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Southland Tales [DVD] [2006] | ![Southland Tales [DVD] [2006]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51URHY6VToL._SL160_.jpg) | Director: Richard Kelly
Actors: Seann William Scott, Wallace Shawn, Holmes Osborne, Christopher Lambert, Miranda Richardson
Studio: Universal Pictures Video
Category: DVD
List Price: £19.99
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Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 15978
Format: PAL
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region: 2
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 138 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5050582487213
ASIN: B00127N64W
Theatrical Release Date: 2006
Release Date: March 31, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Well, filmmakers should aim high, they say. And Richard Kelly shot the moon on his highly-anticipated follow-up to cult sensation iDonnie Darko/i, which expands the apocalyptic mood of that movie and blows it up tenfold. Set during the election season of 2008, iSouthland Tales/i proposes a series of apparently linked events: the reappearance of a vanished movie star (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), now an amnesiac; the bizarre doubling of a policeman (Seann William Scott in two roles); the development of an energy source from ocean waves; and the presence of an Iraq War veteran (Justin Timberlake) who seems to be watching everything, and narrating some of it. Not that the narration helps; even with voice-over (reportedly added after the film's disastrous debut at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival), iSouthland Tales/i doesn't come close to making sense, let alone at the minimum level of dangling a carrot to lead the audience along (even iMulholland Drive/i had a semblance of murder mystery to be solved, or not). The cast is loaded with iSaturday Night Live/i cut-ups, but only Jon Lovitz connects, and in other roles people like Sarah Michelle Gellar, Christopher Lambert, Bai Ling, and John Larroquette are utterly mystifying, by no fault of their own. In some of the musical sequences Kelly gets in stride, but it's easy to create drama in a three-minute music video, and harder to do over two and a half hours. Some top critics rushed to champion the movie, as though flying in the face of philistinism, so feel free to try out this incoherent pastiche for yourself. --iRobert Horton/i
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 29
 Brilliant Nonsense October 11, 2008
Fil Weltoni (Surrey, UK)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This film has really stuck with me. At first I didn't want to see it because the cast sounded awful (Buffy, a wrestler, that guy from American Pie, Justin Timberlake) but it blew me away. Absolutely bizarre, totally pretentious and tremendous fun. It aims for big, big things and doesn't quite pull it off. But I love it for being so obstinate and audacious in a world of boring, predictable films!!
Will Blow Your Mind... If You Want It To January 4, 2008
Tiarnan Bandeen (Britain)
28 out of 32 found this review helpful
Southland Tales is a film that i have always had faith in. Since i heard about its conception in late 2005 and having just watched Richard Kellys other film and debut Donnie Darko, I was eager to see what the mind behind this amazing film would do next. Despite its infamous reception at the Cannes film festival in 2006 i was determined to judge it myself. Critical reception of the films early release was almost entirely negative. Critics complainet the film was overlong, confusing and hopeless. A year later in December 2007 the film was finally released in the UK with an added 90 effects shots and an inflated budget. The film had also been trimmed and restructured, with a new animated opening known as the "Doomsday Scenario Interface" shedding light on the films backstory previously kept in the dark to viewers of the innitial, unfinished cut. What i must say about the film is i could see why most people would have a problem with it. Kelly has filled the film with ideas, comments on almost every aspect of our culture, genre hops and casting against type (i will come back to that last one later).
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br /The film opens with a cheerful barbecue in Abilene, Texas. Shot on home video camera by a kid the timer informs us that it is the 4th of July 2005. That camera takes us through a happy american independance day party. Fireworks crackle, children laugh and play and adults chat eagerly. Suddenly the festivities are shattered by a massive nuclear mushroom cloud tearing out of the horizon as the people look on in horror. An animated slideshow called the "Doomsday Scenario Interface" then appears. We learn that the nuclear atttack we witnessed was one of two, the other in El Paso. The interface slides through dates as a solem voiced man describes americas descent into war and paranoia. We are told that the patriot act has formed a think-tank known as USIdent, taking control of the police and monitoring everything. We also discover that the war that broke out as a result of the nuclear attacks has restricted American access to oil. The film then cuts to Los Angeles where a man named Boxer Santaros has woken up on a beach. The man narrating the film is then shown to be "Pilot Abilene", a disfigured gulf war veteran played by a wonderfully creepy Justin Timberlake. He narrates the film from his post atop a large gun. The film also follows a man named Roland Taverner played by Sean William Scott. Teverner is trying to find his identical twin brother. Other characters include a psycic ex porn star played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, Christopher Lambert as an arms dealer selling guns from an icecream truck and Wallace Shawn as a mad german scientist known as Baron Von Westphalen.
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br /I will not bore you with a detailed description of the entire plot as we will be here all year. Other concerns of the film are a massive machine called Utopia III, designed to produce an energy source from the ocean called Fluid Karma, a Time-Travel conspiracy and a Neo-Marxist revolution against the police state, ph and lest we forget THE END OF THE WORLD!
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br /Kelly made a great move in casting actors against type, almost every character in the film is recognisable and the cast consist of comedy actors and singers etc. An example being the casting of John Lovitz (Saturday Night Live, Rat Race) As a racist, murdering police officer.
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br /Standout elements of this film are:
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br /suprising performances from its cast (Justin Timberlake in particular who i now respect as an actor)
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br /beautiful atmospheric music from Moby
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br /a dreamlike finale
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br /a wonderfully shot musical sequence
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br /I deepy urge you to ignore negative responses to this film and pass your own judgement, as a wise man once said "Don't knock it 'till youv'e tried it", don't worry if it doesn't make sense to you the first time round it is truly made to be watched more than once. Watch it and be amazed if you aren't amazed then rest knowing you jsut watched the most original film we have had for a very long time.
don't judge it till you've seen it. February 27, 2008
James Grant (brighton, uk)
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
this is a very complex film, it is also very long, which is why dvd is the best way to see it. no one can tell you if you are going to like it or not you will just have to see it yourself.
br /I will say I liked this film alot and will be buying it when it comes out.
Utterly unexpected brilliance August 26, 2008
G
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Prior to buying it Id never heard anything about this film, and stumbled on it only becuase I got the "you bought this, so you might like THIS" link, therefore I had no preconception of it at all - in fact, I was particularly drawn in by some of the lacklustre reviews (Im automatically suspicious when ALL reviews for a product are 5 star!), which now make perfect sense as it seems to me to be a definite "Love it or Hate it" movie. I wont insult those who dismissed it or didnt like it by saying "they just didnt get it" - because theres not really a lot to get - its just quite literally your thing - or it isnt!
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br /Personally, I was completely blown away by this movie and I get excited just talking to people about it; the acting - by pretty much all cast members - was really suprisingly sterling quality (very rare these days for such a large, and, relatively A-lister lacking cast to all be spot on to their roles with SUCH a degree of excellence). The plot is both wacky and off kilter, yet is utterly engrossing, and the visual aspect of it is sumptuous. I mean really, really beautiful to look at. And to top it off the soundtrack is completely fab too!
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br /The essential outline of the story is that the future is here already, world war 3 has broken out and the US has split off into segregated states - one of which is Southland where the bulk of the movie takes place. The characters are interwoven around a story that tackles both a political issue of identity monitoring and "big brother" control, and the adoption of a new "clean" energy source, with the "donnie darko" element of - well I wont say as it will spoil the story - but theres a kind of fantasy (?!) element to it which is brought in and run through beautifully. Ultimately I found it actually quite a sad and heartbreaking story, though this couldve just been me getting so attached to the characters and falling deeply in love with all of them, that I wanted more for them than the film gave them!
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br /Regarding the acting, I particularly want to mention that Sarah MG was... just exquisite!
br /Her role as Krysta Now: a vaccuous, trashy, self important porn-star believing she is "topical" and a socio-political cultural icon and role model, is played awesomely (possibly a little too accurately to some of the regulars in Heat magazine!); but behind the trash shes such a sweet, damaged and fragile creature that you just want to save and protect, and she does it SO well and so subtly, that it seems the role MUST have been sculpted specifically for her.
br /Without exaggeration Id say she OWNS the film, and Im not particularly a great fan of her films generally!
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br /And on the topic of the acting, another - I think - really nice point is that the vast majority of the cast is made up of known actors usually found in lesser roles or teen-flick efforts; and comics of varying caliber, yet nobody trys to upstage each other, or "do their act", and it shows in the quality of the ensemble of characters - each in their own way a lead role. The one exception is - unfortunately - Mandy Moore, who is just awful in this film! Fortunately her excruciatingly wooden "acting" is limited to only a handful or mercifully short scenes, and bless her its not that shes trying to hard - she just really cannot act!
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br /I wont shout "BUY IT BUY IT NOW!", because I really dont think this will be to everyones tastes, and to be honest I wouldnt have ended it the way it was ended (I notice some loved the ending, but I think this will be the BIG deciding point for most)
br /However, if like me you enjoy off the wall, slightly strange and unique movies, deep and beautifully crafted characters, and dont expect a level of intensity that was Donnie Darko, you'd do well to try this one out - and at this price it would definitely be worth taking a look anyway!
Watch it twice - then make your mind up. Excellent May 22, 2008
Jocelyn Godbold (Australia)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Southland Tales is a wonderful piece of difficult film. I found it immensely refreshing to watch a film where everything isn't handed to you, and the end is merely the final bit you see, with your imagination left to tie up loose ends.
br /Some here have said they thought it was rubbish, got half way through and turned it off, just couldn't follow what is happening, etc.
br /I think this simply may not have been their kind of film. Most say they really like Sean William Scott or the Rock's previous films and given that most of these have been utter garbage, something a little more highbrow like Southland may well not appeal, and I must admit, I was pretty shocked with the casting considering the depth of the film, but they all pull it off, and the Rock certainly delivers his best performance to date.
br /Just like Donnie Darko, watch it twice. I watched it one night, barely got it it, but enjoyed it enough to watch it again. So much more comes to light when you watch it the second time - and the ability to relax while watching it through again, instead of desperately wondering if you have missed something really important - also added to it.
br /An excellent and original film, with some incredible one liners in it as well (see the Car Advert), make this original, addictive and thoughtful, something that has been almost totally absent from American film making recently.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 29
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