>> The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
>> Identity Thief
>> Gangster Squad
>> Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away
>> Lincoln
>> Zero Dark Thirty
>> Hitchcock
>> The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
>> Hyde Park on Hudson
>> Safety Not Guaranteed

Opening 5.10.13
>> The Great Gatsby (PG-13) [trailer]
>> Peeples (PG-13) [trailer]
>> Aftershock (Limited) (R) [trailer]
>> And Now a Word From Our Sponsor (Limited) (NR) [trailer]
>> Erased (Limited) (R) [trailer]
>> Sightseers (Limited) (NR) [trailer]
>> Venus and Serena (Limited) (PG-13) [trailer]

Coming To DVD/Blu-Ray 5.7.13
>> Safe Haven (2013) [buy]
>> Fringe: The Complete Fifth Season [buy]
>> Jack Reacher [buy]
>> Mama [buy]
>> Superman: Unbound [buy]

Las Vegas: Satan Vacations Here
by Victoria Alexander
August 31, 2009

The Girl Who Cries Blood, Marilyn Manson at Hard Rock’s The Joint, Movies This Week, District 9, The 18 Minute Avatar Sneak Peek, Opus Dei Series, and more...

Marilyn Manson at The Joint. He shocks! He delivers! On Friday, August 21, 2009 I broke my rule and entered the moss pit at The Joint at The Hard Rock.

Yes, that was me.

Marilyn Manson said on his MySpace Blog that “… if one more "journalist" makes a cavalier statement about me and my band I will personally or with my fans help, greet them at their home and discover just how much they believe in their freedom of speech. I dare you all to write one more thing that you won't say to my face. Because I will make you say it. In that manner. That is a threat." Mm

Well, Marilyn, you won’t be coming to my house any time soon. I loved your show!

Marilyn Manson screams and threatens violence! Spits beer and simulates a blow job! He fights with his bass player and then storms off stage!

The concert ran exactly ninety minutes. With the breaks in between songs, including the couple of times Manson walked off stage, the running time was even less. Some fans might have been upset at this, but not me. It was like being in the middle of a reality show.

I loved it!

I was by the railing that separates the stage from the audience - practically front row - sardined by 1,400 MM fans for almost three hours.

Marilyn Manson put on a great show. His voice and stage presence were spot on.

He played some great songs like "Disposable Teens," "Tourniquet" and "The Beautiful People." And some new ones: "We're From America," "Arma-Goddamn-Mother-Fuckin-Geddon" and "Pretty As A Swastika" from the post-Evan-Rachel-Wood-breakup-album "The High End Of Low."

(Was that really rumored ex-girlfriend Wood onstage with Manson?)

For one tune he's dressed like a Nazi Stormtrooper. For another song, he's a Bible-wielding preacher in a cowboy hat.

For "The Dope Show," a roadie administered an 'overdose' to Manson in the form of great big white pills.

Marilyn was in good spirits, shaking hands with the audience.

"Las Vegas is more damned than me!"

Fans climbed over the railing and were promptly escorted out of the venue. No big deal. Then the show abruptly stops. Even as close to the stage as I was, it was difficult to see exactly what was going on, but Manson got into it with a fan that went over the railing.

Manson was screaming, "You wanna fight me motherfucker?!"

When the guy backed off, Manson said "Now apologize to the audience!"

"I'm sorry motherfuckers!"

"No! Don't say 'motherfuckers!' Say you're sorry!"

Later on in the show, Marilyn started to shove his bass player a few times. He sang a few more lines and walked off. The band played for a few minutes, but you could tell they were as confused as the audience. We all waited for close to ten minutes. "Was the show over?" "Is Marilyn coming back on?" "Was the fight staged?" Marilyn did get back on stage with one of his signature hits "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)." He didn't even look at the bass player. When the show ended I don't remember Manson even saying "Goodnight!

What a performance.

Next up for me at The Joint is Creed on September 27th. Creed, one of the most successful rock bands of the past decade, has announced all four of the original band members are back together for a summer tour and new album. http://www.hardrockhotel.com/las-vegas/concerts/

The Girl Who Cries Blood. On Sunday, September 13 at 10 PM National Geographic Channel premieres the fascinating story of Rashida Khatoon, a young girl from northeast India cries tears of blood instead of water.

She and her unusual medical condition have been transformed into a holy shrine where worshipers come to watch in awe as blood drips from her eyelids several times a day.

Can modern science or religious ritual solve the mystery of why a 13 year-old girl from India mysteriously bleeds from her eyes, hands, head, and feet?

Doctors in the region of Patna, India, have no medical explanation as to the cause of this most unusual anomaly, but local Hindu holy men have declared Rashida a miracle. Followers bow in deference as they stand before her, showering her family with holy offerings.

What could be the cause of this weird occurrence? Some have suggested a brain tumor or malfunctioning of tear ducts, but there is no medical evidence to support that. No one in authority in fact, seems to know or will even venture a guess, which is even more disconcerting than to watch the phenomenon, which occurs every few hours. National Geographic Channel

However, Rashida is not the first.

Teresa Neumann was born on Good Friday, April 8, 1898 in Konnersreuth, in northeastern Bavaria. She died in 1962. I have read many books about controversial Teresa Neumann.

On the First Friday of Lent, March 5, 1926, Teresa was confined her to bed. She then experienced a vision of Jesus with three of His Apostles on Mount Olive. After the vision, she noticed she was bleeding from her side, from a wound just above her heart. The next Friday, Teresa went into ecstasy again and the wound reopened and bled again. During subsequent ecstasies, Teresa quickly developed the stigmata, the wounds of Jesus’ suffering.

From 1926 to 1962, Teresa Neumann no longer ate or drank anything taking only the Body and Blood of Our Lord in Holy Communion. She was under continuous observation, whether she was awake or sleeping, and every move she made was scrutinized to find out if she consumed food or drink, but she did not do so.

While re-living Christ's Death on the Cross, Teresa's heart and respiration would completely cease for 45 minutes. Doctors were unable to resuscitate her. After the 45 minutes had elapsed, Teresa would recover completely and rise from her bed.

Movies This Week. “Play The Game” (YES), “Spread” (NO). “The Time Traveler’s Wife (NO).

District 9. A brilliant social commentary. Twenty years after an alien mothership stalled above Johannesburg, South Africa, the glamour of alien visitation has vanished and the city is forced to accommodate 1.2 million stranded refugees. Problem is, the aliens have not, cannot, or will not, assimilate. They refuse to wear clothes. There has been no intra-species dating. Since this is not a cultural exercise on getting along with other lifeforms, but a cosmopolitan problem, we can only assume that while South Africa doesn’t want them, it doesn’t want anyone else to have them either.

Or, the aliens like the weather and the government-issued cat food rations.

Forced into a restricted area known as District 9, the aliens are slum-dwellers along with millions of other South Africans. The U.N. estimates that 100 million people live in slums around the world. One has to understand slums to really comprehend the significance of “District 9”.

What Johannesburg has done is set up an organization, the Multinational United (MNU), a private company, to handle alien affairs. MNU has decided to relocate the aliens to a new location away from the city. The aliens do not want to leave and the responsibility to organize the removal is given to a functionary, MNU field operative Wikus (Sharlto Copley, pictured). His father-in-law runs MNU.

While attempting to get the alien residents to sign eviction paperwork, Wikus discovers an illegal lab run by alien Christopher Johnson (Jason Cope) and his young, brilliant child. Christopher is in lots of trouble now. He’s going to get fined for having an underground lab. Thing is, Christopher has spent the last 20 years attempting to manufacture a liquid substance that will get the mothership moving. Christopher wants to take all the aliens home.

Wikus finds the substance and sprays some of it in his face. Now he’s infected and his DNA gets mingled with alien DNA. After an hour, he begins growing a claw and can fire one of the alien weapons. He becomes a valuable asset to MNU. They want his organs.

Wikus is a wanted man, so the only place he feels he can hide is in District 9. He teams up with Christopher who promises him he can return him to his human self but only after he gets aboard the mothership. They have to go to MNU headquarters and retrieve the liquid substance.

Highly original in concept and visually stunning, “District 9” is a triumph for South African-born Canadian Neill Blomkamp. The story is compelling and in the tradition of great science fiction, envelopes social with moral issues. The aliens are perfectly designed with emotional layers and are fascinating, repulsive creatures. We’ll see more from Blomkamp, a director who can relay social messages in a film without words.

EWTN Series on Opus Dei. Sunday, August 30, Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) began a broadcast a 13-part series about Opus Dei and its founder, Saint Josemaría Escriva.

EWTN's description of the series reads as follows: "Saint Josemaría Escriva ardently desired to open people to God's presence in every aspect of their lives, not just Sunday Mass. This exciting new series explores the life, mission, and apostolate (Opus Dei) of this great modern saint."

There is an Opus Dei women’s group here in Las Vegas.

Avatar Preview. I attended the special sneak peek of 18 minutes of James Cameron’s highly anticipated new 3-D film, “Avatar” which opens nationally December 18th.

The film was first conceived by Cameron 14 years ago, when the technical means to realize his vision did not yet exist. After four years of actual production work, the $237 million–plus movie is poised to be the big event movie of 2009.

Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na'vi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture. As Sully attempts to settle the planet as an alternative home for humanity, he gets in too deep with the Na’vi and ultimately crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival. The film also stars Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Grace Augustine and Michelle Rodriguez as Trudy Chacon.

In the 18 minute trailer, introduced by James Cameron, it is clear that a highly trained group of soldiers are being sent to Pandora. Sully agrees to undergo a physical transformation in a lab. While he retains his human mind, he is a Na’vi in appearance. (Photo above: Sully becomes a Na’vi.)

What is Sully’s mission?

The scenes shown are on the planet’s surface. Sully is stalked by a wild animal but saved by a fierce, incredibly anorexic female warrior. She slays an arena of wild beasts and saves Sully’s life.

Then there is a shift to a scene where Sully and his savior kiss.

All the scenes on the planet are CGI. So, in truth, “Avatar” is an animated film, but beautifully done. Let’s hope it is not Disney-by-way-of-Cameron. The detail is extraordinary. Indeed, there has been nothing like it.

The era of talking vehicles and cartoon animals is over. Cameron has made human-like animated beings human-like.

Sam Worthington, who easily took “Terminator Salvation” away from Christian Bale (as iconic John Connor), is positioned to be a huge star. But how much is Worthington actually in “Avatar”?

Worthington’s next project is the reboot of “Clash of the Titans” playing the role of Perseus. While we vaguely remember the 1981 Harry Hamlin-starring film, we hope the new director, Louis Leterrier, looks more for inspiration from “300” instead of the 1981 film.

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.

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