Read Positive User Reviews for Southland Tales

9

[Anonymous]Jun 3, 2008

Some people are too rigid, too mainstream, and too unimaginative. These people are the ones who gave a bad rating to this film. I've never watched a movie in which I actually enjoyed not knowing what the heck was going on, being Some people are too rigid, too mainstream, and too unimaginative. These people are the ones who gave a bad rating to this film. I've never watched a movie in which I actually enjoyed not knowing what the heck was going on, being completely lost in the plethora of non-nonsensical plot lines. The end clarified some things, and caused other things to become even more convoluted, which was great. I loved all the cameos in this movie and the Rock and Stifler were amazing.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful

10

JohnF.Feb 14, 2008

Without first reading the prequel graphic novel, Southland Tales will seem like the most random film you have ever seen. If you read the graphic novel first, Southland Tales will still be abstract, but it will also actually be coherent and Without first reading the prequel graphic novel, Southland Tales will seem like the most random film you have ever seen. If you read the graphic novel first, Southland Tales will still be abstract, but it will also actually be coherent and comprehensible. Was this a mistake on the filmmaker's part? Yes. Is it eccentric? Yes. Is it a great story worth dedicating hours of your life to understand? Yes. I do not know any other filmmaker and cast who experimented this much with the film medium since David Lynch. Is it Lynch? No. Is it good? Yes. Is it easy to understand? No. Is the film meaningless? No. Like Donnie Darko, Richard Kelly does not coddle his audience in terms of narrative. Like a dream, you are going to have to piece it together after you finish viewing it. Do yourself a favor and buy the Prequel Graphic Novel and read it before watching the film! Then buy the DVD and let the film wash over you like a bizarre dream. At the end of the entire experience, figure it out.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful

7

ChadS.Mar 20, 2008

When an artist starts to believe his own press; the premature pronouncement by some overzealous fanboys(and a few critics) that the filmmaker is a genius(and yes, "Donnie Darko" was very accomplished for a first feature film), it's no When an artist starts to believe his own press; the premature pronouncement by some overzealous fanboys(and a few critics) that the filmmaker is a genius(and yes, "Donnie Darko" was very accomplished for a first feature film), it's no wonder that the "genius" would attempt to match that initial success, and therefore overreach with a project as wildly ambitious as "Southland Tales". As some of you may know, "Donnie Darko" was released into theaters the same week that the towers fell, and predictably, it tanked at the box office(people were too busy watching CNN) before DVD gave it a second life. The filmmaker acknowledges the historical context behind the first running of "Donnie Darko" by providing "Southland Tales" with a post-9/11 backdrop. Texas gets nuked. "Southland Tales" is an alternative history of contemporary America. The sci-fi this time seems forced(like M. Night Shylaman, who feels pressured to come up with twist endings), an attempt to catch lightning in a bottle a second-time around, when a pared-down "Southland Tales" might've worked beautifully as a straight-up political satire about our lives during wartime. The neo-Marxist group resembles a twenty-first century version of the Weather Underground, or, because the group seems to be largely composed of females, "Southland Tales" might be making a reference to the militant feminist movement that's rendered in Lizzie Borden's "Born in Flames"("Southland Tales" has the look of "Strange Days", and Katherine Bigelow was a "newspaper editor" in that cinematic manifesto of female empowerment), but with a difference: Cyndi Pinziki(Nora Dunn) is an adult-film director and Krysta Now(Sarah Michelle Gellar, a porn star; which acknowledges the fluid nature of feminist ideology. "Southland Tales" is very smart about how porn has infiltrated the mainstream. As for the sci-fi elements, the filmmaker's use of dopplegangers and California as a post-nuclear setting, calls forth to mind novelist Kim Stanley Robinson's "The Wild Shore". The final fifteen minutes of "Southland Tales" while undeniably beautiful, doesn't really make a lick of sense. This filmmaker could've gone the Peter Bogdonavich route and delivered a safe follow-up, akin to "Daisy Miller"(the film that preceeded this adaptation of the Henry James novel was, of course, "The Last Picture Show"), but instead, he threw down the gauntlet and made this rambling mess of a picture, which begs to be loved and hated in equal measures.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful

9

bfoore90Feb 26, 2017

Definitely not a movie for the average-goer but its beautifully shot, nicely acted (for the most part) and brilliantly crude in not so subtly delivering its message. By all accounts and some internet help, Southland Tales is essentially aDefinitely not a movie for the average-goer but its beautifully shot, nicely acted (for the most part) and brilliantly crude in not so subtly delivering its message. By all accounts and some internet help, Southland Tales is essentially a tongue in cheek, loose rewrite of the coming of God and the end of the world (The Book of Revelations) jam packed with black humor and quibs that poke fun of America and its many flaws.While its obviously a bit convoluted, its a good convoluted.If you're obviously a fan of Kelly's work or for movies that mess with your mind, Southland Tales is worth the look… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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10

PnArdyPnArdyMar 6, 2008

This is a movie from a twisted mind of a pure genius. What an inspiring masterpiece! Most likely you haven't seen anything like this before. It can only compare with such outstanding works as Memento, X-Files, 14th floor. It has the This is a movie from a twisted mind of a pure genius. What an inspiring masterpiece! Most likely you haven't seen anything like this before. It can only compare with such outstanding works as Memento, X-Files, 14th floor. It has the look and feel of The Fifth Element, Aeon Flux, Ultraviolet, and Tank Girl combined and at the same time sends a strong political message with a glimpse on the bizarre future apocalyptic word. It may seem a crappy low budget at first but soon you become captivated with its pioneering vision, outstanding script, decent actor performances and FX, brilliant soundtrack from Moby which makes it overall an unforgettable hard-to-compare-with-anything-else experience, the whole movie being only part 4 of the total 6 parts of the epic.… Expand