FromDuskTillDawn Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It seems like the perfect time to talk about From Dusk Till Dawn -- and naturally, fire up the DVD player and watch it again. Quentin Tarantino wrote the screenplay and acted in the horror film, and his movie Inglourious Basterds opens next weekend. On the same day, the family film Shorts, the latest by From Dusk Till Dawn director Robert Rodriguez, will also hit theaters. And let's not forget that Rodriguez is currently filming Machete, with a cast that includes some actors from his 1996 film: Danny Trejo and Cheech Marin.

Cheech Marin is the focus of one of the most vivid scenes in From Dusk Till Dawn, which I love in a somewhat guilty sort of way. If you've seen the film, you're probably shaking your head at your computer screen and thinking, "She's not. She is totally not going to tell us she loves That Scene. Aw, no." Women are pondering whether I'm betraying our sex, men may be smirking a bit. My husband still can't believe I picked this scene to discuss. Those of you who haven't seen the film just wish I'd get on with it. If you don't want to see any slang sex words on your computer, you may not want to read past the jump.

Warning: The scene featured after the jump is R-rated and NSFW

If you're a movie buff, you probably spend most of January catching up with all the awards movies released in December, especially since most of them initially open in big cities, and then expand across the country. But movie critics see all the December movies in December, leaving only January movies in January. And it doesn't take long to notice that January has become a dumping ground for terrible movies that no one wants and no one wants to see (witness: Bride Wars, Paul Blart Mall Cop, Not Easily Broken, Hotel for Dogs, The Unborn, etc.). But fortunately, that's not a hard and fast rule; every so often a true gem comes along in January, perhaps misjudged by the powers that be, or just overlooked.

1. Cloverfield
Released January 18, 2008
In last year's surprise hit, a group of twentysomethings race across Manhattan, dodging a giant city-stomping monster, to rescue Odette Yustman. Because... wouldn't you? It feels like a low-budget monster movie, but also features top-of-the-line effects and citywide destruction. Its characters may struggle for interesting things to say on camera, but the film nonetheless reveals hidden depths. It's vaguely similar to The Blair Witch Project and Diary of the Dead, but has its own ideas. (It was recently chosen by the editors of the prestigious French film magazine Cahiers du Cinema as one of the year's ten best films.)

When I first saw From Dusk Till Dawn back in 1996, I remember being surprised by its schizophrenic nature. The first half of the film plays much like a Quentin Tarantino crime drama, which should be no surprise I guess since QT did write the screenplay. But this is supposed to be a horror movie, right? Fear not, because in the second half the film morphs into a high octane vampire bloodbath that has more to do with Dawn of the Dead than Reservoir Dogs. Robert Rodriguez directed this sort of double feature within a single feature, and looking back now the film can be seen as a warm up to Tarantino and Rodriguez's 2007 Grindhouse. Even the title From Dusk Till Dawn, was a phrase used to promote all night shows at drive-in theaters back in the day.

George Clooney stars as cold-blooded S.O.B. Seth Gecko who has been sprung from police custody by his psychotic and misogynistic brother Richard, played by Tarantino. They've just robbed a bank and both men are killers, but Seth kills only when its in his best interest, while Richie just likes to kill people. Since Clooney was best known at the time for playing hunky yet sensitive E.R. doc Dog Ross, this was quite a leap for him. After the film's opening scene in a secluded Texas grocery store where the store owner and a Texas Ranger's murders are added to the Gecko's resume, the brother's hole up in a fleabag motel. A family of three led by Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel), a minister who has lost his faith in the wake of his wife's death, are taken hostage by the Gecko's and forced to transport the brothers across the border into Mexico. The plan is for Seth and Richie to meet up with their contact Carlos at a bar called The Titty Twister, a den of iniquity that caters to bikers and truckers.