tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892719961111573072.post6116933096601503544..comments2023-11-01T20:15:18.323-07:00Comments on Terror Titans: 'From Dusk Till Dawn' is one of Tarantino & Rodriguez's bestSteve Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11263633883997493518noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892719961111573072.post-43293707537507675552023-02-23T02:32:14.365-08:002023-02-23T02:32:14.365-08:00Thanks for this info. FamThanks for this info. <a href="https://starsfanmail.com" rel="nofollow">Fam</a>SR Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05405350370338390354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892719961111573072.post-8551623937150059362011-05-06T21:18:22.961-07:002011-05-06T21:18:22.961-07:00Tarantino is still the critics’ darling, who conti...Tarantino is still the critics’ darling, who continues to ride the coattails of his success with Pulp Fiction. I have a love/hate relationship with Tarantino the director/writer. I love his dedicated admiration of the b-movie/exploitation genre films. I really enjoy his development of character archetypes and the way he allows scenes to take their time to develop. However, Tarantino continues to overindulge in protracted sequences of dialog-heavy character interplay. Death Proof is guilty of this more than even his craptastic Kill Bill, Part 2. Oddly, the more I watch Death Proof (I’ve now watched the short “Grindhouse” version twice and the “extended and unrated” version once) the more I like it. Kurt Russell’s transformation from cold-blooded killer to hysterical, frightened victim is amazing. Yes, the hot chicks and badass muscle cars certainly help make Death Proof rewatchable too!Fritz "Doc" Freakensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13209589620766485745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892719961111573072.post-39041847246004935342011-05-06T09:05:37.012-07:002011-05-06T09:05:37.012-07:00Borky: Those are some great insights into the film...Borky: Those are some great insights into the film. Thanks for taking the time to post them.<br /><br />Doc: I thought "Planet of Terror" was the best thing about "Grindhouse" (other than the hilarious Nicholas Cage as Fu Manchu mock preview... THAT's the film I want to see, screw "Hobo with a Shotgun!"), but I think I enjoy "Dusk" more. "Planet" was amusing because it plays on one level as a spoof of zombie movies, but the only real surprises in it was how far over the top it goes. That's not to say it wasn't entertaining as all get-out! For the life of me, I'll never know why so many critics seemed to prefer the badly constructed Tarantino segment ("Death Car"? I forget its name at the moment).Steve Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11263633883997493518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892719961111573072.post-75374619975746603392011-05-06T04:13:50.717-07:002011-05-06T04:13:50.717-07:00Steve, since reading and commenting on this piece,...Steve, since reading and commenting on this piece, yesterday, I've found myself dwelling on it more.<br /><br />The bit you said which stuck in my mind was you can't see any of the second half of the film coming - and you're right!<br /><br />In fact, it's almost true to say, even during the second half, (second film?), you can't for sure actually see the last quarter coming.<br /><br />Yet the more I reviewed the first half over and over in my head, the more I began to notice certain themes hinting at what's to come.<br /><br />I'm not so much referring to obvious stuff like Keitel's holy man who's lost his faith, but more subtle clues like the journey him and his kids've embarked on seemingly being a response to his wife/their mother dying.<br /><br />Then there's the fact Keitel's character wants to die; add to which Clooney and Tarantino's advent as agents of death; then the fact Clooney, no matter how reluctantly, can kill anyone at the drop of the hat, yet the one person in the world he really wants to put down - his bro' - both because he deserves it but also because he's a major liability, he can't bring himself to.<br /><br />But even having identified the fact Keitel and his kids, thanks to Mom dying're haunted by Death, as in a more obvious way're Clooney and Tarantino, (though in a diametrically opposed fashion), I still felt I was missing something, something to do with the function of Keitel's vacational vehicle, something about it which reminded me of something else...<br /><br />Then it hit me - its function as an ordinary everyday vehicle which was about to transport them to the land of the dead was identical to all those old Hammer films which used props like elevators or railway carriages as devices to unfold tales about people who haven't yet realised they've already plunged to their doom.borkyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05042275165058229970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892719961111573072.post-52074072516207498432011-05-05T18:05:45.982-07:002011-05-05T18:05:45.982-07:00Steve, you are obviously a man of refined film tas...Steve, you are obviously a man of refined film tastes, as your admiration of From Dusk ‘Til Dawn indicates!<br /><br />Robert Rodriguez has been one of my favorite filmmakers since Desperado. All the things that Rodriguez finds entertaining about films are also some of my favorite things. From Dusk ‘Til Dawn was my favorite film by him, until I saw Planet Terror – the first half of Grindhouse. This has all the elements of From Dusk ‘Till Dawn – only replacing the vampires with zombies – but has a much tighter script than the Tarantino-penned FDTD.<br /><br />I will agree with you that this is Tarantino’s best screenplay, because he doesn’t indulge in the long dialogue-heavy sequences as much as his self-directed films. Still, some of the creepier moments of the film – particularly the scenes involving Richard Gecko played by Tarantino - have Tarantino written all over them.<br /><br />I agree with you that Harvey Keitel is the best actor in From Dusk ‘Til Dawn and his character carries the most emotional weight of the film. My favorite supporting character(s) of the film is Cheech Marin, who plays three different characters. The funniest scene in the film is when Cheech plays Chet Pussy, who stands outside the Titty Bar advertising all the varieties of “Pussy” that can be seen at the establishment. This is even funnier if you’ve seen Marin’s film Born In East L.A., where he has a similar job outside of a strip club in Mexico in that film.<br /><br />I also agree that From Dusk ‘Till Dawn is indeed a film “worth coming back to every few years”. Every time I watch it, I find some funny in-joke, or see some obscure character actor that I missed the first several times I watched it. I also really enjoyed Rodriguez’ Machete, which shares some of the sensibilities of From Dusk ‘Till Dawn, Terror Planet and many of his other films.Fritz "Doc" Freakensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13209589620766485745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892719961111573072.post-27726801985904785042011-05-05T14:18:24.068-07:002011-05-05T14:18:24.068-07:00Steve, I remember over a decade ago stumbling acro...Steve, I remember over a decade ago stumbling across this film on British cable in the early hours of the morning.<br /><br />I knew nothing about it, but me and me brother, and me son aged seven and me daughter aged four, all found ourselves engrossed by it, wondering what the hell was going on.<br /><br />It kept taking all these mad swerves, with vacational vehicle driver Harvey Keitel suddenly being revealed as the parent of a white girl and a Chinese boy, then as some sort of religious figure who's lost his faith, then as suicidal.<br /><br />Then all of a sudden Clooney and Tarantino turn up, it becomes apparent their criminals on the run, that Tarantino's an Of Mice And Men retard in some way, then that he's a killer, then a psychotic serial killer, then that Clooney despises him but feels obliged to protect him because he's his brother.<br /><br />And even while you're still trying to keep a handle on all this, they finally evade the police, cross the Mexican border and arrive at the titty bar...<br /><br />I couldn't believe what happened next, the way everything kept ramping up until suddenly there where vampires everywhere.<br /><br />The bit that had us all shrieking with laughter and my kids pissing themselves over it for weeks afterwards was the scene where the Hispanic guy wags his finger at someone who's trying to pick a fight and suddenly reveals his codpiece is a miniature cannon capable of blowing his head off!<br /><br />Genius!borkyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05042275165058229970noreply@blogger.com