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 by
Jacqueline Monahan
jaxn8r@msn.com
CineVegas Film Festival’s
Tenth Anniversary – Part I
CineVegas X (10) rolled into town on June 12th and hung around until the
21st, stuffing the Brenden Theatre at the Palms Casino Resort full of
celebrities, filmmakers, film aficionados and press. It was the first
time I’d seen the top of the resort’s parking garage due to the extra
crowd, but the twelfth time I’d laid eyes on Festival Chairman, Dennis
Hopper, always a distinguished and committed presence among the red
velvet seats.
CineVegas Advisory Chair Dennis Hopper and wife
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Artistic Director Trevor Groth introduced most of the selections for
which I was able to secure a ticket. Dreadful new lottery-like
regulations coupled with three-tier press permits of varying access made
for a greatly curtailed film-going experience this year, but your humble
correspondent persevered, and was able to sit in the dark for ten
features, four shorts, and three “Conversations With” sessions featuring
Don Cheadle, Viggo Mortensen and an elegant Anjelica Huston.
CineVegas Artistic Director Trevor Groth
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
The following six-pack of cinematic offerings took place on various days
and times, usually before a full house, and attended by the director and
some of the actors. I’ll say this for film festival audiences – they are
a most open-minded, intelligent and respectful crowd, ready to embrace
talent or at least reserve judgment until the bitter end in most cases
(not always). With that, I offer a small cross-section of CineVegas
offerings as follows:
The Rocker: This opening night comedy was so well attended that there
was not a single empty seat in the house. Rainn Wilson, in the audience
watching himself blown up to blue whale proportions, stars as
over-the-hill rock drummer Robert Fishman, who gets a second chance at
superstardom. The Rocker is a feel-good film with a
never-too-late-to-follow-your-dream message. British director Peter
Cattaneo was also on hand, along with cast members Jane Lynch and Emma
Stone. A real crowd pleaser that should do well commercially.
Red Carpet arrivals for premiere of 'The Rocker' at the Palms
'The Rocker' star Rainn Wilson (with headband), CineVags Advisory Chair
Dennis Hopper (center) and CineVegas Artistic Director Trevor Groth
(center kneeling)
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
'The Rocker' star Rainn Wilson
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Cocaine Cowboys II: Hustlin’ with The Godmother: Grueling and brutal
documentary about the life of Colombian-born Griselda Blanco, notorious
cocaine kingpin and ruthless murderer as recounted by her employee/lover
Charles Crosby, using archival footage and photos along with interviews.
The true story made me appreciate my mundane, bling-less life by
contrast. This sequel, like its predecessor, Cocaine Cowboys, was
written and directed by Billy Corben, who can also add Raw Deal to his
list of critically acclaimed feature documentaries.
She Unfolds by Day: Pseudo-documentary about a complex mother/son
relationship. She’s slipping into the heightening delusions of advancing
Alzheimer’s. He’s contending with Cystic Fibrosis and an unsatisfactory
social life. A fox terrier stars as the creature most in love with his
own existence in this story of passing days, cycles of nature, and the
changes they bring. Director Rolf Belgum spent fours years collecting
images for his film and was hand for a post-screening Q & A. Grand Jury
Prize Winner. Preceded by: Clear Glasses – a 4 minute short that
explores what happens when an ordinary item is viewed in a more
historical context. In this case, the titular glasses worn by Weatherman
revolutionary Mark Rudd. Directed by Sam Green.
Memorial Day: Another pseudo-documentary taking the viewer from a spring
break-like binge of young people drinking, stripping, copulating and in
general acting crudely, to an Iraqi prison patterned after Abu Ghraib,
where the abuse continues, this time perpetrated on others by the same
revelers, now in U.S. Army uniforms. The film is a raw, unvarnished look
at the “Ugly American” in attitude and behavior. More than 20 people
walked out of this screening, but many more stayed, mesmerized. Attended
(and fiercely defended) by director Josh Fox and an entourage of actors
and production crew.
Get Smart: This highly anticipated festival blockbuster (and charity
event) was screened in the theater that normally hosts the live Las
Vegas favorite STOMP! The screen was relatively small, with some seats
having an obstructed view, but the house was packed as Steve Carell and
Anne Hathaway attempted to reprise the beloved roles that made the
television series a long-running hit. Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) made a
special appearance on behalf of The Rock Foundation’s special program,
Project Knapsack supplying pen-pals and school supplies between American
students and their peers in developing countries. Johnson was also
presented with a Brenden Celebrity Star by Johnny Brenden, president and
CEO of Brenden Theatres, at the Palms Casino Resort.
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Visioneers: A great futuristic premise about the stresses of daily life,
with citizens literally exploding from the pressure. Protagonist George
Washington Winsterhammerman works in a mind-numbing world where the
middle finger has evolved into a polite greeting. All of the country’s
elite, from politicians to industry leaders coalesce to create a
sanitized, lobotomized society where everyone is happy and given tips to
remain on an even keel. Original thought is discouraged to the point of
being prosecuted. A weak ending mars this otherwise original vision of a
world gone stoically insane. Visioneers received the CineVegas Dramatic
Audience Award, presented by Cadillac. Directed by Jared Drake.
Stay tuned to this space for four more features, three shorts, and party
scene commentary in the next issue’s second and final installment of
CineVegas X.
For further information:
http://www.cinevegas.com
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