CineVegas 2009 - Las Vegas Sun

CineVegas hiatus another grim economic indicator: Oct. 6, 2009; By Joe Brown; The first leaf fell last year. The branches seemed almost bare when, last week, the CineVegas International Film Festival announced it will be sitting out what would have been its 12th year. It’s clear that the chilling villain is the economic downturn, which has brought a blight to the Las Vegas landscape.

'World's Greatest Dad' long but funny along the way: June 15, 2009; By Josh Bell; Comedian-turned-filmmaker Bobcat Goldthwait may seem like a depraved sicko, what with his movies about bestiality (2006’s Sleeping Dogs Lie) and selfishly capitalizing on a loved one’s death (CineVegas selection World’s Greatest Dad), but if you get past the synopses and actually watch his films, you’ll discover that the guy’s clearly a softie at heart.

Las Vegas abuzz with celebrities, including Willem Dafoe, Terrell Owens: June 15, 2009; By Melissa Arseniuk; There was no shortage of celebrity sightings in Las Vegas this weekend as actors, athletes, and a range of other stars shined across the city.

Willem Dafoe makes first visit to Las Vegas: June 15, 2009; By Melissa Arseniuk; Willem Dafoe has had plenty of opportunities to come to Las Vegas over the years but nothing ever convinced the actor to visit the city - until Sunday night.

Jon Voight continues criticism of Obama, Democrats: June 15, 2009; By Melissa Arseniuk; Jon Voight may have come to CineVegas last night to accept an award but that didn’t stop the outspoken actor from sharing some of his partisan political views on the red carpet.

CineVegas celebrates with awards ceremony: June 14, 2009; By Sarah Feldberg; After five days of popcorn, celebrities and independent films, the 11th annual CineVegas Film Festival celebrated the best of the best Sunday in an awards ceremony at Rain Nightclub at the Palms.

From letters to sketches, 'Found' is a great find: June 14, 2009; By Sarah Feldberg; “Sometimes, you just find the eighth page of a letter and you wonder what happened to the other seven pages,” says Davy Rothbart drawing a battered sheet of paper from a stack of documents.

'Thor at the Bus Stop' a film in magic realism: June 14, 2009; By Josh Bell; Local filmmaking brothers Jerry and Mike Thompson turn in a winning, whimsical film for their feature debut, a mélange of quirky stories that represent a side of Vegas rarely seen in films. "Thor at the Bus Stop," expanded from a pair of Thompson short films, interweaves various stories catalyzed by the title character, whose angst over being the unsung savior of the world sets off a string of random lightning strikes.

'The Revenant' longer than it should be: June 14, 2009; By Josh Bell; One thing that scrappy little genre B-movies should never be is over two hours long; Kerry Prior’s horror-comedy "The Revenant" just barely passes the two-hour mark, but it’s a good 20-30 minutes longer than it ought to be.

'Asylum Seekers' film gets noticed with nuptials: June 14, 2009; By Melissa Arseniuk; With so many films on the 2009 CineVegas docket, choosing which films to go and see can be a daunting task. Meanwhile, the competition between films to attract audiences can be tough, too.

Filmmaker indicates real tale even darker than 'Darkness': June 13, 2009; By Sarah Feldberg; It’s virtually impossible not to think of Joseph Conrad’s "Heart of Darkness" while watching "Sea of Darkness," a CineVegas documentary that chronicles the lives and demise of members of the 1970s’ elite surfer community.

'(500) Days of Summer' is just another love story: June 13, 2009; By Josh Bell; Although it puts on a front of being the antidote to quirky indie romantic comedies, the deceptively conventional "(500) Days of Summer" is actually just as sentimental and optimistic as the movies it purports to refute.

Solid performances keep 'The Square' grounded: June 12, 2009; By Josh Bell; It treads a pretty well-worn path, but the noirish Australian thriller "The Square" hit its crime-story beats so well that the familiarity is more an asset than a liability.

'Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo' disappointing: June 12, 2009; By Josh Bell; The title promises a much livelier, more irreverent take on the material, but the documentary "Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo" is a disappointingly tedious slog through a seemingly fascinating subject.

Stars align for CineVegas: June 11, 2009; By Melissa Arseniuk; While the celebrities might not be exactly lining up for this year’s CineVegas film festival, Las Vegas’ miniature version of Sundance is attracting a decent number of stars both big and small.