Vegas Day 8

Last day in Vegas :(

To start off the day I had a ham and cheese brioche, which was delicious. We checked out and walked to the Luxor to hangout.

We left the Luxor and took a cab to the airport. Our cab driver was the worst he didn't even know where he was going. The security at the airport was crazy; shoes off, everything out of your pockets, no belts, a full 3 second body scan and hair pat down. After the body scan I didn't feel very good and neither did my friends. (Going to need to look into this)

Our plane was late, good thing I booked the later bus. But the bus was also late. I finally arrived home at 1AM. Next up Christmas.

Vegas Day 7

After the "world not ending and stuff" we decided to indulge ourselves in as much seafood as possible at the Todai Buffet at Planet Hollywood. After lunch we went to the Mirage but the Secret Garden tiger habitat was too expensive. So we decided to go to the Flamingo to see the flamingos, which is free.

We went back to the hotel before splitting up to do our own thing in the evening. Before heading out I packed and tidied my room.

I spent my evening walking through the Cosmopolitan, Planet Hollywood, Paris and Bally's. And I rode the Monorail to Caesars. Along the way I saw Mr. and Mrs. Claus, three guys kiss each other, a rainstorm at Planet Hollywood's Miracle Mile shops and the Bellagio fountain show. Tomorrow is my last half day in Vegas.

Vegas Day 6

Woke up at 2AM today. For brunch we went to La Salsa Cantina at the Showcase Mall. Afterwards we checked out the Coca Cola store and M&M store. Unfortunately MGM was undergoing some serious renos so we did they to see Dorothy and Toto. :(

We looked at the new Tropicana but it wasn't the sanest all it was missing the Easter Island heads. We carried on to Mandalay Bay to see their shark reef. There was a cross breed shark, part sting ray part shark that looked really cool after seeing 200 species of finder water creatures we headed to Egypt. The Luxor pyramid to be exact. Fun fact: the light on the top of the pyramid shines so bright you can see it in space.

My friend Liam and I decided we would brace the cold and check out Minus 5 an ice bar, in the desert. Sadly the bar didn't allow pictures otherwise you would of seem us hanging out on a bed of ice with some fur pelts all while sipping an "Iceman" from a glass made of ice.

After the ice bar Liam let me indulge in a famous hotdog at Pink's. I had the Planet Hollywood Dog, which was polish sausage, caramelized onions, mushrooms, cheese and 3 strips of bacon AKA a heart attack.

After the hotdog weren't back to the hotel to soak in the hot tub before going out to party for the end of the world. We got drunk and wandered around the strip. At "the end of the world" we found a Thai prayer place and made a wish for the year.

Vegas Day 5

My friend wasn't feeling well so I went out on the strip myself for a few hours. Went shopping at Ross and the Coca Cola store. Then I had lunch in New York at a Mexican restaurant.

Picked up our tickets to Absinthe and then went for dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp. Liam and I got a Bubba drink and were given a tall pint glass to keep. We headed back to the hotel to soak in the hot tub.

Absinthe was a great mix of crudeness and great talent and it happened about 10 feet away. This sexy cabaret is definitely not for the politically correct person. There was burlesque, shirtless men, a few banana hammocks and lots of talk about penises. But a Las Vegas must I laughed my ass off, all while being amazed by the performers.

Vegas Day 4

We spent the day Downtown at the Fremont Experience. Taking pictures of the old neon signs. We went to Main Street Casino for their lunch buffet. Filled up our football shaped glass with 99 cent margaritas at the Fremont Casino. Had our picture taken with $1,000,000 at Binions. Saw a 61 pound gold nugget at the Gold Nugget Casino. Had dinner at Mackie's an Irish mermaid taco place. Liam almost won us a lobster for dinner. As we left Mackie's it hailed on us. I guess you can't escape Vancouver weather.

On our way back to the strip we stopped off at the Stratosphere to go up and take a look at the view from the 107th floor. The view was full of lights that just seemed to go on and on.

Vegas Day 3

This morning we decided it would be a good idea to take the morning shuttle to the grocery store. We got a bunch of vegetables and alcohol of course.

We got back to the hotel made avocado, shrimp sandwiches for lunch and then headed to the hot tub. Raisined out we headed back to our room got ready and went to the half off ticket booth by Planet Hollywood to buy tickets to see Vegas The Show. It was a history of Vegas through the decades. A great show of singing, legs and butts as well as a good run through the history of Vegas for those who don't know.

After the show we headed back to the hotel hot tub for some R&R.

Vegas Day 2

Today we headed down the strip to the Bellagio to see their Christmas display and hand blown glass. After the Bellagio we went to the Venetian aka Venice. There were gondolas with Italian men singing which was funny. The Wynn was next. We took some pictures in their christmas
themed gardens and parasols. We had a cocktail at the Parasol Up, I had a Blood Orange Cooler which was very refreshing.

Then we went to Encore an Asian infusion hotel with butterflies for good luck. We continued on to the Riviera where we joined the Crazy Girls lineup. Next was Circus Circus where played arcade games and watched Alexandra the acrobat hang from a hammock. We ate dinner at La Salsa Cantina a pretty good place to grab a bite and sample some tequila.

We spent a quiet night at the hotel in the hot tub with our bubuzela.

VEGAS Day 1

I know the rule "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" but I just can't help writing about it.

We woke up to a snowy Vancouver at 7AM to catch our Quick Shuttle bus to the Bellingham Airport. Caught our flight at 2PM on Allegiant Airways. ($245 with tax round trip bus included) We arrived in beautiful Las Vegas at sun set. Checked into our hotel aka my Timeshare. Showered, changed and headed down the strip to Caesars.

I bought tickets to see Shania Twain! So I was really excited. The show was amazing she brought not one but two horses on stage with her. After that I met up with Jess and Liam at the Forum shops. We watched the fall of Atlantis and then wondered the streets of Vegas with a little liquid courage until 3AM.

Can't wait to see what Day 2 brings.

Rust and Bone Review

I have heard nothing but good things about this film so I decided to finally watch it. The film stars Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts, as Stephanie and Ali. It's the story of two people who are lonely; a father who decides to move in with his sister to take care of his 5 year old son and a killer whale trainer who was in an accident at work and lost both her legs. The film is based on the short stories from the book "Rust and Bone" by Canadian author Craig Davidson. The cinematography is just beautiful. There are moments in the film where there are no sound at all, which makes the viewer pay close attention to the images. The performances are amazing in this film. Marion Cotillard's is able to show her character's pain without saying a word and that is real acting. There were also little hints to both Stephanie and Ali's physical pain in the first act which I thought was a nice touch. I also enjoyed the similarities to the killer whale and Ali's animal strength in which Stephanie was attracted to. And Ali's "Rocky" scene was done in a very understated way which I enjoyed. The ending was well done and made me think about Ali's character and his consequences.

I'm pretty sure this film will be up for awards and rightly so, it was a beautifully done.

WFF Day 4

Day 4 was an awesome day! I started work at 10AM with the MPPIA short film pitches. Two of the five pitches I thought were unique and interesting while the others didn't push my button. I was able to sit in on two of the short film showcase panels as well. The first talked about short film distribution, where I learned a few new things. The panel also confirmed some methods of distribution I have already been doing which is good. After the distribution panel I was able to sit in on the Pixar Canada panel with the director of Partysaurus Rex, Mark Walsh. After the panel Mark signed some posters so I grabbed a couple for friends.

I met up with one of the vollies ate some dinner before heading to one more film. We saw Mars et Avril which was stunning. It's a sci fi film about a 70 year old jazz musician and a young photographer who is in love with him. The film is a great mix of love and music. The visuals were also a highlight. Even if the story isn't up your alley watch it just for the amazing visuals. Check out the trailer here.

After the film we went back to the hotel and got ready for the launch party of Cine Coup at The Longhorn. I did some schmoozing. At around 1AM a few of us headed over to The Westin for an after party in Carl Bessai's suite. We ended up getting kicked out of Carl's room around 3AM but the party carried over to the Tantalus Lodge (which was where I was staying). Kate Isabelle showed up and we partied on until 4AM.

My Whistler trip was pretty successful I'd say, I got a Cap Film shirt, a Columbia jacket, watched 6 films and met some great filmmakers

WFF Day 3

I started at 9AM this morning greeting industry guests before morning panels. At 12:45 I got a 5 hour break, grabbed some lunch and chilled out in my hotel room.

At 2PM I went and saw Between Us starring Julia Stiles, Melissa George, Taye Diggs and David Harbour. A first film from the co-founder of Slamdance Festival. Based on a popular play, the film follows two couples who were/are close friends but have been divided by their success or lack there of, focusing mainly on each couple's marital problems. This film felt a lot like the 1966 film Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Which if you haven't seen you really should.

At 5:30PM it was back to work. This time I was doing the door with two lovely Glacier Girls. The film The Movie Out Here is sponsored by Kokanee and this was the premiere so there was a big VIP reception before hand. This is a Canadian Mountain Culture film and was shot in Western Canada. Check out more here http://www.themovieouthere.ca/

Sadly the film was sold out so I wasn't able to go. But I instead got a ticket to see Knife Fight starring

Carrie-Anne Moss, Rob Lowe, Julie Bowen, David Harbour and Eric McCormack. This was a very Sorkin-esque political satire following Rob Lowe's character; the perfect political con-artist, I mean strategist. Knife Fight goes behind the scenes of two regular politician campaigns and a passionate up and comer. The political roughness is very well done most likely due to co-writer is Chris Lehane (a Democratic consultant who was spokesman for Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign, and for the Clinton White House). The one drawback is that there are too many characters who aren't flushed out which drags the film down.