I loved Donnie Darko, so I've always been interested in Richard Kelly's work. The Box had some interesting moving parts in it, but for the most part it was a swing and a miss. I never got around to watching Southland Tales because I don't remember it being in the theaters, it is never shown on TV and it didn't get good reviews. I knew it wasn't going to be great, so I really lowered my expectations. It was as if I was wincing before the movie started. It turns out, it wasn't as bad as some people made it out to be. Richard Kelly is one who loves detail, and ST is no different. I think some viewers get lost in the detail, but if you just kind of let go and let the story unfold, you can enjoy it for what it is.
Kelly likes to add supernatural elements to his stories, which played well in Donnie Darko and not so well in The Box. The supernatural stuff in ST was a little bit confusing and bizarre. It was hard to 'go with' the some of the stuff since it was hard to even know what was happening. The two scenes that stuck with me were actually the two with music and no dialogue/Plot: The music video in the arcade and the Star Spangled Banner. Both very surreal.
I say this movie is worth a watch, but I don't plan on seeing it again any time soon.