From Dusk Til Dawn

(1996) ****

The Gecko bros Seth and Richard are professional thieves. Well, they'd like to think they are. George Clooney succeeds in portraying yet another egotistic yet charming lead while Quentin Tarantino is cast perfectly alongside him as his lame sex-offender socially-awkward brother. Together they are evading the authorities and making their way to Mexico to find. . . I forget what.

Here's George Clooney with a gun...

The truth is, for the first 48 minutes of this movie you think you're watching another cleverly written and directed action-crime movie. I thought I'd just wasted nearly an hour of my precious Horrorthon time. It isn't until the second half that monsters are whipped out, people are dying, and survivors are devising a way to stay alive and kill off said monsters. Although this movie doesn't seem to know what it wants to be, it still manages to be hilarious, watchable, and engaging.

and Quentin Tarantino with a gun...

and Juliette Lewis with a gun...

even Harvey Keitel gets a gun!

The players in Dusk Til Dawn are 100% committed to what they are doing, no matter how ridiculous the plot gets or how many people are holding guns. Juliette Lewis is, I believe, one of the most underrated actresses and no matter who she's portraying, you are always in tune with her emotions, her motive, and her soul. Harvey Keitel is another overlooked actor in my generation, but he definitely makes his mark as Lewis' father and a former priest turned badass. Then there's Salma Hayek, who needs neither introduction nor praise because everyone already knows how beautiful and diverse her roles are. (I'm not saying this in spite; I once saw her gave a great interview on Conan O'Brien that indicated to me that her wit matches her beauty, and I think she's a great role model for aspiring young Latinas, whether they want to be an actress or a businesswoman.)

I felt like this movie is a great keeper for anybody who likes a good action movie. The effects are great and it doesn't get too scary and in the spirit of Rodriguez films, it's just plain fun.