Southland Tales (DVD)

There is a saying about bands having tricky second albums; why is this? The band has to prove to the fans and critics that their debut was not just a fluke or one off. They could have spent perhaps 5 years practising and choosing their best songs for a 12 track album. For their second attempt they may only have two years, with large parts of that time spent promoting their first album or touring. Many bands have had a great debut then imploded. The same thing can happen to film directors. The indie scene is jammed full of one hit wonders; look at a low budget film and you may spot a Writer/Director the sure sign of debutant. Will their second film be as good as ...  Read the complete review

So you're a young director who makes a film that quickly becomes a cult classic, then you have people banging down your door to get something new. Needless to say Richard Kelly was pretty hot stuff after Donnie Darko that captured the imagination with a weird sense of reality, notions of time travel and a suicidal rabbit. So when his follow up Southland Tales debuted at Cannes in 2006, the anticipation was high but soon became a low as the end credits rolled. In the opinion of those at the first screening, Southland Tales was a complete mess. Needless to say after some recuts, a few special effects etc, Southland Tales was released in late 2007 and ...  Read the complete review

He rocked the world with his movie Donnie Darko, the strange hybrid of horror, comedy, romance, science fiction, and time travel proved a massive success with teenagers and adults alike making it an instant cult classic. But for 5 years director Richard Kelly was quiet, and in the UK for 7 years he was quiet. Completed and released in 2006 Southland Tales took until this year to come across the pond to the UK, and in such a short cinema release that already we are looking at a DVD release. Why this form of persecution for Southland Tales? Southland Tales is such an unusual movie it was feared that nobody truly would get it, I'd go one step further as to ...  Read the complete review

note: also appears on The Student Room and Flixster After the meteoric cult success of his film Donnie Darko, Richard Kelly became a household name in Hollywood almost instantly, giving him enough clout to get the funds and means together to make a 2.5-hour, star-studded epic named Southland Tales. It didn't fare too well in its original 160-minute screening at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006, but was re-edited and released to slightly more favourable acclaim. Needless to say, this is a mess of a film, but it's by no means terrible - it's got solid performances, some great visuals, but sadly can't find its feet despite some interesting ideas. The ...  Read the complete review

This is one of those movies that sits somewhere between being great and awful, as it tries so hard to be great, but instead turns out to be an entertaining and for many confusing bit of a mess. Plot- In the incredibly close future, world war 3 is occuring, and as a hunt for resources is just beginning, the mysterious doctor Exx (Curtis Armstrong) appears with a seemingly perfect new power source. In the midst of this are a group of individuals who are connected to an aggresive liberal marxist group, including Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson), a famous conservatove actor who has lost his memory, Krysta Kapowski (Sarah Michelle Gellar), a porn star who is ...  Read the complete review