THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 22, 1996 TAG: 9601200065
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
THERE'S NOTHING WRONG with ``From Dusk Till Dawn'' that a good bunch of garlic couldn't cure.
Written by Quentin Tarantino (who seems to be suffering either fallout or backlash from ``Pulp Fiction'') and directed by Robert Rodriguez (who is famed for his fast-editing action, as in ``Desperado''), it has ``cult movie'' stamped all over it.
It's only half good. The first half is great - exactly what you'd expect from a Tarantino script. A lot of hip dialogue with unexpected and laughable twists. The second half is little more than another vampire movie with special effects that are impressive, but repetitive and unimaginative. Where was the garlic - well-known by horror fans as a vampire repellent - when we needed it?
Nonetheless, it is likely to be a big hit. There are two reasons: It's two ``in'' creators assure that it will get the ``cool badge of approval,'' even sight unseen. Plus, the film in its own right delivers a lot of show and noise for the money.
The plot involves the flight of the notorious Gecko brothers, two of America's most dangerous criminals. George Clooney, in his first big-screen appearance since hitting TV stardom with ``ER,'' plays the more morally responsible of the two.
Clooney looks uncomfortable and out of place most of the time, prompting us to wonder, ``What's a nice guy like that doing in a movie like this?'' His job is merely to react.
His psycho brother is played by Tarantino. He's much funnier here than he was in all those recent movies in which he tried to play cool guys. Here, he's a psychotic nerd who thinks he's cool.
In an opening scene, the two mess up a grocery story robbery and shoot, among others, Michael Parks, who once played Adam in ``The Bible.''
They flee to Mexico, where they plan to meet Cheech Marin - of Cheech and Chong fame - who will help them get away, for a share of their loot. Cheech has three roles in the film, which is at least two too many.
They hitch a ride in a camper inhabited by none other than Harvey Keitel and his two children (Juliette Lewis and Ernest Liu). Harvey, cast against type, is quiet and subdued. He's a former preacher who's lost his faith. Lewis repeats, yet again, her Lolita-like nymphet role. It's the same act that got her an Oscar nomination for ``Cape Fear.'' She's getting a bit mature for it but is thoroughly convincing.
Their destination is a Mexican border town bordello with a nasty name. It's there that the film sinks into repetition. Vampires are running the bar, which is open from dusk to dawn.
The blood flows freely, and on and on. The special effects are all that money can buy. Still, we've seen them all before. We'd rather the characters cut the screaming and give us more of that clever talk. For the last hour or so, we get only a blood bath.
It is not for the squeamish. You'd need a swift-working calculator to count the number of F-words.
And, it's perilously close to being merely a B-budget porno flick, featuring, among other over-the-top delights, a sensuous dance performed with an albino snake by Salma Hayek. In ``Desperado,'' she had the lead as a sassy bookseller. Here, she's cast as Santanico Pandemonium, Queen of the Vampires.
Plot is not the selling target here. Style is what is sought. Tarantino fans will love the first half. Rodriguez fans will get their chance with the second. ILLUSTRATION: JOYCE RUDOLPH
dimension Films
Tom Savini has a role in the bloody vampire tale ``From Dusk Till
Dawn.''
MOVIE REVIEW
``From Dusk Till Dawn''
Cast: Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette
Lewis, Cheech Marin
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino
MPAA rating: R (very close to a porno film; you might question
why it didn't get a NC-17 rating)
Mal's rating: **1/2
Locations: Cinemark, Greenbrier Mall in Chesapeake; Circle 4,
Main Gate in Norfolk; Columbus, Kemps River, Lynnhaven Mall in
Virginia Beach.
by CNB