Say...I haven't run a picture of a pretty girl yet today

That's Sarah Michelle Gellar, who's been looking really good lately, but whose luck in choosing non-Buffy roles does not appear to be getting any better. If reviews of her new movie, "Southland Tales" are anything to go by...

"Southland Tales" is the second film by Richard Kelly, whose "Donnie Darko" made the eyes of film student types roll back in near-orgasm. I have not seen it for precisely that reason.

After working with a bunch of FS types for a year or two, I came to the conclusion that by and large, what they like in their films is not usually what I like in my films.

For example, I like actual human beings.

However, "Darko" was well received by the critics.

This cannot be said for "Southland Tales." Jim Emerson, of Scanners, has put together a rather devastating assortment of reviews, including one by Dave McCoy of MSN Movies which gives this summary of the film:

"Southland Tales" is a broad satire that features The Rock as its lead (he's not bad, actually), Sarah Michelle Gellar as a porn-star idealist (she is bad), folks like Jon Lovitz and Kevin Smith as goofy character actors and Seann William Scott as twins. Oh, and Justin Timberlake narrates the whole thing, and takes time out to do a musical number.

Emerson, who identifies himself as

a big fan of the original version of "Donnie Darko,"

offers this in conclusion:

I do hope he can cut a good movie out of "Southland Tales," and that the film can get an American distributor, but things don't look promising. Most discouraging: On the "Director's Cut" DVD and in "Southland Tales," Kelly keeps company with Kevin Smith, which pretty much marks certain death for any aspirations toward cinematic integrity or ambition (or comedy). And I am never wrong about that.

So, like I say. Haven't seen it. Don't know. But there is part of me that is happy any time a heralded "visionary" crashes and burns.