So last night the Coup gathered to watch Southland Tales, the post-nuclear-attack epic by the maker of Donnie Darko. I get that it was supposed to be a political satire, and I get that he's got a thing for time travel, but beyond that - urmmm, what the hell was that about? Or was that all there was to it? I mean it looked good, had some fun ideas, and featured some good music (oh Binky I looked it up - that was part of Beethoven's Ninth), and I guess the acting was appropriate to the characters ... but the writing ... I'm just not clear on what it was that I was watching.
Posted by armand at April 3, 2008 10:24 AM | TrackBack | Posted to MoviesYe gods and little fishes, what a mess. And it didn't have to be. I mean, Donnie Darko was tedious and pretentious, but at least is was (mostly) coherent.
And Baltar was right and I was wrong, it was Kevin Smith.
Posted by: binky at April 3, 2008 12:29 PM | PERMALINKWell then that is another mystery - why cast Kevin Smith and then put him in that much make-up, given that Kelly was obviously enjoying casting a ton of familiar faces.
Posted by: Armand at April 3, 2008 12:42 PM | PERMALINKWell, I have now watched it a second time. And understanding where it's going definitely helps. And I'd say the last half or two-thirds ends up playing pretty well. The early parts after the intro are still something of a mess, and there's too much of the neo-Marxists. On the whole I'd say I like it, Sean William Scott is actually pretty good in it, and hey there are some great moments here and there in it. It is quite an entertaining work when it's not making one's head hurt. That said, parts of it remain a mystery (a link between the Baron and Roland?). And Kiki, JT's cover of The Killers remains a highlight of the film.
Posted by: Armand at September 12, 2008 03:02 PM | PERMALINK