Vegas Movies

There are a ton of movies about Las Vegas and filmed in Las Vegas. Some are great, and some just plain stink. I wanted to mention a few of my faves here and also to say that a great way to get geared up for your next trip is to watch a movie about Sin City.

In no particular order:

• Ocean's 11 and Ocean's 13: By Ocean's 11 I mean the remake with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Don Cheadle, etc. The original with the Rat Pack is good, but this is one of the few times I like the remake better! These are both really fun movies about a bunch of folks who want to steal a great deal of money from casinos. Complete fiction, and they take a lot of liberties, but you have to lose yourself in them and put away your "that could never happen!" hat. I could watch these two movies over and over and over…
  
• Viva Las Vegas: Elvis, cars, Ann Margaret and Las Vegas. What else could you ask for? There's singing, dancing, gambling, cars that turn over and explode (and no one seems to care) and more. Plus you get to see what Fremont Street looked like in 1964.
  
• The Hangover: Ok, it's immature. It's sophomoric. It's moronic. And it's really, really funny. I say "ouch!" a lot during this move, given what happens to the cast of characters, and it has all of the elements of a disastrous Vegas weekend. You'll see costumed characters on the Strip and Downtown dress like Alan (Zach Galifianakis) with baby Carlos from this movie.
  
• Casino: Sometimes, gambling is a good thing. Like when you hit your point in craps or you get a blackjack or hit a jackpot on the slots. Sometimes, it's a bad thing. Like when you get your head squeezed in a vice or your hand beaten with a hammer. Casino highlight the bad things and is loosely based on the story of Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, his wife (Geri), Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, and the Stardust hotel.
  
• Vegas Vacation: My luck at the blackjack table is almost as bad as Chevy Chase's, but I bet in smaller quantities so it's not as painful. My favorite scene is when Audry (played by Marisol Nichols) is hanging out with her cousin Vicki (Shae D'lyn) and friends in the Neon Museum's Boneyard. When Audry finally starts letting loose and enjoying herself by dancing on top of one of the neon signs, Vicki's friends says "She's going to break a lot of hearts" to which Vicki replies, "She's gonna break something."

Honorable Mention:

• Bugsy
• Rain Man
• 3000 Miles to Graceland
• 21
• Last Vegas

What are you favorites? 
Viva,
Mike