Southland Tales

USA 2006, 145 minutes
Dir. Richard Kelly
Rating: [R]
Genres: Science Fiction, Drama, Suspense/Crime

Topics: Post-Apocalyptic, Satire, Turkey.

Feat. Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott, Mandy Moore, Justin Timberlake, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

Aroview: A chaotically comedic, pre-apocalyptic sci-fi ensemble piece, helmed with self-importance and unrestraint by the ever-idiosyncratic director of DONNIE DARKO.

Overun with hot button politics, rampant ideology and topical world crisises, dir. Kelly's satirical vision of '2008' is a ludicrous sight to behold, centred heavily on the dubious acting trio of Gellar, Scott, and 'The Rock'; the latter an amnesiac action star who's found time to co-author a screenplay with a famous pornstar while being embroiled in a neo-Marxist conspiracy.

Largely intolerable and incoherent, this certainly overreaches in its canvasing of contemporary issues - terrorism, celebrity, sustainability and media saturation, to name just a few - yet will likely be ripe for rediscovery some years from now. A few of its small, inspired moments include a Justin Timberlake-fronted musical number, and the shambolic, B-movie cast, which gathers the likes of Wallace Shawn, Christopher Lambert, and John Lovitz. Music by Moby.

Member Reviews

Average rating (Good Enough). Showing 1-3 of 4 member reviews.

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2 stars (Good Try) Following up his critically successful indie, Kelly continues with sci-fi time-warp themes, thrusting together unlikely characters in a countdown to the end of days. Timberlake's musical to The Killers is most memorable; little else leaves an impression. ~Tom H
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2 stars (Good Try) Satirical epic; epic fail. Incoherent, pretentious, derivative, forced. Still, ambitious and a bit of fun, with a good soundtrack & some nice scenes (eg Timberlake’s The Killers sing-along, car ad, blood squibs). ~SteveParkes
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4 stars (Very Good) Was checking my watchlist & was sure I really enjoyed this, but took ages to remember anything about it. Even now I can't remember the plot. Make of that what you will. I blame the nothing name, but I guess "2001 A Space Odyssey" was already taken. ~Truant