It's a futuristic vision of Los Angeles - set in July 2008. If that wasn't weird enough, it stars Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Justin 'The Superstar' Timberlake and Sarah Michelle 'The Buffy' Gellar.

In Southland Tales we follow lots of different characters as their paths cross or merge over a handful of days. Pretty straightforward film device so far (think Magnolia or Crash). There's possibly an apocalypse going on (also not an unusual plot device) and it's all related to Bush and Iraq and general 'axis of evil' groupings. And The Patriot Act. And Keystone Cops-style battles between the police and revolutionary Marxists. Except with guns and blood. Oh, and time has been upset somehow - possibly by some evil scientists with plans to rule the world (also not an unusual plot device).

I'm sorry, I'd explain it better if I could but this film is Confusing with a capital 'C'. So much so that, after twenty minutes we stopped the DVD and started watching it again from the beginning to see if that helped.

I sort of feel that maybe you're not meant to make sense of it - just let it carry you along its mad path. You think there's a structure because there's a beginning (actually the real begining was a set of comic books written by Kelly as prequel/backstory). And there's definitely an end.

But in between there are just lots of people doing and saying stuff that makes sense at that precise moment but not necessarily in relation to any other moment. The film is like one of those people with brain damage who can't live any way other than in the present, unable to remember anything that's just happened or imagine anything that will happen.

But like I said, I found it engrossing. I gave up on trying to work out what was going on. I enjoyed the acting (The Rock makes a great wimp; Gellar brings back cheerleader Buffy; Timberlake is the sinister media manipulator I always suspected). I enjoyed the - intentional or not - film references (how many Lynchian dwarves does a movie really need?). And I liked the animated bits and the mad mixing of shooting styles and just the 'everything and the kitchen sink' way of writing a film.

Kelly had to be drunk, or stoned or something when he wrote the screenplay. But I wouldn't advise you being the same when you try to watch it: trust me, you'll need all your brain cells operating.

I give it 7/10.

Worth reading: 'Southland Tales is maddening, hyper-intelligent, sporadically brilliant, but ultimately exhausting. Maybe it's the future...'