Sordid Cinema Podcast Rewind: Richard Kelly Special

Donnie Darko, Southland Tales, and The Box Review

In episode 167 of the Sordid Cinema Podcast (then called Sound On Sight), we discussed not one, not two, but three Richard Kelly films.

At the time, writer-director Richard Kelly wasn’t around too long, but his three features had all been the subject of intense debate: Is Donnie Darko the great sci-fi fable of the 2000s or a teen angst pretension pit? Is Southland Tales, as the Village Voice’s J. Hoberman contends, a  “visionary” film, or creative control gone horribly wrong? And is The Box an incomprehensible sci-fi mishmash or a return to form? Al Kratina, Mariko McDonald, and Simon Howell attempt to answer all these questions without falling into any aquatic time portals.