CineVegas 2008 Film Festival

Opening Night Red Carpet

June 12-21st, Palms Hotel/Brenden Theaters. I have already posted a few movie reviews and will probably add a few more. I saw 16 films in all and enjoyed most of them (the documentaries were all fantastic this year). In any case, pictures below from various CineVegas events (there is the festival, then the after parties each night, then the after after parties...).

Click the photos to read the descriptions.

The Rocker

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Comedy

The Cinevegas opening night film this year was "The Rocker", starring The Office's Rainn Wilson. From IMDB- "The Rocker tells the story of a failed drummer who is given a second chance at fame."

Rainn's character, Robert "Fish" Fishman, was the drummer for an '80's hair metal band. He was rudely ousted from the band, which went on to become extremely popular (think Bon Jovi level success). 20 years later Fish still can't seem to forget or move on.

When he moves in with his sister's family, he learns his high school aged nephew's band is playing at a school dance. Right before their performance, the drummer has to quit the band. Here comes Fish's second chance at fame. This young high school band ends up becoming a huge You Tube success and subsequently gets a record deal.

Rainn's ability to play these awkward, obnoxious yet still loveable characters has become a given, and Fishman is just that. You root for him and the band throughout the film.

Great casting includes Christopher Guest film alum Jane Lynch as Fish's sister, SNL favorite Jason Sudeikis as the band's smarmy manager, and Christina Applegate as the high school singer's mom. Pop singer Teddy Geiger is also a great fit for the band's lead singer. The '80's hair band includes SNL's Fred Armisen and Arrested Development's Will Arnett.

This movie is scheduled for release in August and I am sure will be a huge success.

Hank and Mike

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Comedy

Last night at CineVegas I enjoyed a screening of "Hank and Mike". It was probably my favorite film of the festival thus far (I also love Joe Mantegna who co-starred, so that helped). The story is about two Easter bunnies (not cartoon, but real men dressed in bunny suits who we are supposed to believe are real Easter bunnies that talk, live in society, etc). Easter Enterprises, which is owned by Mantegna 'scharacter, is having economic issues and needs to downsize. Our two stars, Easter bunnies Hank and Mike, are let go. The film follows them as they try to find employment in odd jobs and eventually pursue their original jobs at Easter Enterprises.

It was terrific. The premise was kinda crazy, but enjoyable. Mantegna's character was also very funny and ended up being a type of anti-hero. Chris Klein (of American Pie fame) also co-starred as the financial consultant responsible for the downsizing decision, and for me stole the show in one scene where he sang an extremely hysterical love song in a bar. Very entertaining.

Canadian filmmakers Paolo Mancini and Thomas Michael wrote and starred in this quirky film. I believe they are still looking for distribution, so not sure where/when you would get a chance to see this film. But if you do- take it.

Get Smart

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Comedy

Hysterical. I had high expectations for this film, because I really enjoyed the old TV show and I knew Steve Carell was the perfect choice for Maxwell Smart. Well, my expectations were met, if not exceeded. The movie did not try to recreate the TV show, which is good. It was a good stand alone comedy/adventure (although I could see a new movie franchise coming out of this).

Steve Carell was terrific. Actually the whole cast, including Anne Hathaway as Agent 99, Dwayne "The Rock' Johnson as Agent 23 and Alan Arkin as The Chief, were all perfectly cast. There were a lot of one line zingers that had the audience erupting in laughter. For me, it was the occasional reference to the old Maxwell Smart "Would you believe...?".

This film is great for the whole family, from very physical comedy (which Carell has perfected), to gross-out jokes, to innuendos... it has it all.

Yesterday (Sunday 6/15/08) at the CineVegas film festival, there was a special advanced screening of the film, introduced by Dwayne Johnson. It was a charity screening with all proceeds benefiting his charity "The Rock Foundation" and its special program Project Knapsack. The Rock looked great, although much thinner than I expected.

For more information on his charity, visit: http://www.djrockfoundation.org/

NBC's Tim Russert dead at 58

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25145431
so sad. he was a great journalist.

THE GRAND | Coming To DVD JUNE 10!

http://www.thegrandthemovie.com/
I saw this movie last year at the CineVegas film festival and it was by far my favorite of the week. It is on DVD today- I highly recommend it. Read my review.

Leo DiCaprio Gets His Pong On

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b141808_leo_dicaprio_gets_his_pong_on.html
Am I the only one who didn't know the same guy who invented Atari also owned Chuck E Cheese??
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Leonardo DiCaprio ... has signed on to star in Atari, a biopic on Nolan Bushnell, the inventor of the famed home video game console, per the Hollywood Reporter. After building Atari to an international juggernaut, Bushnell was forced out, only to have a second act as the founder of the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza chain.