From Dusk Till Dawn

Rating: 9/10 (7 May 2014)

At almost 20 years old, it's a darn shame for me to see that I have never seen this movie. So to keep my "credibility" as a cinephile, I finally said to myself "self, watch this movie now, no more waiting." I also asked myself, "what do I know about this movie?" Well, it's got Clooney, Tarantino acts in it, Salma Hayek has a sexy dance with a sexy snake, and vampires are a big thing in the movie. Even knowing all that and with the movie being as old as it is, this movie completely caught me by surprise.
George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino play two criminals, Seth and Richard Gecko, that are on the run, which we find out right off the bat, in a incredible opening sequence in a gas station. There eyes are set on the Mexican border for an escape, so they spot a little family (the father played by Harvey Keitel) traveling in an RV and get the idea to hijack the vehicle and take the polite family hostage. When the group get's to there destination, a shady little Mexican bar, all hell breaks loose when vampires turn out to run the place.
It sounds corny, it sounds cheesy, campy, laughable, maybe a bit over the top, but BY THE NINE, this is not only a cool crime movie, not only is it a dark, creepy vampire movie, but this is a great movie in it's own right. It's so unique and good at how it tell's the story, and you gotta give major credit to director Robert Rodriguez, because the first half of the movie just feels like a dark, gritty, crime-thriller and if the movie would've just kept that tone through out I would've been perfectly fine, but once the setting jumps the fence into Mexico, a whole other level of a movie is unleashed.
George Clooney gives one of my favorite performances I've seen from him, he has this menacing screen presence that he doesn't show anymore and I thought was really good. Harvey Keitel is always great in his more gruff roles, I thought he was terrific as the father of the distressed, kidnapped family. It's a bit of a different role and he did a very good job going back and forth with George Clooney. Salma Hayek, my goodness, no words can describe the spell I was in with her screen presence. It's not a groundbreaking role by any means, she's there mostly to look good and that she does. Tarantino has a larger than normal role, he was enjoyable as well, but his real contribution to this movie is his screenplay. The dialog is so spot on and really meshes perfectly with the more crime driven first half.
Vampires are kind of a punchline in movies now a days, this film gives the fanged creatures a very good treatment. There's a lot of use practical effects and make-up, the vampires look creepy and demonic and the action is filmed well. There's a shot that stands out to me in the beginning, where Clooney and Tarantino are walking away from a gas station store engulfed in flames. It's one continuous shot, and as the actors are saying their lines, in the back you see flames spitting out and little explosions throwing debris everywhere, you can tell it was done on set, and I loved it.
I loved the vampire "twist" at the end, but I will say that the horror element did kind of get me at a stand still moment, only because the way the movie started as this really intense crime thriller with these two brothers intrigued me. I would have liked to see them stretch on that further, but the insane second half still did it for me, it was a fun watch, and has officially became my favorite vampire movie of all time.