Best not think too deeply on this one

If there's anything I've learned from Richard Kelly, it's that coherence is overrated. It was important to keep that lesson in mind while watching "Southland Tales" the director's first film since the cult classic "Donnie Darko." It's a sprawling morality tale featuring an ensemble cast set in an alternate present. There are elements of dark post-9/11 satire mixed with Vonnegut-style sci-fi absurdism and musical numbers.

The basic plot of the "film" follows action star Boxer Santeros (played terribly by the Rock) who wrote a screenplay that foretells the way the world ends. He is pursued by the right-wing NSA-like US-Ident, which has become near-omnipotent in its surveillance and everpresent in it's reach. But the Neo-Marxists, led by Cheri Oteri and Jon Lovitz, have other plans for Boxer. Also, Sean William Scott plays twin brothers who are constantly getting injected with drugs and who may or may not be the key to the whole thing.

As the film starts Texas gets nuked twice (El Paso and Abilene? Really?). The ensuing World War III results in an energy crisis, which is solved by the Sicilian from "Princess Bride" when he creates a machine that harnesses the power of the world's oceans and transfers it into something called liquid karma. Unfortunately these liquid karma machines also slow the rotation of the earth, causing rifts in the fabric of space-time. Liquid Karma is advertised by cars having sex(nsfw?). Indeed.

And don't forget Sarah Michelle Gellar's character, pornstar Krista Now (when do you wanna get fucked again?) who utters lines like "The pilgrims ended the American Indian orgy of freedom." She also co-wrote the prophetic screenplay with Santeros and hopes to publicize her prophecies through her reality TV show, hit record "Teen horniness is not a crime" and an energy drink. Also she may or may not be in league with the Neo-Marxists. There's another part which is possibly related where John Larroquette gets tasered in the balls by Krista's porn producer.

Confused? Don't worry -- there's also Justin Timberlake as the narrator/Iraq vet with a penchant for spouting bible verses and T.S. Elliot poetry.



Much like "Donnie Darko" one of the best elements of this movie is the music. Kelly even said somewhere that he wanted it to be almost a musical. And while I'm not really sure about that -- the Moby-mixed soundtrack is really good. Besides the Killers song in that video above, there's also Blur, The Pixies, Muse, Beethoven, Jane's Addiction, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Waylon Jennings.

Descriptions of just about every character could be followed by the phrase "for some reason." Besides those already mentioned, the cast also includes Mandy Moore, Amy Poehler, Will Sasso, Kevin Smith, Bai Ling, Nora Dunn, the Highlander, Avon Barksdale, Eli Roth as man who gets shot on toilet(unconfirmed), and Miranda Richardson.

I really can't recommend you watch this enough, this post barely scratches the surface of this film. It's the only time rotten tomatoes has ever been wrong. Pimps don't commit suicide.