Review of FROM DUSK TO DAWN

FROM DUSK TO DAWN - first season.

 2014 series, horror, fantasy, mythology, vampires,

A beautiful young woman is running through the jungle with dark-skinned natives in pursuit. They catch her and throw her into a pit full of snakes, one of which, in a don't-tell-me-this-isn't-Freudian shot, plunges itself deep into her wide open mouth.

The scene shifts to two Texas Rangers, rookie FREDDIE GONZALES and his mentor, EARL MCGRAW. They walk up to a convenience store out in the desert, but unfortunately, brothers SETH and RICHIE GEKKO, who have just robbed a bank and killed some people, are inside. Seth is sort of a nice guy. He describes himself as a thief, not a killer, and, in fact, he does not kill people, at least not for the hell of it. Richie, on the other hand, is a total nutcase.

Seth tells the store clerk not to let the ranchers know he and his brother are there. The ranchers enter, and Earl says he wants to 'drain the lizard'. When he returns from the bathroom, Richie, convinced that 'drain the lizard' was a code to the rangers, starts shooting. Earl is mortally wounded, and with his dying breath, tells Freddie to kill the Gekko brothers. Freddie agrees. He will pursue the brothers no matter what the cost - his career, his life, and even his family's life. And it may very well come to that.

Though the title and the first scene suggest supernatural, the rest of the pilot episode doesn't show it. True, Richie hears voices and sees weird images, but he's so crazy, you don't have to consider paranormal. But in the second episode, vampires appear, and in the third episode, the snake lady is explained.

There is only one clear shot of naked breasts, which is strange because a lot of the action takes place in a bar called the Titty Twister. Maybe they felt that unlimited murder, torture and blood was okay for kiddies, but bare boobs?  No way.

The series is an elaboration of the movie, From Dusk to Dawn and, like the movie, is violent, interesting, and without a lot of repetition. On the whole it grabs your interest. Another season is planned, and I'll probably watch it. I give it ++++. It will get your pulse up to a run.

Review of THE ALMIGHTY JOHNSONS

THE ALMIGHTY JOHNSONS - episode 1-3.

Comedy, Norse gods, mythology, 2011

AXL's (Emmitt Skilton) twenty-first birthday has arrived, but this will not be an ordinary celebration. First, a meteor shower lights up the sky, and then the harbor turns blood red. These are significant omens. After that, Axl nearly gets run over by pretty young woman named STACY.  She apologizes and Axl invites her to his birthday party. Later, while they're getting to know each other horizontally, she pulls a dagger and tries to kill him--again. Fortunately, an earthquake, intervenes and saves Axl's life, though Stacy gets a chance to escape.

What's going on? Axl's brothers have the answer, and the next day they all get together. The brothers have interesting abilities. Anders (the god Braggi) can persuade women out of their clothes like magic. Ty (the god Hod) can chill a wine glass just by holding it (he repairs refrigerators for a living and his hobby is ice sculptures.) Mike (the god Ullr), the oldest and most responsible, can track down almost anything and can win all games, but he keeps these skills secret because he had abused them in the past.  The brothers explain to Axl that they all are reincarnated Norse deities--god of games and the hunt, ice god, etc--and that Axl is actually Odin, the leader of the gods. Axl is skeptical, but he has no way to explain how Mike always wins in rock-paper-scissors. Then the brothers, and cousin Olaf, who is really Axl's grandfather, take Axl into the woods, have him strip naked and hold up a sword.  Lightning covers him and initiates him into godhood.

Let's face it. These gods have puny powers. To bring them into their fullness, Axl must find his true love, the goddess Frigg. But there are obstacles. To recognize that an apparent mortal woman is actually Frigg, Axl has to sleep with her; he's gonna be a busy boy. Meanwhile, Stacy is one of a group of goddesses who want to rule the world themselves instead of having Axl and his brothers do it. They're trying to kill Axl. In addition to the near auto accident, they shot Axl with a heart-shaped arrow, (and now Axl has two hearts on x-ray,  an important detail for an Odin incarnation.) 

And for unknown reasons, all this takes place in Australia.

This is fun stuff. The premise and situations are laughably absurd, and the actors play them well. Emmitt Skilton in particular portrays Axl as a likable lout who can never quite understand what's going on. Poor Odin. Apparently, this is another series that was almost canceled, but fans wrote in and saved it. I understand why it generated such enthusiasm. The shenanigans of Axl and his brothers are entertaining and will get your pulse up to a jog.  I give it +++.