review: SOUTHLAND TALES

Sony  //  Buy from Amazon.com The city stands on the edge of social, economic and environmental disaster. SOUTHLAND TALES is an epic story set over the course of three days that culminate in a massive 4th of July celebration. A large ensemble cast of characters includes Boxer Santaros (Johnson), an action star stricken with amnesia, Krysta Now (Gellar), an adult film star developing her own reality television project, and Roland Taverner (Scott), a Hermosa Beach police officer who holds the key to a vast conspiracy. A trippy, mind-bending glimpse into an alternate realty, "Southland Tales" depicts America in 2008, but one with far less civil liberties than we currently enjoy. It's a mind-bender of a journey, as this one is the 2nd film from Richard Kelly, director of the also-mind-bending (and freaking fantastic) "Donnie Darko..." As such, you just know going in that you're going to have your brain rattled by this film. Clocking in and nearly 2 1/2 hours, this film is all over the place, and a 1,000 word review would not do justice to capturing the myriad of characters, connections, storylines and plot twists that'll have you scratching your melon and sitting back in your couch, mouth agape wondering exactly what the f*** you're watching. However, even though you'll feel like someone slipped you some happy kool-aid when you sit down to watch this film, it's clearly a very good, very entertaining and very involved film, far beyond the usual film-by-numbers movies we see released today. It's not an easy film to watch, but it's very easy to enjoy. Video Unbelievable - the 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is utterly gorgeous to behold, with the unique cinematography shining through in pixel-perfect form. Audio The included Dolby 5.1 surround mix is also fantastic, delivering a crisp and clear soundtrack from start to finish. Extras "USIDent TV: Surveilling the Southland" featurette "This is the Way the World Ends" animated short trailers Closing Thoughts Intense, entertaining fare + decent extras = truly original filmmaking