From Dusk Till Dawn
It may seem a bit too early in the year for a monster movie, but maybe a good scare is just what we all need during the cold. However, does this movie deliver on the scares? Let's find out.
After escaping from prison, brothers Seth (George Clooney) and Richard Gecko (Quentin Tarantino) are on their way to Mexico to meet up with their boss. They stop at a hotel with a hostage. Seth steps out leaving Richard to watch over the girl. When he returns, Richard has killed the hostage. Before anyone can find out, they notice a family has stopped by the hotel in their RV. The family consists of former pastor Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel), his daughter Kate (Juliette Lewis), and his son Scott (Ernest Liu). Once the Fullers get settled in their hotel room, Seth and Richard stop buy and take the entire family hostage. They want them to drive them to Mexico without the police or FBI finding them. If they manage to pull it off without a problem, they're free. If not, they die.
For starters, George Clooney plays an amazing criminal. He feels very threatening and certainly seems to be able to snap at any moment. This is one of his best roles yet. He also can come off as very friendly when his character has to be that way. The movie also feels very real. Every moment feels like something that you can see happening in the real world, especially the opening scene at the gas station. Even when the monster aspect comes in during the second half of the movie, every character acts how you'd expect them to act during this situation. They don't act like they know what they're doing. They realize that not everything that we see in movies would actually work on a real vampire. It's so much fun to see the characters work around this though.
Sadly, the monster aspect of the movie, while fun, is also the movie's biggest issue. The first half feels like a great crime drama. We have all the characters and the dialogue needed to set one up and carry through with it. Then, out of nowhere, the monsters attack, which makes the movie slow down for a bit since it's suddenly changing from a crime drama to a horror film. It feels like the writers for the film had two different visions for the movie and decided to put both in the film where they both get half the movie.
So should you watch From Dusk Till Dawn? I'd say wait until around Halloween to rent it. It's a fun movie to watch during that time of year, but when it's not Halloween season, it just feel awkward seeing such great potential go to waste.
After escaping from prison, brothers Seth (George Clooney) and Richard Gecko (Quentin Tarantino) are on their way to Mexico to meet up with their boss. They stop at a hotel with a hostage. Seth steps out leaving Richard to watch over the girl. When he returns, Richard has killed the hostage. Before anyone can find out, they notice a family has stopped by the hotel in their RV. The family consists of former pastor Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel), his daughter Kate (Juliette Lewis), and his son Scott (Ernest Liu). Once the Fullers get settled in their hotel room, Seth and Richard stop buy and take the entire family hostage. They want them to drive them to Mexico without the police or FBI finding them. If they manage to pull it off without a problem, they're free. If not, they die.
For starters, George Clooney plays an amazing criminal. He feels very threatening and certainly seems to be able to snap at any moment. This is one of his best roles yet. He also can come off as very friendly when his character has to be that way. The movie also feels very real. Every moment feels like something that you can see happening in the real world, especially the opening scene at the gas station. Even when the monster aspect comes in during the second half of the movie, every character acts how you'd expect them to act during this situation. They don't act like they know what they're doing. They realize that not everything that we see in movies would actually work on a real vampire. It's so much fun to see the characters work around this though.
Sadly, the monster aspect of the movie, while fun, is also the movie's biggest issue. The first half feels like a great crime drama. We have all the characters and the dialogue needed to set one up and carry through with it. Then, out of nowhere, the monsters attack, which makes the movie slow down for a bit since it's suddenly changing from a crime drama to a horror film. It feels like the writers for the film had two different visions for the movie and decided to put both in the film where they both get half the movie.
So should you watch From Dusk Till Dawn? I'd say wait until around Halloween to rent it. It's a fun movie to watch during that time of year, but when it's not Halloween season, it just feel awkward seeing such great potential go to waste.