Smoreni Zmaj I barely forced myself to watch it till the end. First time I thought about giving up was after maybe ten minutes or so, and that urge didn't left me throughout the rest of the movie. It mostly looks like bunch of piled up random pretentious crap that leads nowhere. Here and there you can see something interesting, but overall movie is pointless and boring. I endured to the end only because it was written and directed by author of great Donnie Darko, so I hoped it could be one more mindfuk movie that pays off at the end. Yes, it was another mindfuk, and at the end I understood it, but wasting two and a half hours on this nonsense definitely didn't pay off. It's unbelievably stupid and the only thing in it worth seeing are Buffy the Vampire Slayer and several more interesting women.2/10

eddie_baggins An oddly beautiful big old mess of a film that just so happens to be a masterpiece of ideas, visions and social commentary, Southland Tales remains to this day a decade on from its initial release, a barely spoken about oddity that marked what appears to be at present time the beginning of the end of the short but unique career of Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly, who on the back of his beloved cult debut seemingly had Hollywood right where he wanted it only to be shunned from the industry limelight after this opus of a future America was quite literally booed out of the cinema.Premiering to a disastrous reception at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005 where it was ridiculed by a hate mongering audience, Kelly's film was originally intended as a near 3 hour journey to the depths and underbelly of a United States where oil has all but disappeared, Karl Marx loving underground movements exist to overthrow the government, a drug known as Fluid Karma is taking over the streets, oh and there's a rip in the time space continuum and vehicle advertisements have taken on a whole new level of odd.Accompanied by a prequel-set graphic novel and armed with more ideas than even the eventually shorter 138 minute released version of the film can handle, there's little denying Southland Tale's bizarre narrative and attitude towards its themes are often off-putting but when one allows themselves to be taken into this vision of the Los Angeles landscape there's both artistic merits, darkly humorous observations of human nature and dare I say it emotional payoffs that rewards repeat viewings.Kelly's grand vision attracted a name cast including Sean William Scott (in one of his better big screen turns), Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mandy Moore, Amy Poehler, filmmaker Kevin Smith, Justin Timberlake (who delivers the films best singular scene with a rendition The Killers track All These Things That I've Done) and in a turn that at the time suggested a much more interesting actor than his now become, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in one of his first truly hefty turns as the amnesia suffering celebrity actor Boxer Santoros. Each performer commits to their role and it's quite obvious they all bought into Kelly's vision, it's just likely the studios did not, as after the notorious Cannes screening the film was left to die a slow, barely advertised released that saw it disappear without a trace and left Kelly's career in tatters with only the highly disappointing Cameron Diaz starrer The Box attributed to his name since.Nigh on impossible to explain and very much a film not made for everyone, Southland Tales is without question one of the most misunderstood gems of the modern era from its unique visual feel, intriguing performances, fantastic soundtrack from the one time chart topping Moby and ability to remain constantly engaging even with its overabundance of ideas.Southland Tales is a film fans of cinema should try, and if they hate it their absolutely not alone but for the merry few that find themselves drawn into this odd yet exhilarating world, Southland Tales will make you wish Kelly can one day return to his directing chair to give us once more a film that carves out its own path and is all the better for it.4 ½ floating ice-cream vans out of 5

SnoopyStyle On July 4, 2005, nuclear explosions devastate Texas. It's the start of WWIII. America turns militaristic. Three years later, California is the key to the presidential race. Republicans are generally winning politics. There is a leftist neo-Marxist movement. There is a new government force USIDent which controls cyberspace and surveillance. Middle east oil is cut off and scientists have developed a new power source Fluid Karma using quantum entanglement. Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson) is a key republican who goes missing and returns with amnesia. He has info with Krysta Kapowski (Sarah Michelle Gellar) who is reality porn star Krysta Now. Roland Taverner (Seann William Scott) is a cop or a copy of the cop who is giving Santaros a ride-along.This is an ambitious movie from Richard Kelly who made Donnie Darko. He's allowed to be let loose and that is its major problem. It has so much that it becomes quite a mess. It has way too much. It is unexplainable and illogical. It's a conspiracy nut's wet dream. Somebody needs to hold him back. There are bits and pieces that I really like. I love SWS watching his delayed reflection. I like some of the silly humor. Generally, I don't like the cinematography or directing style or the overly complicated world. It looks like a cheap compromise. I appreciate the ambition but this is not a good movie in most sense. It is a mishmash of weird ideas.

LeonLouisRicci If you don't get it, no worries, no one did. Those who say they did are reaching or at best taking bits and pieces of this impenetrable Picture and making something out of it. That's an exercise in thought process and that alone is a good thing. One might say, hey, it makes you think. But this just makes you think you think. It's more like a Rorschach Test, a glob of goo for you to make something out of, and who's to argue. It is free association, but it comes at a heavy price.This is incomprehensible and daft. A presumptuous mess of Quotations and Character Names that are Ha Ha. To be kind, the Movie has a few Funny Lines and looks rather Cool. But if you are going to have so many Ideas, why make them indecipherable. A lost language of sorts, that has no Rosetta Stone. The Secrets to the Universe are there, one thinks anyway, but unfortunately it is buried forever, or at least until that Psychedelic kicks in. Or not. Truth be told, even the Director, after the Film was made, was clueless. The first release was 2 hours and 45 minutes as it was proudly unleashed on a not so forgiving Cannes Audience. It was Booed relentlessly and was one of the lowest rated Movies in the Festivals History. So, Richard Kelly (Writer/Director) cut 20 minutes and added Narration. Didn't help. It was still a headache inducing, jaw dropping, Soul Less, catastrophe. It remains so to this day, with even a few Years for it to catch on and acquire a Cult Audience, its intention. Nope. Trying to make sense of the senseless is still its greatest challenge. You might want to give it a try. You know, that Rorschach thing. Good Luck.