CineVegas 2009

The freshness of Marc Webb’s love-me/love-me-not love story is epitomized by its perfectly framed tag lines…Boy meets Girl—Boy falls in love—Girl doesn’t. What else can you say about a postmodern love story? Not only is this delightfully surprising dissection of a romance structured so that it catches us continually off guard, but the classic tale of love unrequited is turned as topsy-turvy as a Shakespearian farce. Directed with verve, pace, and confidence by first-time filmmaker Webb and replete with Los Angeles settings that are distinctive and interesting, 500 DAYS OF SUMMER never descends into ordinary romance. The typical premise of the love story—that we want what we can’t have—is fueled by a role reversal and energized by dance numbers, split screens, and two dynamic performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. That Tom, a hapless greeting-card copywriter, and the alluring Summer, his temporary office mate, fluctuate between the highs and lows of infatuation, dating, sex, and separation is the conventional aspect of an unconventional tale of self-discovery and relationships. Distributed by FOX SEARCHLIGHT

An acting class. First up: the orgasm scene from “When Harry Met Sally."

In movies, when two twenty somethings serendipitously wind up under the same Manhattan roof, witty repartee follows before a trip into bed. But that’s not the case in ADAM, where such a romance is anything but familiar. Soon after moving in, brainy Beth encounters an odd Adam, and while chemistry flows, Adam’s awkwardness and oblivious is perplexing. Then one night, Adam regales Beth with an elaborate outer-space light show, a magical moment, tainted slightly by his obsessively thorough astronomical explanation. Their connection is palpable. What makes this story about human intimacy credible is its psychological wisdom; what makes it transcendent is the intelligence radiating from actors Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne. Though the couple’s challenges are extraordinary, their dynamic elucidates something universal: trul connection means bravely stretching into discomfiting territory and the shake-up can be liberating. Distributed by FOX SEARCHLIGHT

Two 8-bit video game characters confront the void.

You could say that poker is a microcosm of the American dream. It’s the rags-to-riches, overnight success story that gets people every time — the “lucky strike” mentality that has fueled so many American dreamers since the Gold Rush. It all rings true in poker rooms, gaming houses, and, yes, once again even in living rooms across the country. Three decades ago, there was a card table in nearly every household. But then poker lost favor and was nearly shut out of casino game rooms in the late ‘80s. But in the last decade, thanks to television, movies and the internet, poker has had a rebirth not only as an unbelievably popular game but as an unbelievably tangible lifestyle. Director Douglas Tirola takes us through the full deck of poker’s new renaissance. ALL IN - THE POKER MOVIE combines interviews with the elite gamers and big dreamers with celebrity opinion (Matt Damon, Jennifer Tilly, Ira Glass), showing us what has made the game such a phenomenon: from the booming Internet business to a heated moral and political debate; from a hit song and film to a fairytale story of an online amateur turned gaming superstar.

Vincent Allen goes to the doctor and finds out he’s an asshole.

The nymphomaniac virgin, the twin-less trophy wife, and the rapping stockbroker are a little off. Likewise, the electronics-loving Lolita, the faded pin-up girl, and the paranoid are not quite right. But when these six would-be patients compete for the last available bed in a luxurious insane asylum… well, that’s just plain crazy. And, without a doubt, absurdly appealing. ASYLUM SEEKERS’ mood-driven cinematography and production design create a Terry Gilliam-esque world of freaky characters and cracked institutions that point to the surreal but are uncomfortably close to reality. Director Rania Ajami blends absurdity with psychotherapy and madness with magic realism. Touching upon the themes of identity, normality, sexuality, romance, reality, and the idea of what exactly constitutes insanity, Ajami lays out a colorful vision that matches her colorful characters. Along with her performers, all of whom help us connect with the disconnected, she delivers what is not just an exaggerated observation of the people society doesn’t willingly accept, but a reflective one that questions the human condition — one that is as whimsical as it complex, as comedic as it is chaotic.

A titanic beauty spreads a macabre wave of horror! A terrifying masterpiece of shock and chills! Phlandering husband Harry wants to get rid of alcoholic wife Nancy and run away with the family fortune and his mistress. Constant verbal abuse and a flat-out murder attempt almost worked. He might get away with it – but then the ALIEN encounter! A genie in a flying saucer has been whizzing by and Nancy gets too close. Now she’s 50 feet tall and growing faster than the chains of society can hold her back. The pure guilty pleasure of a B-movie is alive and tall in this classic from 1958. The effects and dialogue aren’t going to impress – they are going to amuse like crazy. Yet while you are laughing at the sheer sillyness, you will be ecstatic when she finally starts kicking ass on all men. Come enjoy the 1950s glory of watching movies outside at the one-night only CineVegas drive-in. Walk up and sit down under the beautiful neon of Fremont Street and watch the statues come alive. Bring your steady girl and drink a mai-tai. Its June in Vegas.

Even among the subculture superstars of '60s and '70s New York, few shone as brightly as the transgender pioneer Candy Darling. As part of a sexually groundbreaking generation that picked away at gender lines, James Slattery transformed into Candy, a beautiful blonde who fit seamlessly into Andy Warhol’s Factory scene. She was an artistic muse to many: Candy glowed in Paul Morrissey’s illustrious underground films FLESH and WOMEN IN REVOLT; Lou Reed wrote “Walk on the Wild Side” and “Candy Says” about her; .Tennessee Williams wrote a starring role for in Small Craft Warnings ; Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton and a young Robert Mapplethorpe photographed her ethereal beauty. Yet, tragically, though she dreamed of becoming a Hollywood star, y she died of lymphoma in the early '70s at only 29 years of age. BEAUTIFUL DARLING explores Candy’s life and meteoric rise to fame, alongside the story of Candy’s longtime friend Jeremiah Newton. As is discovered, with as much of herself that she revealed to the public, just as many facets of her life were deeply private. New interviews and fabulous vintage footage paint a portrait of a person that still excites and inspires today with a lasting mantra: whatever the obstacles, be true to yourself.