>> The Switch
>> Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
>> The Other Guys
>> Salt
>> Inception
>> Cyrus
>> The Last Airbender
>> Grown Ups
>> Toy Story 3
>> The Human Centipede

Opening 9.10.10
>> Resident Evil: Afterlife (R) [trailer]
>> Bran Nue Dae (Limited) (Not Rated) [trailer]
>> Heartbreaker (Limited) (Not Rated) [trailer]
>> I'm Still Here (Limited) (Not Rated) [trailer]
>> Legendary (Limited) (PG-13) [trailer]
>> Lovely, Still (Limited) (PG) [trailer]
>> The Romantics (Limited) (PG-13)
>> The Virginity Hit (Limited) (R) [trailer]

Coming To DVD/Blu-Ray 9.7.10
>> Supernatural: The Complete Fifth Season [buy]
>> The Office: Season Six [buy]
>> Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season [buy]
>> Jillian Michaels: Shred-It With Weights [buy]
>> Criminal Minds: Fifth Season [buy]

Las Vegas: Satan Vacations Here
by Victoria Alexander
December 7, 2009

Order of Consular Emissaries at the Parisian Palace, Movies This Week, Review of Precious, Hash House Opens on The Strip, Fat Merchants, Witchdoctors Need Albinos, My New Best Friend, and more...

Order of Consular Emissaries at the Fabulous Parisian Palace. Nico Santucci, Designer/ Restaurateur, will be hosting the 1st Annual Cocktails With Consuls on December 8, 2009 from 6-10 p.m. at the Parisian Palace. The Palace, known for its celebrity residents and lavish galas, will become the Official Seat of the Order in Southern Nevada in an official dedication by The Order of Consular Emissaries. With the event being co-hosted by The Order of Consular Emissaries; The Palace Club, which boasts international dignitaries in its ranks; Nevada Technology Catalyst Group, and Capo’s Italian Steakhouse, also owned by Santucci, three newly appointed consuls in Las Vegas will be introduced.

All Honorary Consuls residing in this country are vetted by the U.S. State Department and carry U.S. State Department. I.D.

(I hope this I.D. helps with getting through security at airports – I’ll ask.)

Also in attendance will be our dear friend, Ken Walther (pictured), Special Projects Manager of the Consular Chamber of Commerce and CEO of sponsoring company Nevada Technology Catalyst Group, who will speak regarding personal security for the international business person. As Technical Undercover Operative of the clandestine services, he spent nearly three decades as a covert, true-to-life practitioner of CIA spy technology, assumed various covers and identities in working targets around the globe. He spent time in 102 countries while living overseas for 20 years countering terrorism, genocide, espionage and assassination.

Cocktails with Consuls is free to members of the Consular Chamber of Commerce, the Order of Consular Emissaries, and the Palace Club. Admission is $25 for non-members if tickets are purchased in advance or $50 at the door. RSVP at http://consularemissary.wordpress.com/

HASH HOUSE A GO GO Opens Inside Imperial Palace on Dec. 10. A few days ago we stopped by the very busy Hash House on West Sahara to sample their huge, large-pizza-sized pancakes.

The delicious servings, I studied all the plates leaving the kitchen, were enormous. Everyone was taking home shopping bags of their breakfast.

Imperial Palace proudly announced that Hash House A Go Go will open its second Las Vegas location inside the hotel-casino on Dec. 10. Hash House A Go Go is famous for its creative menu offerings, over-sized portions, unique presentation and a tradition of using only the freshest ingredients. And, they have a very loyal customer base, something Imperial Palace is quite aware of.

Hash House A Go Go offers patrons an exhaustive list of breakfast, lunch and dinner options. Some of its standout, signature dishes include Sage Fried Chicken, stacked with bacon waffles, hot maple caramel reduction and crowned with fried leeks; the HH Famous Roasted Chicken Pot Pie, an upside down crust stuffed with house roasted chicken, red potato, veggies and pan gravy served with mashed potatoes; and Andy’s Crispy Indiana Style Hand-Hammered Pork Tenderloin with griddled smoked mozzarella, caramelized onions, fresh spinach, Portobello mushrooms, house charred tomato and bar b’ que cream all served with horseradish mashed potatoes and grilled corn o’ cobb. The restaurant also features a bar, complete with a full menu of adult beverages and creative cocktails.

The Imperial Palace location will operate under the direction of Hash House A Go Go co-owner and Nevada Restaurant Association’s 2009 “Nevada Restaurateur of the Year,” Jim Rees (pictured with guests. Photo by Nikki Artale). Jim was so engaging, I am sure the patrons of the Sahara location will miss him!

Movie Reviews. I have been seeing movies non-stop, often 2 a day. So here is a quick wrap-up: “A Single Man” (YES. Fashion Designer Tom Ford becomes a very skilled director. The film is based on a Christopher Isherwood story about a man dealing with the sudden death of his male lover); I have complained about the ego of Tom Ford in another column, as a vain, poster-boy as a sizzling hot, gay man. But “A Single Man” is a very well done, erotic film. Ford has a film career (that’s Tom with the feather). (http://www.fromthebalcony.com/devilshammer.php?id=27); “Leap Year” (NO. We have seen this movie many times before. A woman decides to get her boyfriend of 4 years to marry her by following him to Ireland and proposing. She meets a sexy tavern owner instead); “The Lovely Bones” (YES. Peter Jackson has a triumph!), “Up in the Air” (YES. George Clooney – without a stitch of man-makeup, brings compassion to a very tough role), “Armored” (YES, I love a bank heist).

Movie Review. “PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE”. I abandoned the book early on. It was unreadable and written in ebonics. With every page my IQ dropped 10 points. The film, however, is astonishing and simply brilliant.

Who is Sapphire’s Machiavellian agent? How did Sapphire get the name of her novel and her name in the title? It is so outrageously egotistical and offensive that I am amazed Sapphire allowed Lee Daniels to direct and Damien Paul to write the screenplay.

I bet Sapphire (pictured) had to be talked out of her demand to play Precious.

The brilliance of PRECIOUS belongs to director Lee Daniels. He got fantastic performances out of newcomer Gabourey Sidibe (pictured, who plays “Precious”), Mo’Nique (as her mother, Mary), Paula Patton and even Lenny Kravitz and Mariah Carey.

Mariah Carey desperately wants to be an actress. Misguided and humiliated early on (GLITTER), she is now on the right track. She makes a terrific impression in her low-key, small but important role. Why do singers and models (Cindy Crawford jumps to mind) think their first movie role should be as the star?

As for Mo’Nique (pictured), she had me leaving the theater shaking. This is the fearless performance impossible to beat in the Best Supporting Actress category (though gossip sites said Mo’Nique was already a high-strung diva, demanding money for interviews. We know (but apparently not Mo’Nique) that nominees and potential nominees have to wine, dine, and pick up Academy voter’s dry cleaning.)

Mo’Nique, get with the program. Voters expect personal appearances at screenings and lunches. George Clooney probably made house calls – not that he didn’t deserve to win Best Supporting Actor for SYRIANA, but you know he wasn’t about to leave it to chance.)

Carey will take her great reviews and jump into a silly romantic comedy with Gerard Butler; Mo’Nique will star in anything that shows her off as a glamorous and desirable woman. They will both get top billing and lots of screen time. They will care more about their wardrobe budget than the screenplay.

PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE is the story of 16-year-old Clarice (“Precious”) who must have once been “precious” but is now pregnant for the second time from her father. Precious has a Down’s Syndrome daughter (Precious calls her “Mongo”) who is cared for by her grandmother and an unhappy, resentful mother. Mary beats her and treats Precious like a house slave.

Precious is obese and, after continued humiliation at school, is offered a chance to join an alternative educational program. The few students in the program must write in a journal every day. Even though Precious cannot read, she can write!

Precious comes under the care of teacher Ms. Rain (Paula Patton) and social worker Mrs. Weiss (Carey). Director Daniels gives us an intimate look into inner life of Precious, showing that in her fantasies, she is a blond, blue-eyed girl. Her rich fantasy life – her marriage to her math teacher, her career as a famous rap star – helps her survive the abject cruelty of her life.

I loved the small touches that Daniels gave this harrowing story. There is not one moment that looks manufactured.

Sidibe is sensational and perfect. While I gave away the book, I am nominating PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE for Best Picture of 2009 and Lee Daniels for Best Director. Mo’Nique has given the best Supporting Actress performance of 2009.

Gang Killed People For Their Fat. An entrepreneurial gang in the remote Peruvian jungle has been killing people for their fat, police charged, draining it from their corpses and offering it on the black market for use in cosmetics. Medical experts expressed skepticism that a major market for fat might exist.

However...

Three suspects have confessed to killing five people for their fat. The suspects, two of whom were arrested carrying bottles of liquid fat, told police it was worth $60,000 a gallon ($15,000 a liter).

The suspects told police the fat was sold to intermediaries in Lima, the Peruvian capital. One suspect confessed that the gang would cut off its victims' heads, arms and legs, remove the organs, then suspend the torsos from hooks above candles that warmed the flesh as the fat dripped into tubs below.

Six members of the gang remain at large, adding that in addition to the five killings the suspects confessed to, the gang may be involved in dozens more. The band's fugitive leader, 56-year-old Hilario Cudena, has been killing to extract fat from victims for more than three decades!

Has Cudena visited the U.S.? We’ve got tons of obese people who would gladly sell them the fat that is removed from their gastric bypass surgeries! I sense a big growth industry in fat.

At least 60 people are listed as missing in Huanuco province, where the gang allegedly operated, this year alone, though the province is also home to drug-trafficking leftist rebels. Gang Killed People For Their Fat: Peruvian Police.

African Witchdoctors Want Albinos for Magic. As many as 10,000 albinos are in hiding in east Africa over fears that they will be dismembered and their body parts sold to witchdoctors, the Red Cross said in a recent report.

The killings of albinos in Burundi and Tanzania, who are targeted because their body parts are believed to have special powers, have sparked fears among the population in the two countries, the report said.

Body parts of albinos are sought in some regions of Africa because they are believed to bring wealth and good luck. Attackers chop off limbs and pluck out organs to sell to dealers, who in turn sell them to witchdoctors.

Tanzanian government officials have said they are mobilizing police to help the embattled population, but admit it is hard to quell the attacks.

In early November, a court sentenced four people to death in northern Tanzania for killing an albino man and selling his body parts. So far, seven people have been sentenced to death for the killing of more than 50 Tanzanian albinos, including children, in the past two years. Dozens more are awaiting trial.

Albinism is a genetic condition that leads to little or no pigment in the eyes, skin and hair. African albinos are discriminated against and face segregation most of their lives. Since 2007, at least 44 Tanzanian albinos have been killed and 14 in Burundi. Some organizations have put the number at more than 50 in Tanzania.

In Zimbabwe, belief that sex with an albinistic woman will cure a man of HIV has led to rapes (and subsequent HIV infections).

My New Best Friend. Ariel, a Bengal, is nearly four years old. As my BFFF (Best Feline Friend Forever), he lives close by in Summerlin and tries to visit as often as possible. He loves going outside, enjoys TV, hunting bugs, and wants to go, someday, to a movie with me. Also, here is a picture of one of Ariel’s relatives, a spotted leopard cub.

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