in the beginning, but loses it's way (or train of thought) midway through. Then, because we haven't suffered through enough cynicism and dystopian "blah," director Richard Kelly simply offs everyone in the end.

 

I remember screaming at my monitor, "WHY THE FUCK DID I WATCH THIS PIECE OF SHIT MOVIE?!?" Donnie Darko, my ass!

 

So yes, please, HDTGM crew; suffer then review Southland Tales.

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

Also, someone else from another site I went to said he read the comics, and that they didn't help one damn bit in understanding the film.

Someone may have even brought that up here already, but holy shit, there's like 100 posts (I think like 20 of 'em are mine...), and I'm not about to re-read them all. Hmmmm, if a certain group of professional comedians would just watch this fuckin' thing already, we could renew the conversation in another thread...