Story Archive

Transporter 3

Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008

If you’re looking for effective over-the-top fight scenes, Transporter 3 won’t disappoint. Jason Statham is arguably the most charismatic current Hollywood action hero.

Bonding with a Bud

Getting my drink on at beer-embracing Galaxy Theatres

Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008

I begin looking through the offerings at the concession stand. For once, I’m not looking for Milk Duds or popcorn. I’m looking for beer.

The spicy taste of Mexicotown, Egypt

Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008

It’s a testament to the power of alcohol that I’m able to stomach a standard lime margarita on my way out. But the lure of T&T’s adjoining frozen daiquiri bar, just outside the restaurant, is irresistible.

The Secret Life of Bees

Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008

With a title like The Secret Life of Bees, I suppose bee metaphors are inevitable, so here we go.

Worth the trek

In the wake of Quark’s demise, Downstairs Bar now the final frontier

Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008

First Spock died. Then the Enterprise was destroyed. Then the Next Generation Enterprise was destroyed.

Relax, Comrade

Chilling out with vodka and Lenin’s head at Red Square

Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008

I’ve never known much about Russian culture. In college, our studies focused almost exclusively on Europe, so most of what I know about the former superpower was gleaned from the film The Hunt for Red October (and that Russian guy had a Scottish accent).

Frozen River

Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008

There are few films quite as oppressively bleak as Frozen River. We follow a single mother, Ray (Leo), whose husband has just robbed her blind and taken off to indulge a gambling problem in Atlantic City.

Clone pours

Wine—and a little whining—at The Grape

Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008

The Grape is a welcome addition to this corner of Town Square. It’s a place for good wine, good conversation and good gripes about how Anakin and Count Dooku shouldn’t have fought in The Clone Wars movie because in Episode III, they clearly indicated that they hadn’t seen each other since Episode II!… Of course, it’s entirely possible that we’ll be the only ones to make use of The Grape for that last purpose.

Bottle Shock

Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008

There are few narrative formulas as crowd-pleasing and oft-used as the underdog story. Audiences have a timeless desire to see the snobby nobleman fall face-first in the mud while the salt-of-the-earth everyman soars to unlikely victory.

Mic me

Stripper Karaoke takes (it all) off

Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008

I’ve tagged along on karaoke nights before, but none quite like this. Sure, there’s the usual database of 70,000 songs (including a large Korean selection), and there’s the requisite private room with dual microphones, but between the couch and the screen that will inevitably broadcast the lyrics of Elvis Presley and The Righteous Brothers, there’s an elevated stage with a stripper pole.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Thursday, July 31, 2008

There’s a thin line between “winking at the camera” and “drawing attention to how bad your movie is.” In its third installment, The Mummy franchise crosses that line.

The boonies are good enough

Heading out of town (nearly) in search of a few good cocktails

Thursday, July 24, 2008

The Silverton Hotel & Casino has an off-the-beaten-path sort of feel to it, which is odd considering it’s just off of Las Vegas Boulevard—an exceptionally well-beaten path.

Mamma Mia!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

I remember reading years ago that when John Woo was making Mission: Impossible II, he conceived the action scenes first and then had the screenwriter write his script around those sequences. It showed. The narrative had to strain to explain why there was suddenly a motorcycle chase and where all these doves were coming from, and sometimes it didn’t even bother.

Out with the new, in with the newer

Or, on the other hand, how about a golden oldie?

Thursday, July 10, 2008

In case you didn’t notice from the dozens of enormous cranes littering the skyline, Las Vegas is a city obsessed with the new. Where once there was nothing, there must now be something, and where once there was something, there must now be something new. The old must be redesigned, reinvented and rebuilt. In some cities, places become more precious with age. They become antiques. In Las Vegas, they just become antiquated.

Wine man walking

Bringing the tasting to the streets

Thursday, June 26, 2008

When wine connoisseurs think of great places for their beverage of choice in the western United States, several locales come to mind. There’s the Santa Ynez Valley in central California. There’s Napa Valley in northern California. There’s Green Valley in … Henderson, Nevada?

Help Me Eros

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Ah Jie lost his money in the stock market and calls a suicide hotline for consolation. His counselor is an overweight woman, but he imagines she’s the sexy betel-nut stall girl he’s become infatuated with.

Goliath

Sunday, June 22, 2008

The nameless hero of Goliath is having a bad week. He’s getting divorced, a convicted sex offender just moved into his neighborhood, his job has reassigned him to a department where his co-workers call him “bitch tits,” and his cat (the film’s namesake) has run away. This is a man on the verge of a breakdown, but he’s not quite there yet.

Momma’s Man

Friday, June 20, 2008

Mark Twain once said that it’s a pity that the best part of life comes at the beginning and the worst part at the end. In youth, we’re too inexperienced to appreciate the unconditional care offered by a parent and the freedom from responsibility that allows us to simply sit around and waste time.

Finally, Lillian and Dan

Monday, June 16, 2008

Watching Finally, Lillian and Dan is like being on a first date with someone who thinks it’s going really well, while you’re checking your watch every 30 seconds and debating whether or not to fake receiving an emergency phone call. The film bills itself as an awkward love story.

¿Donde Estan Sus Historias?

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Those who avoid foreign films because they don’t like reading subtitles have nothing to fear from ¿Donde Estan Sus Historias? (Where are Their Stories?). There are only a handful of lines in the entire film, and you could easily ignore everyone who speaks without losing the plot. There’s no plot to speak of. This movie takes minimalism to the max.

Big Heart City

Sunday, June 15, 2008

ambling addict Frank (Andrews) gets his girlfriend pregnant, loses a lot of money at the racetrack and goes out to sea to fish for crab for six months. When he returns, his girlfriend is gone (surprise!). His best friend happens to be gone, too. Can you guess why they’re both gone at the same time?

Wellness

Sunday, June 15, 2008

“Wellness represents a huge paradigm shift in American healthcare,” Thomas Lindsay (Jeff Clark) explains to people throughout the film Wellness, when pitching the titular product/regimen/system. “It’s all-natural, FDA-approved,” he continues, “um … helps the flow of … electrodes in your brain … gives you regular bowel movements with better … uh, shape … and is the first product to ever be distributed globally.”

Sweet Home Sedona

Easy on the eyes, easy on the gas tank

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Enjoying Las Vegas nightlife is a tough job if you live waaaaay out near Summerlin. First, there’s the commute. You have to drive for nearly 10 minutes before you even see the teeny little Stratosphere on the horizon. To make it the rest of the way, you have to run a gauntlet of gas stations—at least a dozen, each boasting a sign announcing in big, bold numbers exactly how much this drive is costing you.

Here's the beef! Dixie's herds 'em in for the grand opening weekend

Dixie's Dam Country Bar opens in the Hooters Hotel & Casino

Thursday, May 29, 2008

You know you’ve had enough to drink when you find yourself on a rock in the middle of the desert early in the morning, staring down a cow with orange spots. And I haven’t even visited this week’s bar yet.

A fashionable finale

It's not the TV show, but the Sex and the City movie still delivers

Thursday, May 29, 2008

The summer’s latest tent-pole event movie doesn’t have digital spaceship battles or whip-cracking adventurers or superheroes soaring between skyscrapers. But it does have not one, not two, but three scenes devoted entirely to showcasing different outfits. It’s what my girlfriend gleefully refers to as “fashion porn,” and it will have women lining up at theaters in their best pairs of shoes the same way Star Wars fans lined up for those movies in their best approximations of Jedi robes.

It's not the years, it's the mileage

One die-hard Indiana Jones fan finds that the new installment fails to live up to 19 years of anticipation

Thursday, May 22, 2008

I’ll just come right out and admit it: I’m typing this review in a battered fedora.

Nightlife Value Menu

Your guide to enjoying the luxurious life in frugal times

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Like much of America, Team Hangover is feeling the crunch—and it’s not of crisp bills in our palms.

Superheroes, robots and chimps in space

Our annual look at the biggest movies set to hit theaters this summer

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Our annual look at the biggest movies set to hit theaters this summer