SOUTHLAND TALES

"This is how the world ends"

Los Angeles on July 4, 2008 and as the Third World War ranged in the Middle East and Asia, America was bracing itself for a new Presidential election and even more political and social unrest. With the current Government pushing through new legislation and upgrading the Patriot Act to the new US-IDENT system that controls access the Internet and the media, Baron Von Westphalen (Shawn) introduces a new fuel source that will end the US dependence on Middle Eastern oil. But as superstar actor Boxer Santaros (Johnson) walks out of the desert outside of Los Angeles and into the arms of porn star Krysta Now (Gellar), a series of events fall into motion that could lead to the end of days.

After capturing the movie world with the visionary 'Donnie Darko', the expectations for Richard Kelly's next film was bound to be huge but unfortunately fans will be extremely disappointed.

The problem with been labelled as the next big thing in film is that the movie going public and critics alike have great expectations for what is to come next but with 'Southland Tales', Richard Kelly certainly hasn't met those heady expectations. Wanting to make a political statement about a current issue is all well and good but when you try and cover all of the world's problems in one swell swoop.

The trouble in the Middle East, North Korea, the terrorist threat, the energy crisis, American social and economic problems, the presidential election, combat stress and the US obsession with celebrity are just some of the topics intermixed with a dose of science fiction but instead of producing a movie that is far too surreal and confusing to make any kind of statement. While this is fine for someone like David Lynch, who is the master at this genre of cinema, there is far too much going on for the audience to comprehend and make sense of.

The success of 'Donnie Darko' has allowed Richard Kelly to gather together an all-star cast however but the problem is that he doesn't know what to do with them. While Dwayne Johnson is best known for his action flicks, he has been trying to prove that he can also be just as good an actor but due to quality of his dialogue and how is asked to deliver it, this is not what he was probably wanting. The same can be said of Sarah Michelle Gellar and Sean William Scott but only the supporting cast seem to have any fun with their roles, with Wallace Shawn, Mandy Moore and Justin Timberlake, who also acts as the narrator.

With a fusion of too many genres, an incomprehensible plot, awful dialogue and tackling far too many political and social issues, 'Southland Tales' is a complete mess of a movie. While there is always room for visionary directors to make statements about the world and the country they live in, you really want the audience to understand what you are trying to say to cause discussion and debate and not just have them talking about how confusing and awful the film is.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

The Making of Southland Tales (33.42 mins)
Writer/director Richard Kelly, producer Sean McKittrick, production designer Alec Hammond, director of photography Steve Poster and stars Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Sean William Scott, Wallace Shawn, Todd Berger, Will Sasso, Bai Ling, Zelda Rubenstien, Justin Timberlake, Curtis Armstrong, Jon Lovitz and Wood Harris take you behind the scenes of the making of 'Southland Tales'. Pitching the idea as a political satire of an alternative future and the American response to terrorism, the cast and crew try and explain how they understand the movie and there own interpretation of the plot, showing that they don't really know what is going on either.

OVERALL

While the making of featurette is fine, the lack of any other extras make this not the best DVD release. A commentary track should have been a must from Richard Kelly and he could have explained exactly what is going on.

DVD

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2007