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Southland Tales

(2006) Comedy - Rated R

Directed by: Richard Kelly

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott

Overview: Chaos reigns in the years following a nuclear attack on Texas.

RATINGS:

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  • USER COMMENTS (1)
  • CAST

  • Southland Tales

    Chaos reigns in the years following a nuclear attack on Texas.

    Reviews

    REELZ REVIEW
    "Richard Kelly can't escape the sophomore jinx with this daring, ambitious, unmitigated mess of a film...."  [more]
    — Thomas Leupp

    User Comments and Video Reviews

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    • Johnnynny23

      04/17/08 04:12 PM
      i dont know about this film. i thought there was some hilarious parts that made me laugh and there were some parts where i wanted there to be more action and blood. like the beggining was scary when the big explosion occured and i thought the rest of the movie shouldve been more suspenseful like it. i like this movie but i thougt there shouldve been more to it than just humor. i wanted more action.
      Review Rating: 0
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    • Thomas Leupp

      ReelzChannel.com, November 13, 2007


      Poor, poor DwayneIf there's one benefit to the overwhelmingly negative buzz surrounding Richard Kelly's Southland Tales since the flick's disastrous 2006 Cannes debut, it's that expectations have been dramatically lowered for the Donnie Darko director's sophomore effort, which finally arrives in theaters this week after an extensive re-edit. After all, the movie's trailer (available here) is fairly spectacular. Certainly a filmmaker of Kelly's caliber could carve a decent flick out of the inscrutable three hour-plus behemoth that screened at Cannes, right? Sadly, no.


      Southland Tales' plot defies easy explanation, so I'll politely defer to the film's press notes:


      "Los Angeles, 2008: The city stands on the brink of social, economic and environmental disaster. Southland Tales is an epic story set over the course of three days that culminate in a massive 4th of July celebration."


      Labeled by the director himself as "a comic take on the apocalypse," the story (mostly) centers on three characters: confused police officer Roland Taverner (Seann William Scott) amnesiac action movie star Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson, sans the "Rock" moniker) and Santaros' porn star girlfriend Krysta Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar). Surrounding them is an astoundingly bloated ensemble cast that includes Justin Timberlake, Cheri Oteri, John Larroquette, Mandy Moore, Jon Lovitz, Kevin Smith and many, many others.


      Southland Tales' bloated ensemble wouldn't necessarily be a problem if Kelly's plot had certain degree of focus, but the story bounces maddeningly from thread to thread, touching upon issues like the War in Iraq, The Patriot Act, quantum physics, religion and urban decay -- not exactly pedestrian topics. The result, not surprisingly, is a bewildering mess. I'm not sure if Robert Altman could have eked coherence out of this hodgepodge. For the most part, Southland Tales feels like the frenzied work of an ADD-addled director whose every creative indulgence apparently went unquestioned. There are indeed a handful of scenes that show promise, but they're quickly abandoned whenever Kelly discovers something else that catches his fancy. It seems that every time Southland Tales appears on the verge of letting the audience in, Kelly shuts us out again, defiant in his quest to keep it entirely impenetrable.


      Oh, and did I mention it's a musical, too?


      Richard Kelly is clearly a talented guy and I have no doubt that he'll rebound with his next feature, The Box, but he clearly bit off more than he could chew with this sprawling debacle. 


      ReelzChannel Rating:  3

    • Johnnynny23

      04/17/08 04:12 PM
      i dont know about this film. i thought there was some hilarious parts that made me laugh and there were some parts where i wanted there to be more action and blood. like the beggining was scary when the big explosion occured and i thought the rest of the movie shouldve been more suspenseful like it. i like this movie but i thougt there shouldve been more to it than just humor. i wanted more action.
      Review Rating: 0
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  • Crew

    Director Richard Kelly
    Producer Sean McKittrick
    Producer Kendall Morgan
    Producer Bo Hyde
    Executive Producer Bill Johnson
    Executive Producer Jim Seibel
    Executive Producer Oliver Hengst
    Executive Producer Katarina K. Hyde
    Executive Producer Katarina Hyde
    Executive Producer Judd Payne
    Executive Producer Tedd Hamm

Summer Movie Guide

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  • Scott in talks to enter Kelly's Box

    Seann William ScottAfter Southland Tales debuted to a decidedly negative reception last year at Cannes, Richard Kelly's long-awaited sophomore project was plagued by rumors that the film might never see the light of day in the U.S. Thankfully, Sony finally put the speculation to rest last month when they announced that Southland Tales will open November 9th, with a running time considerably shorter than the 180 minute behemoth screened at Cannes.

    Kelly's apparent sophomore jinx hasn't done anything to sully his reputation in Hollywood. The Donnie Darko director is already hard at work on his third project, the horror flick The Box, with Cameron Diaz set to star. And now it appears like Southland Tales star Seann William Scott might be coming aboard as well.

    In an exclusive interview with ReelzChannel.com, the Dukes of Hazzard  star (lest we forget) revealed yesterday that he's currently in talks to join the cast of The Box, though details have yet to be ironed out. Scott describes Kelly's third film as "interesting and weird. It's gonna be a movie that people either love or hate. And I kinda like those films."

    An interesting and weird Richard Kelly film?  Imagine that.

    Scott's latest movie, Mr. Woodcock, opens September 14th.


    Mr. Woodcock - Trailer

    Seann William Scott battles gym coach Billy Bob Thornton

    Posted 09/05/2007 by Thomas

    Cameron Diaz | Richard Kelly | Seann William Scott | Thomas Leupp | Southland Tales | The Box | Mr. Woodcock

Wednesday, July 25

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