NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP
HOME
Columns
Contact Us
Store
Event Calendars
Links
Advertise on LVRTC

RSS Feed

Columnists

Judy Thorburn

Jacqueline Monahan

Dianne R. Davis
Maramis
Polly Peluso
Rob Goald
Nikki Artale
Sista Social
Joni Moss

Mitchell Sacharaoff

Other Contributing Writers

Val Jeanne Jupiter

Zee Matulonis

Pete Allman
Dave Rosen

Special Features

Video Interviews

Photo Galleries

Our Sponsors

The Las Vegas Tribune

The Flick Chicks

Trippervision DVD
CineMandala DVD
Music for ET'S CD
Poetry Suite

Showgirls - Las Vegas Round The Clock


 


 

The Flick Chicks - Movie Reviews and More by Women Film Critics
 


 


 


 

Friends of Las Vegas Round The Clock
Vegas 4 Locals newsletter

The Vegas Eye Newsletter

The Circuit - Las Vegas Club Scene Newsletter

Vegas Talk Radio with Charlie Bass

 

Victoria Alexander - The Devil's Hammer
Courtesy of
www.fromthebalcony.com

May 13, 2007

Victoria Alexander - The Devil's HammerBy Victoria Alexander


Las Vegas: Satan Vacations Here

Heavy Honey At Borders Summerlin, My Spider-Man 3 Death Threats, Hay House “I Can Do It” Comes to Las Vegas, Jolie-Pitt ménage a trios revealed?, Where Exactly Is Refugio Altiplano?, Shoe Bomber Redux, Wildman of Russia,  and more...

Spider-Man 3. It was guaranteed to have a huge opening, but its weekend box office shocked Hollywood - $148 million! An all-time record! Critic-proof, I was surprised by the 100 (and still coming in!) emails I personally received condemning me for my negative review posted first on Rottentomatoes.com. My husband noticed I was getting death threats on the “comments” posted under my review.

My review has the largest number of comments made by readers (109 as of Sunday night). However, according to my good friends at RT, the all-time comments honor goes to a critic for the Associated Press who got 172 comments because of her negative review of “300”).

However, she did not merit a RT Forum like I did. My review spawned a RT Forum campaign calling for readers to “unite” to get me thrown off Rottentomatoes.com. The Christian Right can call for a boycott, but RT forum posters?

My quote on RT started it off: “A disappointment. Spidey keeps his mask off and weeps. Everyone cries. I hated the silly monolith sad sack Sandman. Did Dunst’s contract stipulate she sing two songs?”

I knew there would be some backlash but I was not prepared for what I’m still getting even though so many other critics, when their reviews were released, agreed with me. It is a dud with too much weeping!

I said: “Spidey (Tobey Maguire) takes the mask off a lot. The mask is in the way of the star. It seems everyone living in Spideyland knows who is behind the mask except dear Aunt May (Rosemary Harris). Our Spidey cries often. Was weeping in everyone’s contract? Even the dog cried. I did like the demonized black Spider-Man (because he did not cry and enjoyed himself). Spider-Man gets possessed and does bad things. Perhaps he should have gone to the neighborhood exorcist.”

Maybe it was my homoerotic interpretation that two of Spidey’s villains seem madly obsessed with him. The love story – the one between Peter Parker and Mary Jane (not to be confused with the love story between Spidey and New Goblin and Spidey and Venom) is awful.

FOXNews.com’s Roger Friedman reports: “Lucas told me he has seen all the summer movies since his company, Industrial Light and Magic, does most of the special effects. The only one they didn't work on was "Spider-Man 3." What did he think of it? "It's silly. It's a silly movie," he said. "There just isn't much there. Once you take it all apart, there's not much story, is there?"

Heavy Honey. London Mace (in his trademark cowboy hat) and Vladimir Lacas showcased their music on Saturday at Border’s Bookstore in Summerlin. The 15 song set Heavy Honey performed included Vladimir’s “You Walked In.” Heavy Honey used this opportunity to try out new compositions and helped Seattle Coffee introduce and give out samples of their new coffee specialties. The 2-hour Heavy Honey set was a big success!

Vladimir’s myspace page is www.myspace.com/satyasuperhit. You can find samples of Heavy Honey’s music here: www.myspace.com/heavyhoney2

Hay House “I Can Do It Las Vegas” Conference. Join me this coming weekend at the Hay House “I Can Do It Las Vegas” Conference beginning on Thursday, May 17 at the Sands Expo. The Pre-Conference Keynote address is by Colette Baron-Reid who will demonstrate her psychic gift by giving readings to select audience members. Thursday’s opening program will also feature world-renowned psychic and best-selling author Sylvia Browne, who will answer audience questions. This session will conclude with a powerful healing meditation.

On Friday, May 18 there will be several Pre-Conference Workshops. Six-sensory alchemist and vibrational healer Sonia Choquette will introduce her powerful spirit guides and answer psychic questions.

I am looking forward to attending Gordon Smith’s Friday workshop, “Healing with a Spirit Messenger.” In this all-day interactive workshop, renowned psychic medium Gordon Smith will demonstrate how to tap in to the healing powers of the Spirit World and help attendees discover their own innate psychic abilities. Gordon (pictured) will show how to link to spirit and meet guides and helpers on the Other Side.

Brian L. Weiss, who has astonished the world of psychiatry with the theories of past life regression therapy detailed in his best-selling book, “Many Lives, Many Masters,” will give a intensive workshop that includes large and small group exercises, techniques including hypnotic regression exercises, healing visualizations, and intuitional and right brain training, with ample time for questions and answers and personal interaction with Weiss. I Can Do It! 2007

Blind Item Revealed? I love Blind Items! Especially now with the internet, readers can offer their suggestions on the parties involved without fear of getting sued. In the April 5th New York Daily News “Rush & Molloy” column there was a barely blind item asking, “Which megastar couple, whose torrid fling was first flagged in this column, consummated their acquaintance with a ménage a trios?” Many figured the megastar couple was Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Then In Touch magazine reported that Pitt and Jolie were having an affair with 23-year-old supermodel Karolina Kurkova (pictured). An insider dished that Karolina was overheard at a recent fashion fitting talking about her relationship with the couple. The insider says, “She was giddy, acting like a schoolgirl.” However, Karolina, who lives in Manhattan with her boyfriend of four years tells In Touch, “I have never met them.”

We can now understand how Angelina stole Brad from Jennifer Aniston and keeps him interested.

Movies This Week. With John stuck lecturing at a seaside resort in Greece, I’ve been keeping busy doing the things I do, shopping and going out. I saw many films, including “28 Weeks Later” (a terrific bloody zombie movie for fans), “Waitress” (charming and emotional), and “Black Book” (stunning!).

Paul Verhoeven’s “Black Book” washes away the “Showgirls” stink. He had to leave Hollywood to make an important, beautifully directed, enthralling film. One of my favorite films is Verhoeven’s 1983 “The Fourth Man.” Then, of course, there is “Total Recall” and “Basic Instinct.” I even liked “Starship Troopers.” But “Showgirls” damaged everyone’s career: Verhoeven as director, Mighty Joe Eszterhas as lauded screenwriter, and all the performers. Poor Elizabeth Berkley had to go to the New York stage.

Everyone in Verhoeven’s World War ll epic - and at 2 hours 25 minutes, it’s a sweeping epic – is lying, conniving, double-crossing and triple-crossing. And then there are the Nazis.

I liked “Year of the Dog” (for obsessed dog lovers) but hated “Lucky You.” I have lived in Las Vegas for 11 years. I do not know one person who works in a casino or gambles. After seeing “Lucky You” which is about a degenerate gambler in Las Vegas, I now know that Drew Barrymore cannot act.

“Lucky You” does not show Las Vegas off in its best light. Do you think of Las Vegas as Sin City? As a playground for sexy stars and young people throwing their morals to the desert wind for 4 days? Nope!

In “Lucky You” Las Vegas is the graveyard for people so old they don’t enjoy winning money, they just want to have somewhere to go every day. Everyone is hooked up to hospital equipment. Winning just means they can come back the next day to kill time. The production team crowded the casino scenes with homeless people. Las Vegas scared me. The accessory du jour is the latest model of motorized walker. Where were the strippers, the fat girls showing off too much cleavage, and the tourists walking around drinking from 3 foot high bottles?

Shoe Bomber a “Patsy”? A video has been released showing that if the attack by Brit Richard Reid on American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami in 2001 had succeeded, all 197 on board would have died.

Would you have gotten on a flight if Richard Reid was on line in front of you? According to the terrorist manual, blending in was essential!

Terrorists are even advised to wear a little cologne!

So what does Reid do? He turns up disheveled, with no luggage, and tries to pay for his one-way ticket in cash. If Reid was acting on his own, didn’t he read "Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants," the terrorist manual? Was he recruited? Was he a decoy? Or, in a word used by Lee Harvey Oswald, a “patsy” duped into getting caught?

The manual states: “No beards or other "Islamic characteristics." “Do not speak loudly or otherwise draw attention to yourself. Rent apartments in areas where neighbors do not know each other well.” The manual says anyone willing to "undergo martyrdom" should be "able to act, pretend and mask himself" behind enemy lines. Among its instructions are to maintain an appearance "that does not indicate Islamic orientation (beard, toothpick, book, long shirt, small Koran)."

The manual has a list of targets for “blasting and destroying.” First on the list is “Places of amusement".

Pride of Place for Amusement: Las Vegas? There is still no answer why Mohamed Atta, ringleader of the 9-11 terrorist attack that left more than 5,000 people dead, made at least two trips to Las Vegas right before September. We are supposed to believe it was for a little pre-death R&R sanctioned by Islam. In addition to Atta (pictured), authorities also believe that Marwan Al-Shehhi, Nawaf Alhazmi, Hani Hanjour and Ziad Samir Jarrah also visited Las Vegas. All five men were killed in the attacks in New York and Washington.

Authorities on the hijackers’ sponsor, Osama bin Laden, note that counterfeiting has been one of the al-Qaida terrorist network's signatures. Were the hijackers passing off funny money in Las Vegas? Spies and arms dealers have made Las Vegas a second home for more than a generation. Atta stayed at the Econo Lodge near Charleston for three nights; June 29-30 and August 13. "The most important planning occurred in that dingy hotel room,” the New York Times reported.

Wildman of Russia. I finally came across Valentin Sapunov’s report I received when in Russia in 1992. I’d been looking for it for years! Sapunov told me and my colleagues Dr. Rima Laibow and General Bert Stubblebine that in 1989 there was an appearance of a giant white haired man near a military base 50 km from Leningrad. Sapunov interviewed the witnesses.

Soldiers began to detect a tall white figure near the gate of the military compound. It looked like a man and a giant ape. The strange visitor was seen near the barracks, dining room and library. They named the visitor “Big White Man.” Hundreds of civilians, including policemen, also saw the “Big White Man.” The Wildman became more cautious when under surveillance, but several of the soldiers reported making prolong contact with the creature. Sapunov and his team collected many specimens indicating that there were two creatures: one male and one female. (The photo taken by me comes from a Russian exhibition of paintings of Wildman done by an artist who encountered the creature.)

Where Exactly is Refugio Altiplano? Some of TDH readers have asked exactly where it is I am going in July. Refugio Altiplano is a shamanic healing centre outside Iquitos, Peru in the Amazonian jungle conducting ceremonies using ayahuasca and presided over by master ayahuasqueros (ayahuasca shamans).

Refugio explains shamanism according to Mircea Eliade as “…the "technique of ecstasy." Ecstasy refers to the shaman's process of going into a trance, whereby he leaves his body and travels to the upper or lower worlds. Here he engages in activities such as obtaining information, or mediating or negotiating with the spirits in those realms on behalf of the tribe or patient. Tribes and indigenous peoples from around the planet normally include an extraordinary individual identified to be this mediator with Spirit. This person may also be the medicine man, magician, sage, and/or healer. Western society has utilized the label "shaman" to refer to masters of the technique of ecstasy in any culture.”

Drinking the ayahuasca brew allows anyone to enter the Spirit World and have a shamanic visionary experience. Paraphrasing the great Bette Davis: “Ayahuasca is not for sissies.” Refugio Altiplano - Shamanic Healing Centre

Did You Know That Pope John Paul Owned Nothing? The Last Will and Testament of John Paul stated: “I leave no possessions of which it will be necessary to dispose. As for the things I use every day, I ask that they be distributed as seems appropriate. Let my personal notes be burned. I ask that Fr Stanis³aw see to this, and I thank him for his help and collaboration, so understanding for so many years. On the other hand, I leave all my other "thank yous" in my heart before God Himself, because it is difficult to express them.

“With regard to my funeral, I repeat the instructions that were given by the Holy Father Paul VI (here a note in the margin says: burial in the ground and not in a sarcophagus, 13 March 1992). Let the College of Cardinals and my Fellow Citizens decide on the place.”


Paris Hilton More Important Than Anybody. I was told it was supposed to read “Free Iraq” but someone got it wrong.



TDH’s MySpace Friend. John Mark Karr – I think.




If you would like to contact me about this column, or be included on my private distribution list for a weekly reminder, just email me at Masauu@aol.com.

Copyright 2003-2006 FromTheBalcony. All rights reserved.

 

TICKETS & INFO

Shows
Blue Man Group Show Tickets
Criss Angel Believe Show Tickets
Jersey Boys Show Tickets
KA Show Tickets
Le Reve Show Tickets
LOVE Show Tickets
Spamalot Show Tickets
Mystere Show Tickets
O Show Tickets
Phantom Las Vegas Show Tickets
Stomp Out Loud Show Tickets
Stripper 101 Show Tickets
Platters, Coasters, and Marvelettes Show Tickets
Tony & Tina’s Wedding Show Tickets
Toxic Audio Show Tickets
V Show Tickets
Zumanity Show Tickets
Bette Midler Show Tickets
Cher Show Tickets
Elton John Show Tickets
Gordie Brown Show Tickets
Penn and Teller Show Tickets
Roseanne Barr Show Tickets
Wayne Brady Show Tickets
Steve Wyrick Show Tickets
The World’s Greatest Magic Show Tickets
Fab Four Mania Show Tickets
Gregory Popovich Comedy Pet Theater Show Tickets
Chippendales Show Tickets
Nightclubs
Body English VIP Passes
Coyote Ugly VIP Passes
Foundation Room VIP Passes
Ghostbar VIP Passes
Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce VIP Passes
Jet VIP Passes
Pure VIP Passes
Rain VIP Passes
Studio 54 VIP Passes
Tabu VIP Passes
Tao VIP Passes
VIP Club Hopping Packages
VIP Bachelorette Party Packages
VIP Bachelor Party Packages
Voodoo Lounge VIP Passes
Tours
Grand Canyon South Rim Tour Tickets
Grand Canyon SUV and Aerial Tour Tickets
Grand Canyon Helicopter and Ranch Tour Tickets
Hoover Dam Deluxe Tour Tickets
Hoover Dam Mini Tour Tickets
Las Vegas Strip Helicopter Tour Tickets
Neon Lights Tour Tickets
Richard Petty Driving Experience Tickets
Spanish Trail Lunch Ride Tour Tickets
Wild West Sunset Dinner BBQ Ride Tour Tickets
Hotels
Bally’s
Bellagio
Best Western Mardi Gras Hotel and Casino
Caesars
Circus Circus
El Cortez
Excalibur
Flamingo
Four Seasons
Fremont Hotel and Casino
Golden Nugget
Greek Isles Las Vegas Hotel and Casino
Green Valley Ranch Resort and Spa Las Vegas
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Harrah’s
Hooters
Imperial Palace
JW Marriott Las Vegas
Las Vegas Hilton
Loews Lake Las Vegas
Luxor
Mandalay Bay
MGM Grand Las Vegas
Mirage

Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino
New York-New York
Orleans Las Vegas
Palace Station
Palazzo Las Vegas
Palms Las Vegas
Paris Las Vegas
Planet Hollywood Las Vegas
Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa
Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino
Riviera Hotel and Casino
Sahara Hotel and Casino
St. Tropez All Suite Hotel
Stratosphere
Summer Bay Resort
Sunset Station
The Ritz Carlton Lake Las Vegas
The Signature at MGM Grand
The Venetian
The Westin Casuarina Las Vegas
THEHotel at Mandalay Bay
Treasure Island
Tropicana
Trump International Hotel and Tower
Whiskey Pete’s
Wild Wild West
Wyndham Grand Desert
Wynn Las Vegas
Las Vegas Dining
Las Vegas Golf





 


 



 

l
 


 

Please visit our sponsors links below
Get your Trippervision psychedelic video DVD and original Techno-Trance/New Age music soundtrack at http://www.trippervision.com

Get your CineMandala DVD for Meditation and Stress Reduction at http:/www.cinemandala.com
Get your Music For Extraterrestrials electronic music CD at http://www.musicforextraterrestrials.com
The Flick Chicks - Read the latest movie reviews from the Nation's Top Women Critics at http://www.theflickchicks.com


© Las Vegas Round The Clock. All rights reserved.
Reproduction or use of any or all content without permission is strictly prohibited.
Terms of Service