Story archive for June 2009

Planet Hollywood Theatre for the Performing Arts is a sleeping beauty

John Katsilometes | Tue, Jun 30, 2009 (7:20 p.m.)

Planet Hollywood Theatre for the Performing Arts has been dormant since Miss USA was crowned in April. A delayed renovation plan is the reason, says BASE exec Scott Zeiger.

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Night bites: Enter “The Tomb”

Xania Woodman | Tue, Jun 30, 2009 (6:56 p.m.)

The Executive Lounge business and social mixer will re-emerge from its hiatus August 4 at the Stirling Club re-branded as "The Tomb." Yea, "The Tomb."

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Death Becomes Him: At long last, the King of Pop makes his comeback

T.R. Witcher | Tue, Jun 30, 2009 (4:32 p.m.)

This is not the real story. This is our story. In our story, there comes a day when Michael Jackson realizes he will never outdo himself. And in our story, he doesn't fight it.

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No introduction necessary… it’s Jay-Z! (for free!)

Las Vegas Weekly Staff | Mon, Jun 29, 2009 (8:04 p.m.)

Enter to win tickets to one of Jay-Z's July 3 or 4 shows from Las Vegas Weekly.

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Monthly Happy Hour “gets more Jewish people doing Jewish”

Jennifer Grafiada | Mon, Jun 29, 2009 (2:28 p.m.)

Nicole Gabrielle Bruno, who comes from a non-practicing Christian family, decided to convert to Judaism after having dreams for years about becoming Jewish.

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‘Ribbon’ show survives injury to performer, hobbled economy

John Katsilometes | Mon, Jun 29, 2009 (12:58 p.m.)

Sonya Sonnenberg of "Sin City Kitties" suffered multiple fractures to her wrists and pelvis prior to the show, which drew about 1,100 to the Las Vegas Hilton Theater.

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Monday List: Fireworks and sports nicknames

John Katsilometes | Mon, Jun 29, 2009 (11:46 a.m.)

Patriot, Goose, Jimbo and Johnnie Disaster -- we've got 'em all on today's list of sports nicknames and makes of fireworks.

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Lohan rolls solo for Vegas weekend

Melissa Arseniuk | Sun, Jun 28, 2009 (11:19 a.m.)

When Lindsay Lohan returned to Las Vegas this weekend, she didn’t bring her most controversial accessory with her.

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Holly takes a night off for a Playboy wedding

Melissa Arseniuk | Sat, Jun 27, 2009 (1:27 p.m.)

After five days of starring in Peepshow, Holly Madison has canceled both of tonight’s performances to attend Kendra Wilkinson's wedding at the Mansion.

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Killers tickets on sale for Vegas show

Jennifer Grafiada | Sat, Jun 27, 2009 (11:31 a.m.)

Humans and dancers: Let the countdown to September 19 begin.

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Trashing the Transformers

Josh Bell | Fri, Jun 26, 2009 (1:21 p.m.)

Jeffrey K. Howard of Vegas Film Critic and KVBC Channel 3 joins Josh to eviscerate the new sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

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Remembering when Michael Jackson really was bad

John Katsilometes | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (7:25 p.m.)

In 1982, few were cooler than Eddie Van Halen and Michael Jackson, and they teamed on the remarkable "Beat It."

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Eddie Halliwell: All DJ, all the time

Deanna Rilling | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (2:11 p.m.)

To be a successful DJ in 2009, you must split your time between playing gigs and producing, right? Not necessarily. Eddie Halliwell puts all of his attention into live remixing, and he’ll be doing just that in front of legions of dance music fans on Friday.

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Peggy plots your planets

Peggy Allison | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

The red planet brings energy to share with others. You may benefit through a partner. The sun has taken up residence in your career space. Go ahead, call attention to yourself. Let those in authority notice you.

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This week’s damn fine idea: Annex Neonopolis

Scott Dickensheets | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

Given Mayor Goodman’s announcement it'll be impossible to build a new city hall, a recent visit to the mostly empty Neonopolis has put the obvious idea in our head: Annex Neonopolis as a new city hall.

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Travel Issue: Tijuana charming

Sarah Feldberg | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

My first steps into Tijuana are met by a consumer Candyland. I can buy a taco, a poncho and a miniature guitar the color of blue Flav-R-Ice within 30 feet.

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Making sense of Mezzo

Brock Radke | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

It’s the chalkboard. Posted high on the wall next to the kitchen in a quaint and comfortable dining room, all Tuscan’d out with wooden chairs, smooth brown tones and a long wine bar, is the specials board, and everything on it is pretty damn good.

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60-second video critic

Spencer Patterson | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

Move over Toni Basil and Ryan Pardey’s murderous Santa Claus; there’s a new contender for Vegas’ best-ever music video.

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Desert flow

Jennifer Grafiada | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

Inside a circle of onlookers, two men face each other. Sometimes they get up in each other’s faces, and it looks like one of them is about to pull a gun, as they often threaten to do.

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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen delivers the “more”

Josh Bell | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

You can say this for Michael Bay: He delivers what he promises. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is everything the original was and more. “More,” of course, is Bay’s mantra.

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Preparing for takeoff

Pj Perez | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

For Las Vegas-based rock band Theory of Flight, playing music isn’t about success or accolades. “It’s about creating something you’re super proud of,” says lead singer Beau Hodges.

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The Help Desk

Las Vegas Weekly Staff | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

John Ensign admits to nine-month-long affair with campaign aide.

However, he still hasn’t admitted to his nine-year-long screwing of the Nevada education system.

Husband of Ensign’s mistress sent e-mail to Fox News informing them of the affair.

They didn’t do a story, but they did send the message down to their reality-television division.

Ensign: Ex-mistress’ husband made “exorbitant demands” for money.

Hey, the guy’s a Republican. It was a reflex action!

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Suggestion box: Advice for the Las Vegas Review Journal

Las Vegas Weekly Staff | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

It is with the greatest interest that we’ve followed the saga of the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s handling of a federal subpoena seeking to identify people who posted inflammatory comments on the R-J’s website.

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Smithsonian of smut

Susanne Forestieri | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

The Erotic Heritage Museum—a vast emporium of objects, movie posters, paintings and videos—is a sort of Smithsonian of smut. It disappoints in some ways, but surprises and delights in others.

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T&T—tacos and tatts

Xania Woodman | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

Somewhere around our third trip through the Mischieve photo booth it occurred to me that the members of Team Hangover were doing exactly what T&T Tacos & Tequila’s new Mischieve Wednesdays were built for.

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Big, bad ping-pong bats?!

E.C. Gladstone | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

The world of table tennis is where the real action is. Think I’m kidding? Tagged as the “biggest, baddest throwdown," the Las Vegas HardBat Classic, to be televised on ESPN for the first time, promises a return to the good old days of democratic ping-pong.

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The Travel Issue: It is this much space that gets us into trouble

T.R. Witcher | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

To search for Yucca Mountain one first needs a map. Wait. That’s second. The real first step is to call up the Department of Energy for some information on how to get there. Where is it, exactly? And what does it look like?

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Learning From Las Vegas, 2.0

T.R. Witcher | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

The authors of the famous architectural book revisit Sin City.

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My Sister’s Keeper

Jeffrey M. Anderson | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

My Sister’s Keeper is a perfect example of a disease-of-the-week movie done wrong.

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Travel Issue: Disneyland for Haters

Geoff Carter | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

Somehow I’ve managed to acquire a number of friends who steadfastly refuse to go to Disneyland, and who question why anyone would want to go there. Everyone should visit Disneyland at least once. One obstacle at a time, I’m going to help you to get there.

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The youthful rush of hookah

C. Moon Reed | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

Now I’m grown up, and I’d long forgotten the feeling of being a princess inside a cloth palace … until I went to the Hookah Lounge at Paymon’s. I don’t know whether the Hookah Lounge is like that childhood tent or that childhood tent was like the Hookah Lounge, but they both sparked my imagination in a special way.

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Roots rock

Deanna Rilling | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

Mega-producer Jermaine Dupri returns to his DJ beginnings and talks about spinning at Privé, his new Ocean's 7 project, why he loves Vegas and how "the DJ is dead."

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A tragic statistic

Stacy J. Willis | Thu, Jun 25, 2009 (midnight)

Crimes against children are on the rise, but let’s not be so quick to blame the recession.

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Goodman in his element during mayoral icing

John Katsilometes | Wed, Jun 24, 2009 (1:50 p.m.)

Already depicted in wax, Mayor Oscar Goodman yesterday was immortalized in a block of ice at a Strip ice lounge.

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Win your way into Pussycat Dolls Live

Las Vegas Weekly Staff | Wed, Jun 24, 2009 (11:44 a.m.)

Get your buttons pushed with free tickets to the Pussycat Dolls show at the Palms on June 27.

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Lindsay Lohan coming to Vegas, and she’s bringing her tan-in-a-can with her

Melissa Arseniuk | Tue, Jun 23, 2009 (5:31 p.m.)

Lindsay Lohan will be celebrating her birthday and her apparent lack of spell check this Saturday at Wet Republic.

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Gin [Blossoms] and Tonic anyone?

Xania Woodman | Tue, Jun 23, 2009 (3:25 p.m.)

It’s a serendipitous musical collaboration almost too good to be true: two '90s favorites that mix very well.

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Even Playmate of the Year Ida Ljungqvist needs her beauty sleep

Melissa Arseniuk | Mon, Jun 22, 2009 (11:22 p.m.)

Since being named Playmate of the Year at the Palms in May, Ida Ljungqvist’s world has been turned upside down.

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Monday List: Ways in which the mayor has not been memorialized

John Katsilometes | Mon, Jun 22, 2009 (6:18 p.m.)

Wax and ice are befitting methods of sculpting the mayor, but what about soap?

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Trash talk, tournaments and practiced skills: Welcome to competitive dodgeball

April Corbin | Mon, Jun 22, 2009 (12:08 p.m.)

Scrawled across faithful fan Diana Ort's chest in black sharpie are three signatures from players on her favorite team. The team? San Diego Crossfire. The sport? Dodgeball.

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Miracles take many forms for Smokey Robinson

John Katsilometes | Mon, Jun 22, 2009 (10:20 a.m.)

On a May day in 1986, Smokey Robinson sought retreat at Ablaze Ministries in Los Angeles. His life hasn't been the same since.

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‘Vocal Soup’ marks a fine time in the ‘burbs

John Katsilometes | Sun, Jun 21, 2009 (1 p.m.)

A tribute to both Sinatra and Woodstock were folded into "Vocal Soup," an ambitious project that debuted last night at the Suncoast.

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Gavin Rossdale gives special show at the Palms

Melissa Arseniuk | Sat, Jun 20, 2009 (4:09 p.m.)

Gavin Rossdale returned to Las Vegas yesterday to give a performance at the Palms. Yet the former Bush frontman didn’t take to the stage at the Pearl for the show; he performed an intimate, acoustic set on a small stage erected in one of the resort’s luxurious sky villas especially for the event.

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Hockey stars take their best shots at NHL Awards events

Melissa Arseniuk | Sat, Jun 20, 2009 (11:21 a.m.)

The NHL’s biggest and brightest stars have been shining across Las Vegas this week as the league’s annual awards show took over the Palms and, as a result, the city’s nightclubs.

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Cherry to re-open Saturday after a good shining

Xania Woodman | Fri, Jun 19, 2009 (12:59 p.m.)

A new and improved Cherry Nightclub at Red Rock will reopen to the public on Saturday, June 20.

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You will soon have to drink elsewhere, Brew Pub fans

April Corbin | Fri, Jun 19, 2009 (10:22 a.m.)

It's last call for the Monte Carlo Brew Pub.

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Where’s Gene?: “Top Chef” vet still cooking in Vegas

Sarah Feldberg | Fri, Jun 19, 2009 (9:57 a.m.)

Vegas-based Top Chef alum Gene Villiatora hasn't fled the desert since appearing on the show. In fact, he's probably cooking up something in Summerlin right now.

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Cirque and founder to receive star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Amanda Finnegan | Fri, Jun 19, 2009 (12:14 a.m.)

Ringo Starr, Russell Crowe, Van Morrison, ZZ Top and Cirque du Soleil: The troupe and its founder will join a slew of stars receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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Rao’s takes wine retail

Sarah Feldberg | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (5:05 p.m.)

Some restaurants sell T-shirts and coffee mugs, but Rao’s restaurant at Caesars Palace has stuck with what they know: classic Italian food and the wines that complement it best.

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“Mickey” to Bette Midler: Toni Basil comes back to Las Vegas

Sarah Feldberg | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (12:55 p.m.)

Twenty-seven years after Toni Basil’s chant-song “Mickey” reached #1 on the Billboard charts, the homegrown Las Vegan still has the Las Vegas High cheerleader’s uniform that she wore in the iconic music video.

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The Help Desk

Las Vegas Weekly Staff | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (midnight)

Las Vegas Marathon to become “Rock N’ Roll Marathon,” with live music every mile.

Songs are expected to include “Running on Empty,” “Stumblin’ In” and “Everybody Hurts.” .

Cheap Trick to headline at Hilton, perform Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper.

That’s right, because every time we hear Cheap Trick on the radio, we think, “Why can’t they play someone else’s songs?”

Hundreds of students at local elementary school absent amid swine flu scare.

Child care wasn’t really a problem, as all their parents are jobless anyway.

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Ask Dead Elvis: The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Huntridge?

Las Vegas Weekly Staff | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (midnight)

For many of the city’s 40-somethings who grew up here, late-night Rocky Horror shindigs marked one of the first times that Las Vegas youth, no matter how nerdy, had a youth-culture linchpin to rally around that wasn’t sponsored by any agents of social control.

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Death of a big cat

Stacy J. Willis | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (midnight)

When Midas, a 10-year-old lion, got very sick, and there was a chewed-up half of a toy football in his cage, the first thing zoo director Pat Dingle thought was that the Roman Catholics killed his lion.

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Victorville Rising

T.R. Witcher | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (midnight)

With news that Sen. Harry Reid has thrown his support behind the $4 billion DesertXpress high-speed train from Las Vegas to Victorville, residents of Victorville are feeling mighty good about themselves.

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Jonas Brothers

Josh Bell | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (midnight)

On their fourth album in four years, the Jonas Brothers seem to be trying to become kings of the entire pop spectrum, not just the upbeat power-pop that’s been the hallmark of their sound up to now.

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Johnny Bacon—“Bacon. Like the food!”

Xania Woodman | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (midnight)

“People think that they know me but really have no idea. I like challenging cell-phone manufacturers to meet my business needs. I love driving around town with customized soundtracks, playing music that I think makes up the soundtrack of my life."

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Neon of a different kind

Jacob Coakley | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (midnight)

It started as a laundromat, but when Peter Valentino and Lissette Napoleoni signed a lease at 1404 S. Third St. the idea was to change the space into a venue for multiple artists to use and grow from.

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The Higher

Julie Seabaugh | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (midnight)

Vegas-based Epitaph band The Higher has chugged along as The Little Engine That Just Might for seven-plus years now.

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Dinosaur Jr.

Spencer Patterson | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (midnight)

Unexpected as the mid-2000s détente between long-distant Dinosaur Jr. founders J Mascis and Lou Barlow might have been, the endurance of the reunion has to go down as its most shocking development.

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A poetic poke at KFC

Nicole M. Quesada | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (midnight)

KFC's new un-fried chicken inspired poetry in one Weekly writer. Read it and eat.

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Porn’s highs and lows

Greg Beato | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (midnight)

Scan the newspaper headlines, and you might think these are boom times for porn stars. Alas, it’s not all hip Hollywood premieres and political temperature-taking for the nation’s carnal professionals.

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Peggy plots your planets

Peggy Allison | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (midnight)

I know you feel emotional. Chill out. It’s the new moon on Monday.

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Starfucker

Spencer Patterson | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (midnight)

Highly danceable, if slightly disposable, electro you’ll swear was concocted entirely on a laptop but apparently wasn’t.

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Dirty Projectors

Annie Zaleski | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (midnight)

Orca is a tough listen: Like fellow pastiche-popsters The Fiery Furnaces, Dirty Projectors forgo structured songs in favor of disparate, ornate musical ideas stitched together.

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Amped about the Strip

Spencer Patterson | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (midnight)

The Harmon Theater’s 1,300-capacity main room—better known as gay-themed nightclub Krave—has also been offered up for live acts Sunday through Thursday. Picture Roxy in LA.

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Left Standing

Pj Perez | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (midnight)

Left Standing can write the hell out of a pop hook. Listeners won’t be shaking these songs from their heads for days.

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Easy Virtue

Mike D'Angelo | Thu, Jun 18, 2009 (midnight)

Jessica Biel plays Larita, an American race-car driver and divorcée who’s just married into a highly starched English family and must do brittle battle with her new mother-in-law and other snooty relations.

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Wrapping up CineVegas

Josh Bell | Wed, Jun 17, 2009 (6:53 p.m.)

Las Vegas Weekly contributor Julie Seabaugh joins Josh to wrap up the 2009 CineVegas film festival, including award winners, local films and festival highlights.

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Ovechkin, Kesler take NHL 2K10 to the Strip

Ryan Greene | Wed, Jun 17, 2009 (4:36 p.m.)

On a slab of synthetic ice in front of Caesars Palace in the middle of June, Vancouver Canucks center Ryan Kesler is wearing motion sensors and going through his motions for the upcoming NHL 2K10 on Nintendo Wii.

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Rave on?

Deanna Rilling | Wed, Jun 17, 2009 (11:07 a.m.)

Raves have come and gone over the years, but Las Vegas' underground parties are still packing in glowstick-wielding, neon-clad kids. You just need to know where to look.

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Adam

Tasha Chemplavil | Tue, Jun 16, 2009 (9:08 p.m.)

Biopics about famously accomplished people who succeed despite their handicaps are prime Oscar fodder. But fictional films about ordinary people with disabilities are much more unpredictable.

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An event that has it all: Drums, tattoos, executives — and Leach

John Katsilometes | Tue, Jun 16, 2009 (6:22 p.m.)

Robin Leach's long career in covering entertainment news was recognized yesterday at Brenden Theatres at the Palms, and event that left us starry-eyed.

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It’s not goodbye, it’s see you next year

Jennifer Grafiada | Tue, Jun 16, 2009 (5:06 p.m.)

CineVegas 2009 wrapped up last night with girls on rollerskates, a drive-in and a filmmaker family reunion in the heart of Las Vegas.

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Palermo Shooting

Julie Seabaugh | Tue, Jun 16, 2009 (12:09 a.m.)

Palermo is a visually stunning meditation on living life to the fullest. It’s also refreshingly dark, brooding and a little disorienting, though nearly to the point of self-indulgence.

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Spilling secrets, Pt. 2

Julie Seabaugh | Mon, Jun 15, 2009 (10:55 p.m.)

The 45-minute conversation preceding the screening of The Loveless—Vanguard Actor award winner Willem Dafoe’s first feature film—delved into facing fear and the need to alternately hide behind and take off masks, but it was early on that Dafoe made his most outspoken confession. Moderator Elvis Mitchell: When I first met you—I’m gonna betray some confidences here—you said something to me: “You know, a lot of my life’s been about just rebelling against being, like, a middle-class white kid from Milwaukee.” Dafoe: I don’t remember that! [laughter, applause] That was in confidence! And we’re not exactly alone. Mitchell: Shh, they can’t hear you. [additional laughter] Dafoe: Naw, the truth is … I think that’s true.

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Bronson

T.R. Witcher | Mon, Jun 15, 2009 (1:24 p.m.)

Bronson tells the story of petty thief Michael Peterson, sentenced to prison in 1974, who changed his name to Charles Bronson and over the next three decades gained notoriety as Britain’s most violent prisoner.

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Welcome to Las Vegas, Willem Dafoe

Melissa Arseniuk | Mon, Jun 15, 2009 (12:25 p.m.)

Willem Dafoe clocked his first visit to Las Vegas yesterday for the 11th Annual CineVegas Film Festival where he received the Vanguard Actor Award.

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Jon Voight: “Now this is just between us, okay?”

Julie Seabaugh | Mon, Jun 15, 2009 (3:51 a.m.)

A tiger, an old lady, Jon Voight and the MGM Grand...

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Mercy

Tasha Chemplavil | Mon, Jun 15, 2009 (12:04 a.m.)

Actor Scott Caan, who also wrote and produced Mercy, is convincing as a silver-tongued womanizer and even as a man experiencing love for the first time.

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The thrill of thrillers

Josh Bell | Sun, Jun 14, 2009 (5:08 p.m.)

The typical movie you expect to find at a film festival is concerned with art first and commerce second, often more interested in evoking a feeling or creating a particular aesthetic mood than in telling an exciting story. CineVegas has always been willing to program slightly more mainstream Indiewood fare in its Sure Bets section, and the occasional genre film in its Area 52 section, but the meat of the festival, the Jackpot Premieres, is usually filled with serious, artistic dramas (which are often very good). This year's premieres include two thrillers, though, and another shows up in the Diamond Discoveries section. The premiere thrillers, Daylight and Godspeed, both temper their suspense plots and violent outbursts with serious concerns, and are clear efforts at creating something more than your average crime story. They meet with mixed levels of success (Godspeed ultimately working a little better), but the Australian film noir ...

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ND’s the closed: Viashow Inc. declares bankruptcy

Xania Woodman | Sun, Jun 14, 2009 (4:05 p.m.)

Fuego, ND’s Fuego, ND’s The Club - whatever you want to call it, it's done for since parent company Viashow Inc. filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on June 1, reportedly owing over $1.5 million.

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All’s fair in film and PR

Melissa Arseniuk | Sun, Jun 14, 2009 (12:54 p.m.)

When trying to attract attention for your film at CineVegas, sometimes you just have to stage a red carpet wedding. Objections, anyone?

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Moon

Benjamin Spacek | Sun, Jun 14, 2009 (12:19 p.m.)

Sam Rockwell puts on an impressive one-man performance in Moon, in which he plays the lone operator of a lunar space station.

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Youth Knows No Pain

Tasha Chemplavil | Sun, Jun 14, 2009 (12:01 p.m.)

McCabe found characters who are too unbelievable to be made up: Norman based his facial rejuvenation on Jack Nicholson. Sherry spent $35,000 rebuilding herself and her self-confidence.

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The Revenant

Josh Bell | Sun, Jun 14, 2009 (11:28 a.m.)

em>The Revenant starts off as a goofy, irreverent buddy comedy with gore in the vein of Shaun of the Dead.

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Thor at the Bus Stop

Josh Bell | Sun, Jun 14, 2009 (11:15 a.m.)

Thor isn’t a supernatural movie; it’s more like magic realism, with elements like the thunder god and a guy wandering around impaled by a yield sign mixing with more grounded stories about relationships and family.

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It Came from Kuchar

Julie Seabaugh | Sat, Jun 13, 2009 (7 p.m.)

For such colorful subject matter—twin underground filmmaking legends George and Mike Kuchar—former George pupil Jennifer Kroot presents a surprisingly straightforward and nearly subdued documentary portrait.

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Filmmaker indicates real tale even darker than ‘Darkness’

Sarah Feldberg | Sat, Jun 13, 2009 (4:28 p.m.)

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.

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Stingray Sam

T.R. Witcher | Sat, Jun 13, 2009 (1:38 p.m.)

Stingray Sam follows the titular character, a two-bit cowboy lounge singer on the planet Mars, and his buddy, the Quasar Kid, as they rocket across the galaxy trying to save a kidnapped girl.

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All In: The Poker Movie

Julie Seabaugh | Sat, Jun 13, 2009 (1:20 p.m.)

Addiction, ethics and the law? Check? A peek inside a card factory? Naturally. Housewives in church halls? But of course.

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Easier with Practice

Benjamin Spacek | Sat, Jun 13, 2009 (1:07 p.m.)

One night in a motel room, the phone rings. An unsuspecting Davy picks it up and is confronted with the sexy voice of an audacious woman who immediately propositions him for phone sex.

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In the Loop

Benjamin Spacek | Sat, Jun 13, 2009 (12:52 p.m.)

An ill-received quote from a bumbling British official (“War is unforeseeable”) gets blown out of proportion and sets off a chain reaction within the halls of both the U.K. and U.S. governments.

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Coming up shorts

Josh Bell | Sat, Jun 13, 2009 (12:48 p.m.)

Short films are often the neglected stepchildren of film festivals, but they can be an untapped gold mine of interesting, challenging filmmaking, and I always make an effort to catch the shorts programs at CineVegas to see what so many others are missing. This year, I was a little disappointed with the offerings, which included some decent efforts but nothing that really grabbed my attention. The festival has two regular shorts programs this year, along with a Nevada showcase, plus programs for films by UNLV and CSN students. Notable entries in the first shorts program included Logorama, a stunningly animated film populated almost entirely by corporate logos, which unfortunately failed to back up its loaded imagery with any sort of meaningful message; Fiddlestixx, a series of bizarre shorts by festival favorites the Zellner brothers starring a strangely powerful monkey, which were more baffling than amusing; and The Feast of Stephen, ...

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Daylight

Josh Bell | Sat, Jun 13, 2009 (12:41 p.m.)

If you’re in a movie, it’s always a bad idea to pick up a hitchhiker in the middle of nowhere.

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(500) Days of Summer

Josh Bell | Sat, Jun 13, 2009 (12:36 p.m.)

“This is not a love story,” declares the arch omniscient narrator at the outset, but really it is, just not the one it appears to be at first.

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Off the Strip and into the strip club

Jennifer Grafiada | Sat, Jun 13, 2009 (10:51 a.m.)

“I’m sick of customers asking me for drugs!” whined a tan, blonde stripper in a grating, high-pitched voice to a fellow dancer.

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I don’t know Jack (Nicholson)

Jennifer Grafiada | Fri, Jun 12, 2009 (2:21 p.m.)

After CineVegas' Jackpot Premieres party at Lavo, I can say I got quasi-hit-on by Jack Nicholson. How’s that for bragging rights?

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Ozzy battles a delicious addiction in Las Vegas

Melissa Arseniuk | Thu, Jun 11, 2009 (4:26 p.m.)

It’s no secret that Ozzy Osbourne has battled his share of addictions over the years, but the one he succumbed to in Las Vegas may surprise you.

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Is it live or is it history?: Five questions with Vibe Elevator Rico DeLargo

Xania Woodman | Thu, Jun 11, 2009 (2:21 p.m.)

DJs are boring to watch. Go-gos all look the same. The future of nightclubs is "vibe elevation."

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Sarah Silverman steals CineVegas opening night

Sarah Silverman may have had a supporting role in CineVegas opening night film Saint John of Las Vegas, but that didn’t stop her from stealing the show on the red carpet.

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Saint John of Las Vegas

Josh Bell | Published Thu, Jun 11, 2009 (1:34 a.m.)

Within the first two minutes of Hue Rhodes’ Saint John of Las Vegas, Steve Buscemi’s John, does something impossible: He walks into a Vegas convenience store and buys a bunch of lottery tickets.

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The remaking of Pelham 1 2 3

Josh Bell | Thu, Jun 11, 2009 (midnight)

Although it’s a question that Hollywood often fails to answer, the prevailing mystery with most movie remakes is “Why?”

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Time of the Preacher

Danielle Kelly | Thu, Jun 11, 2009 (midnight)

As the Biscuit Street Preacher, Las Vegan Robbie Martin is a self-appointed, Southern-bred missionary casting a working man’s eye to the streets. In Pep Rally at Trifecta Gallery, the Preacher uses large-scale paintings to evangelize the everyday, sometimes with quite fantastical results.

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Over the Hill

Pj Perez | Thu, Jun 11, 2009 (midnight)

A glossy flier advertising a show at Wasted Space inside the Hard Rock Hotel this Saturday featuring local rock band Cherry Hill doesn’t stand out from any other gig handbill, save for an odd juxtaposition of terms beneath the band’s name: “album release & final performance.” Say what?

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Show time for Conan

Josh Bell | Thu, Jun 11, 2009 (midnight)

When Jay Leno took over The Tonight Show from Johnny Carson in 1992, the transition was fraught with tension, and the backstage drama was often far more interesting than what made it to the airwaves.

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Peggy plots your planets

Peggy Allison | Thu, Jun 11, 2009 (midnight)

Step back for the next few days. Keep your comments to yourself today. Get creative, put on your thinking cap.

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If these walls could talk

E.C. Gladstone | Thu, Jun 11, 2009 (midnight)

In a city where every good idea is copied three times over, you have to give the Palms points for originality. On June 1, the resort rededicated the former “Pink suite” as the “Barbie suite.”

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Sonic Youth

Spencer Patterson | Thu, Jun 11, 2009 (midnight)

It would scarcely seem possible for a six-minute Sonic Youth song titled “Anti-Orgasm” to prove predictable, yet...

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Ask Dead Elvis: Was KLAS-TV Howard Hughes’ personal VCR?

Truth or Vegas myth: When Howard Hughes owned KLAS-TV, did he really have the program manager repeat programs he missed, like it was his personal VCR?

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Elvis Costello

Richard Abowitz | Thu, Jun 11, 2009 (midnight)

Even at his worst, Elvis Costello is pretty competent.

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O, Harry!

Brock Radke | Thu, Jun 11, 2009 (midnight)

Barbecue has to be really, really good. There must be hours of loving care and, hopefully, some smoke involved in the process. And it should be a little rough around the edges, right?

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Settlement blitz!

Stacy J. Willis | Thu, Jun 11, 2009 (midnight)

Retired judges probably ought to be relaxing at a pool party, cosmopolitans in hand, the voices of angry litigants a thing of history. But instead, they are holing up in District Court hearing rooms in the Regional Justice Center, trying to resolve piles of medical-malpractice lawsuits (sans martinis).

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Dream zone

Lauri Quinn Lowenberg | Thu, Jun 11, 2009 (midnight)

"I looked down and saw worms were coming out of the soles of my feet. I kept scraping the worms off, but they kept growing back."

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Ono

Xania Woodman | Thu, Jun 11, 2009 (midnight)

Before downing your Ono, be sure to savor every second with the most expensive cocktail in Vegas.

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The Help Desk

Las Vegas Weekly Staff | Thu, Jun 11, 2009 (midnight)

MGM, Disney partnering to build Disney-themed casino.

We can’t decide what we’ll go to first: Pinocchio’s True Confessions or Bambi and Thumper: The Untold Story.

Pete Wentz spits on photographer while celebrating 30th birthday in Las Vegas.

Hey, the guy drinks his wife’s breast milk; bodily fluids are his way of showing affection.

Mel B’s role in Peepshow to come to an end.

The show’s producers had seen all they needed to see, apparently.

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Dave Matthews Band

Annie Zaleski | Thu, Jun 11, 2009 (midnight)

the excellent King memorializes LeRoi Moore in the best way possible—by way of effervescent, inviting music that celebrates the longtime DMB credo, “eat, drink and be merry.”

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Kuchar life lessons

Karina Longworth | Wed, Jun 10, 2009 (5:15 p.m.)

A student of lo-fi DIY film legend George Kuchar reflects on her time with the teacher as CineVegas pays tribute to the Kuchar brothers and their lasting cinema legacy.

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Showing his cards

John Katsilometes | Wed, Jun 10, 2009 (1:58 p.m.)

The film is All In, a poker documentary premiering at CineVegas, which asks the question many have been pondering: Why is poker so popular.

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Svast Differences: A producer finds hope in the city of Sin

Deanna Rilling | Wed, Jun 10, 2009 (noon)

House music used to be in DJ and producer Thom Svast's Cheerios, but the Chicago native has gone Vegas and he's got a mission behind the music.

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Zack Attack is back

Deanna Rilling | Tue, Jun 9, 2009 (6:30 p.m.)

The high top sneakers. The sun-kissed highlights. The big-ass brick phone. That’s right, kids. Zack Morris is back. And he was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Monday.

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Well enough to line dance, well enough to lap dance

A weird lump near my incision gave me pause, but it's nothing like what my German shepherd experienced a while back.

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Taking it off with the many queens of Miss Exotic World 2009

Jennifer Grafiada | Mon, Jun 8, 2009 (2:36 p.m.)

Picking a winner out of all the tease-'em-'til-they-drop burlesque dancers at the Miss Exotic World pageant isn't easy, but watching them toss off corsets and knickers sure is fun.

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Weekly exclusive: Introducing Bambu Bar at Mandalay Bay

Xania Woodman | Mon, Jun 8, 2009 (10:13 a.m.)

Just in time for another sweltering summer, two notable nightlife personalities have teamed up to give us Bambu Bar, Mandalay Bay’s hottest, coolest watering hole.

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Drinking, flashing and gator slapping with the Irish Comedy Tour

Allison Duck | Fri, Jun 5, 2009 (12:25 p.m.)

The Irish Comedy Tour is stopping over at Bonkerz Comedy Club this weekend. Prepare for some drinking, laughs and most importantly: laughs about drinking!

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Galifianakis, yes; Ferrell, no

Josh Bell | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (5:53 p.m.)

Las Vegas Weekly Managing Editor Ken Miller joins Josh to chat about polar-opposite new comedies The Hangover (very funny) and Land of the Lost (not funny at all), plus Gran Torino on DVD.

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Betting the farm at Mario Batali’s Palazzo farmer’s market

Sarah Feldberg | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (1:35 p.m.)

A farmer's market in a casino? Mario Batali says yes. We say yum.

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Rocksteady prescription

April Corbin | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

If you ask, The Remedies will say they are the cure for musical hunger. Then they’ll admit their name stems from the preferred type of inline skates used by one of the band’s co-founders.

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The Brinkley Girls: The Best of Nell Brinkley’s Cartoons 1913-1940

J. Caleb Mozzocco | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

In 1907, 22-year-old Nell Brinkley moved to New York City and began drawing illustrations for the Hearst syndicate of newspapers. Her subject matter tended to be young, attractive women in the latest fashions (not unlike herself).

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Counting cards

Susanne Forestieri | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

Artists from across the country were invited to create postcard-sized images reflecting the state or city in which they live.

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Rudo y Cursi

Mike D'Angelo | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

Y Tu Mamá También's power duo of Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna are back together, this time under the direction of Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón's brother, Carlos.

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Land of the Lost

Josh Bell | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

This ostensibly fun family movie features vulgar jokes a-plenty—if you ever wanted to see Will Ferrell douse himself in dinosaur urine or learn about the mating habits of sleestaks, then you’re in luck—and completely fails as an effects-driven blockbuster.

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Legislature 2009 Winners and Losers

Las Vegas Weekly Staff | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

Thank God it’s over—who got their way, and who got screwed?

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Random photo of the week

Ryan Olbrysh | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

Sunday, May 31, 2009 | 4:16 p.m. | Flamingo and Paradise.

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The Italian job

Xania Woodman | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

Yes, I’ve washed up on foreign shores like Shakespeare’s Viola to Illyria, only unlike her, I find myself in a well-appointed, well-air-conditioned, preppy little cabana at the back of Azure pool.

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Doin’ the pasty hop

Sarah Feldberg | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

Somewhere between dance move, workout and wardrobe (mal)function is the pasty hop—the bouncing, jiggling movement that causes the tassels on a pair of pasties to spin in mesmerizing circles.

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Peggy plots your planets

Peggy Allison | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

Head for the beach. Take the break you need. Family members may appear a little emotional.

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Animal Collective

Spencer Patterson | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

On Saturday night, I felt proud to live in Las Vegas. I rarely experience that sensation at rock shows.

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Rancid

Josh Bell | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

Although it’s been six years since Rancid’s last album, the Bay Area punks sound like they haven’t been away at all.

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Iggy Pop

Annie Zaleski | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

After a 40-plus-year musical career, Iggy Pop has earned the right to make Préliminaires

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On neutral ground

Deanna Rilling | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

Tired of just about every nightclub in Vegas? Create your own at Chameleon Studios. Behind an unassuming industrial façade lies one of the most gorgeous venues this city has ever seen. But most of us don’t even know it’s there.

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Dogs come out at night

Sarah Feldberg | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

It’s 3 a.m., you’ve been singing karaoke and swigging beers for hours, and now you need meat, preferably a New York-style hot dog with all the trimmings.

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This is the end

C. Moon Reed | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

Scripting a strange night at the Nice Place.

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Hair of the dog

Josh Bell | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

The Hangover is vulgar comedy that goes down easy. For 100 minutes the movie offers a glimpse into the Vegas of myth, the one that people around the world simultaneously crave and fear.

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Truth in the synthetic

Josh Bell | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

The opening film at Cinevegas this year isn’t as high-profile as past offerings The Rocker, Hustle & Flow and Ocean’s 13, but like Ocean’s, it is all about Vegas.

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Wary Harry

T.R. Witcher | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

Reid’s numbers may be down, but can any Republicans beat him?

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The Help Desk

Las Vegas Weekly Staff | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

Assembly overrides Gov. Gibbons’ veto of domestic-partnership bill.

Finally, same-sex couples can have the same rights and responsibilities that the 50 percent of successful married straight couples do.

Las Vegas auction offering Elvis’ pill bottles, the last robe Marilyn Monroe wore before she overdosed.

And our economy has officially hit rock bottom, folks.

Michael Jackson in negotiations to open casino based on Thriller.

Spoke too soon—NOW it’s hit rock bottom.

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The Anti-Wynn

Steve Friess | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

I was a bit confused when I showed up at the Treasure Island on Monday for lunch with its new owner, Phil Ruffin, and his assistant told me on the house phone to meet the Kansas billionaire at Francesco’s Pizzeria.

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The Gods have spoken

Rick Lax | Thu, Jun 4, 2009 (midnight)

The talking statues at the Forum Shops are incomprehensible. These animatronic dinosaurs have been stammering on since 1992, and honestly, they should have hung up their togas and retired years ago.

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A second look at First Food & Bar

Sarah Feldberg | Wed, Jun 3, 2009 (8:40 p.m.)

First Food & Bar, the Palazzo's new "21/7" eatery, opens this Friday. Take a peak before the crowds descend.

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Academic bully talk from Chancellor Rogers about Mrs. Ashley

John Katsilometes | Wed, Jun 3, 2009 (5:23 p.m.)

Chancellor Jim Rogers says there have been allegations that Bonnie Ashley has been abusing her authority (she has no authority, actually) at UNLV.

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John Stagliano on The Girlfriend Experience

John Stagliano | Tue, Jun 2, 2009 (2:53 p.m.)

Acclaimed porn director John Stagliano reviews The Girlfriend Experience starring adult actress Sasha Grey, who he shot in her first pornographic scene.

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It’s official: Bravo confirms “Top Chef: Las Vegas”

Amanda Finnegan | Tue, Jun 2, 2009 (11:35 a.m.)

Bravo has finally confirmed that Top Chef's sixth season will take place in Las Vegas. Say it with me, now: "Duh."

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National “Make Up Your Own Holiday” Day!

Deanna Rilling | Mon, Jun 1, 2009 (7:55 p.m.)

National Tattoo Day is June 3... or is it? We’ve yet to find proof. Kind makes you wonder which holidays are real and which ones someone just created for the sake of a sale…

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Relax pool party kicks off today at the Hard Rock Pool

Melissa Arseniuk | Mon, Jun 1, 2009 (11:58 a.m.)

After a weekend of R&R (rum & Rehab), you need some R&R (rest & relaxation). Enter Hard Rock's Relax pool party.

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Celebrity stalking: Where the pretty people played in Vegas this weekend

Melissa Arseniuk | Mon, Jun 1, 2009 (11:14 a.m.)

Because you really, really need to know what Nicky Hilton had for dinner...

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