Southland Tales

2007 "Have a nice apocalypse."
5.3| 2h24m| R| en| More Info
Released: 14 November 2007 Released
Producted By: Universal Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://darko.com/film_southlandtales.html
Synopsis

Set in the futuristic landscape of Los Angeles on July 4, 2008, as it stands on the brink of social, economic and environmental disaster. Boxer Santaros is an action star who's stricken with amnesia. His life intertwines with Krysta Now, an adult film star developing her own reality television project, and Ronald Taverner, a Hermosa Beach police officer who holds the key to a vast conspiracy.

... View More
Stream Online

Stream with Starz

Director

Producted By

Universal Pictures

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime. Watch Now

Trailers & Images

Reviews

NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!
Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews
Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.
Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
popcorninhell Many relatively young directors have fallen into the Hollywood trap as of late. It's become a sadly common pattern: a new filmmaker makes a decent film with a comparatively small budget and wouldn't you know, they're picked up to do the new Spider-Man film. Coaxed into the studio fold by big paychecks and "full studio support," many of these poor talents are attached to long gestating franchise projects that have already been tinkered with by executive producers, marketing departments and countless script doctors. By the time they get on-board, their biggest challenge isn't story- boarding the perfect shot or translating the themes of the script to the screen, but quarterbacking everyone's escalating expectations. It's a shame too, because when a project fails, no one blames the marketing team or the stars, or the studio executives; they blame the director.From top left: Colin Trevorrow, David Ayer, Marc Webb, Josh Trank Some filmmakers have managed to escape the larger studio system and despite the lack of financial support, forged some very successful careers. Richard Kelly is sadly not one of those filmmakers. Since the pop- cult resilience of Donnie Darko (2001) made his name synonymous with metaphysical science-fiction, the man has been trying to recreate that magic for years, with some pretty kooky concepts to no avail. While The Box (2009) has its weird charm, Southland Tales has everything Kelly has done beat by sheer ambition. It's big, it's dense and it's a huge f***king mess. Like Jupiter Ascending (2014), knocked up at the senior prom, kind of mess. A science-fiction epic that has the temerity to be as dour and self-righteous as a sermon yet as patently ridiculous as a KFC out of chicken.Southland Tales takes place in an alternative reality where citizens of the United States are under constant surveillance and a nuclear disaster some years ago has left much of the world in an ebbing state of anarchy and uncertainty. To prevent energy shortages, a company called Treer created a massive power plant they call Fluid Karma off the coast of L.A., which harnesses the natural ocean currents to provide safe and environmentally friendly energy. Problem is, this method of creating energy also slows down the rotation of the earth and rips holes into the fabric of space time...yeah, you kinda just have to go with it.Instead of opting for a straightforward story, Southland attempts a hyper-link narrative, with multiple characters interweaving themselves into each other stories. Instead of resembling the elegance of the Higgs Field however, this narrative ploy makes the movie look like a knot of undecipherable nuttiness. Major characters include Miranda Richardson as a porn director and part-time revolutionary, Sarah Michelle Gellar as an adult film star, Justin Timberlake as an Iraq War veteran and Seann William Scott who plays two-to-four versions of cop and soldier twins who also have alternative dimension counterparts. Yet out of all the confusing sub-stories and awkward loopty-loops that this movie makes, the image of Kevin Smith playing a paraplegic war vet, is by all accounts the weirdest thing about this movie.With so many plates wobbling precariously in the air, you'd think the ensemble cast would at least try to keep a veneer of professionalism. Yet at best, half of the ensemble seems invested in this film and not the ones you'd expect. Wallace Shawn does a commendable job as Fluid Karma inventor Baron von Westphalen (oh I see what you did there). Likewise John Larroquette's adviser to a drab California senator seems completely out of another movie. Yet for every understated performance there's a scenery-chewing C-list comedian aggressively sabotaging the entire ordeal by playing to the cheap seats. I'm looking at you Cheri Oteri, Nora Dunn, Jon Lovitz and Amy Poehler!Then there's Dwayne Johnson whose campy portrayal of an amnesic action star is an unintentional triumph amid performances both turgid and wacky. Every scene he's in has the light humorous touch of a Stephen Colbert comedy bit, complete with a meta lack of self- awareness. He's like a bright orange traffic cone in the middle of a pot-holed street; a peacock amid sparrows; a jester amid an execution. If he looked directly at the camera and winked knowingly, I would have checked- off Southland Tales as one big elaborate performance piece worthy of a gander.Unfortunately he never does. Regrettably there are far more scenes where we don't see what The Rock is cooking; instead following the guy from American Pie (1999) through Marxist revolutionaries, Tinseltown grotesqueness, and political and corporate corruption. As a protagonist/s of sorts, Seann William Scott looks so out of his depth that the audience feels almost embarrassed for him. I'm sure Scott is a nice person, and perhaps one day we'll see his range, but with a career of playing childish doofuses, seeing him in this abstract ode to wrongheaded pretension is just sad.In fact, this entire debacle is just sad; especially given that if you cock your head and squint, you can kind of see what Richard Kelly was going for. A few parts David Lynch, a dollop of Russ Meyer, a few casual insights from Tesla, Einstein and Feynman. Add in Justin Timberlake lip-synching The Killers and smear it with a bucket of blood, spit and bile. That's Southland Tales in a nutshell; a $12 million angry suicide note telling Hollywood if you try to work with me again, I'll be taking other careers down with me. In this case, there's no one to blame but the director.
Tom Orrow I despise this movie, no seriously, it can burn in hell.I know it's been like eight years, but forget it, i'm still mad, I need to vent this frustration.Richard Kelly lost his goddamn mind after Donnie Darko and not one of the producers on Southland Tales had any guts to call him out on his bulls**t because they didn't want to question his so-called genius and make it sound like they "Didn't Get It".They "Didn't Get It" because there's nothing "To Get".This is what happens when storytellers who can't control their visions are left to their own devices without any creative control. Similar circumstances gave us: One from the Heart, Heaven's Gate, A Serious Man, Matrix Reloaded, Moonwalker, Glitter, Death Proof, Lady in the Water and the Star Wars Prequels. All those vanity projects that lost their way, some being remembered as some of the worst movies of their time.It's a good thing that Richard Kelly's career never recovered from this, as far as i'm concerned after making Southland Tales he should have been shot into the sun, but such a glamorous death is too kindly.I hope and dream that one day I will walk into a McDonalds and catch him sweeping the floor.
feelingpaulie I loved this movie. I also loved the fact that the first 3 chapters were in comic form. I strongly advise all who want to see this to view the first three comic book chapters, then try to find the Cannes Film Festival version, which has an extra 20 minutes in it. If you loved Donnie Darko and The Box, you will enjoy this journey. A reinvention of the apocalyptic tales from Revelations. More visions of time travel and portals. Post 9/11 police state realities. Sarah Michelle's Krysta Now is hilarious. Sean William Scott's mysterious part in the end of all things. The Rock's participation and vision of "JC" - Jesus Christ anyone?? Read the comics and enjoy the last four filmatic chapters. I loved it. So there.
vanshorkenstein I really don't get why so many people don't like this movie. The only thing I can come up with is that most people in general are pretty dumb. All I ever hear people say is " nothing happens" or it doesn't make sense. I think people just don't get it which is weird cause it's perfectly easy to understand. It's shot well , the story is interesting and despite the fact that it's not a comedy, most of the actors are comedians who all do a pretty good job. Honestly, this is one my favorite films. Way better than Donnie Darko I think. Which is also a decent film but trendy and overrated. This movie is way underrated. I would say that too many people listen to reviews rather than watching a whole film and forming their own opinion.