Southland Tales Blu Ray review

The Film:

Certain movies create situations in which everyone has an opinion of what the movie is about, is it good or bad, a vision or a mess. Sometimes, that’s a fine line to put an audience in. Reading reviews for Southland Tales is as good as seeing the movie. Nobody knows what the film is, much like the film, but each review is pretty entertaining like the film. Most people have considered it a complete disaster, a horrendous movie. Few have openly admitted to liking it. I wasn’t a fan like many were of Donnie Darko, it just didn’t grab me the way it did for those who champion it. For whatever reason, Southland Tales grabbed me and I enjoyed it for the most part, although it’s a wildly uneven film.

It took me awhile to finally see it, but now that I have, it’s funny to reread the Cannes Film Festival debacle, the negative reviews, the confusion, much of which I don’t blame them. Southland Tales isn’t a movie to go in, enjoy, walk out and move on with your daily duties. It demands paying attention and a chunk of your time. Running at 2 hours and 20 minutes, it isn’t easy to just pop in and watch. I think this is a strike many critics gave it. The casting is outlandish as any film, from The Rock, Mandy Moore, Kevin Smith, Saturday Night Live alumni, to Sarah Michelle Gellar and Seann William Scott. As wild as it seems for the most part it works. These actors are playing typecast against their own names and most of decent. I think the SNL people ham it up too much though.

The story is a weird long winding tale of damning conservative politics, to mirroring Revelations to a dystopian future all narrated by a solider (Justin Timberlake). I think there are just too many subplots to care about and it does hurt the film a bit. There’s one with a script that The Rock and Gellar writes, political maneuvering, a new drug, I mean there’s just a ton of subplots. Apparently, the film was longer, but director Richard Kelly had to trim it down due to the Cannes crowd ripping on it with boos.

If even you don’t understand a lick of what’s going on (I think it’s about the Second Coming in the End of Days) the film is marvelous to look at. Kelly has an eye for visuals and Southland Tales features some wild ideas splattered around. Graffiti, propaganda, news footage, it’s like Blade Runner in Bush administration. I think overall, whether you like or dislike the film, it’s so ambitious you got to appreciate it. I am not the one of many that hates the film, nor do I love it like a few, I think it never gels together and thus creating an interesting mess.

 

The Blu Ray:

Audio/ Video: The sound is pretty good although nothing that will kill your system. Sound, music, and bass all have a robust, warm presence. The image is pretty good too, with nice detail and colors.

Commentary: Exclusive to Blu Ray, Richard Kelly sits down to talk about the film. Don’t expect him to reveal the meaning of the film; he focuses on production notes and other information like that. Its okay, nothing to worry about if you miss it.

Prequel Saga: a graphic novel of sorts that has a ton of information about the characters prior to the film. Pretty cool.

USiDent TV: Surveilling the Southland: This is a decent making of feature. Nothing film school here, but good nonetheless.

Trailers and a 9 minute animate short round out the extras.

Conclusion: An interesting failure, that’s worth a look for the cast and the film’s ambition more than a successful story. The Blu Ray is decent at best. Worth a rent.

Rating: