I love CineVegas. It's just a terrific festival. It's like Sundance light. Granted, I'm sure that will quickly change, as the fest (which is held at The Brenden Theaters in the Palms Hotel and Casino) continues to grow each year.

Generally when I do these reports, I write them in order. In this case, however, I had such an amazing time the closing weekend of ineVegas, that I thought I'd write those thoughts down first.

For the final day of the festival, I headed out to Sin City with my good friends Jules and Jared. Upon arrival we met up with Imagine Productions founder Don Woods and his team of movie freaks to take in a screening of the holy grail of zombie films, Land of the Dead.

On a strange side note, we hit this screening right after taking in a showing of Wim Wenders' new film Land of Plenty. Back to back "Land" films, both clearly inspired by a post 9/11 world. Bizarre coincidence.

GEORGE A. ROMERO'S LAND OF THE DEAD
While I'm sure this will no doubt evoke laughter from many readers out there, I have to say that I was every bit as excited to see this new zombie epic as I was at the prospect of seeing Revenge of the Sith. Why? Because director George A. Romero is a true pioneer in very much the same way George Lucas is. He too is an independent film maker in every sense of the word. And notice that the title of his latest zombie opus isn't Land of the Dead, but rather George A. Romero's Land of the Dead. A fair title given that Mr. Romero is the godfather of the zombie picture. But what really sets this brilliant independent film maker and horror meister apart from his vast array of imitators is his crafty ability to lace his undead works with social commentary. Night of the Living Dead, while truly terrifying, works on several levels. What makes the monsters in this film so horrific is the knowledge that they're us. They aren't hockey mask-wearing maniacs, chainsaw-wielding sociopaths, or razor glove sporting ghouls (this isn't to say I don't like those particular films-I really do). They are, quite simply, us. What's more,

Romero makes bold statements about race and Vietnam era inspired paranoia. The end result is a chilling tale of survival - shot on the cheap, but effective beyond belief. Dawn of the Dead (my personal favorite of the series, and one of the best horror films of all time for that matter) took things even further. In that film, living humans are quickly becoming the minority, as the undead rise to incredible numbers. Once again, Romero shocks and scares with one of the most gleefully gory films in history, but he also forces the audience to think in what is essentially a shrewd satire on consumerism. Zombies are drawn to the same thing they were drawn to in life, so the notion that the undead are drawn to the mall is downright hilarious. Dawn of the Dead is punctuated with an ominous sense of dread that remains unmatched. Whenever I watch that film, I feel, in a sense, like I'm witnessing the end of the world. An amazing piece of work. Day of the Dead is often the most debated film of the series. While it does offer up some truly breathtaking make up effects, it suffers from a sluggish pace and obvious budgetary problems. Does this make "Day" a lousy film? Hell no. There's a terrific sub plot involving a domesticated zombie name Bub, and the fate that awaits the villainous military man at the end of the film is one I'll never forget. Day of the Dead is a movie made up of moments while "Night" and "Dawn" work as a whole. Still, it does deliver on various levels.

This brings us to Land of the Dead, an entertaining, crowd pleasing slice of zombie pleasure that excels where crap like Resident Evil and House of the Dead fail miserably. Where Romero begins this film, feels like the next, proper evolutionary step. As was the case in the last two films, the zombies are clearly the majority now, but unlike "Dawn" and "Day, this time around, they're more of an obstacle. That's not to say that people and zombies co-exist, but the living have certainly found a way to adapt. Not only that, but, as is typical with the human race, people have once again broken into various social classes. You have your rich folk and you have your poor folk, and neither are terribly fond of each other. The plot line revolves around righteous loner Riley (played by Simon Baker who rebounds nicely from his blank of a performance in The Ring Two) and his team of salvagers. They cruise around in a mighty tank deemed "Dead Reckoning" foraging for supplies. The true villain of the story is rich mogul Kaufman (a playful Dennis Hopper). He believes that money makes the world go around and has enough cash to back up his theory. When a poor but tough scavenger (played by John Leguizamo) revolts against Kaufman and steals "Dead Reckoning," Riley is brought into prevent further disaster.

Meanwhile, the undead have taken an evolutionary step of their own. Lead by a dead gas station attendant named Big Daddy, the zombies are starting to become free thinkers. No, they can't drive cars or utter Shakespearean dialogue nor do they run around like the ghouls in that overrated Dawn of the Dead remake (a movie that trades horror and satire in for Michael Bay style action), but they are becoming more self aware, and in fact, Big Daddy even begins to feel sympathy for his mistreated brothers. Land of the Dead clearly has a bigger budget than the other Romero zombie pictures, and God bless Universal Pictures for allowing this film maker to realize his vision. They obviously recognized that Romero created the zombie genre as we know it, and they've given him the proper tools to tell the story he wants to tell. Furthermore, God bless Universal for not skimping on the gore. Make-up effects artist Greg Nicotero (who dropped out of school to work on Day of the Dead) is an absolute made man. His work here is true genius and will have gore hounds grinning from ear to ear. There are many great shots to speak of, but I'm not going to reveal them here because I hate spoilers. Let's just say that the audience erupted in cheers on several occasions. Unlike the previously mentioned "Dawn" remake, this picture has many scenes in which people are served up for dinner. We're talking blood by the gallons people. You're going to love it. As usual, Romero laces this tale with social commentary, and in the case of Land of the Dead, a post 9/11 world is clearly the inspiration. And while there are decent people to be found in this movie, most of the human race appears to be driven by selfishness. In terms of technique, Romero walks that fine line between horror and comedy, effortlessly. Land of the Dead has great scares, but it also has a wicked sense of humor. This film is painted on a much bigger canvas than one might expect. One of my very favorite shots in the picture features hundreds of zombies emerging from the depths of a dark, watery beach. It's a great sequence.

If I must compare this outing to the others, I'd say that it's better than "Day" but not quite on par with "Night" and "Dawn." Romero certainly takes elements that worked in those pictures and applies them here (legendary effects artist Tom Savini even gets in on the act), but the tone that was so prominent in the first two movies isn't quite as potent this time around. I also expected a bigger, more grandiose death for a major character in this film. Still, it's exciting to have Romero back. While his return to the zombie genre isn't quite as clever as last year's creative Shaun of the Dead (watch for a cameo by "Shaun" creators Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg in Land of the Dead) it is worlds better than the countless (and worthless) other zombie pictures we've seen in recent years (note to horror fans; I don't consider Danny Boyle's outstanding 28 Days Later a zombie movie even though it was clearly inspired by Romero's works). Before the screening, Romero (who's made other great pictures as well including Creepshow, Martin and the underrated Monkey Shines) was given the CineVegas Vanguard Director Award. He gave an insightful speech about his career. He discussed his reluctance to work inside a studio system and even revealed that he was offered a $7 million budget for Day of the Dead if he promised to deliver an R rated film. He opted to take $3 million and do the movie his way instead. And as much as he's struggled with the studio system, he was quick to show his appreciation towards a very game Universal.

Finally, he had nothing but kind words for CineVegas chairman and Land of the Dead star Dennis Hopper. The two film makers have a lot in common as Easy Rider and Night of the Living Dead were highly influential in the world of independent film, and while these movies are quite different in terms of thematic approach, they're undoubtedly seminal works.

Following the screening (which was met with resounding approval by hundreds of cheering fans), Romero mingled with a crowd that included the likes of Rob Zombie and Nicolas Cage. In a master stroke, I somehow managed to shake his hand. He even autographed my Dawn of the Dead Laserdisc. While I've never been one for autograph seeking, I figured what the hell. This is George A. Romero dude! He's back and he's bad.

On a side note, a special hello to John, Tyler, and Kellan, three fellow movie geeks who were also in attendance for the festivities. I'd like to offer a sincere apology for not being able to get those autographs for you. Quite frankly, I'm still not too sure how I got one.

AFTER PARTY

The CineVegas After Party took place at Curve in the luxurious Aladdin Hotel and Casino, and boy was it a doozy. I don't consider myself much of a drinker. I drink on occasion. Maybe six or seven times a year, therefore, I'm not even what one my construe a social drinker. I decided that, on this particular evening, I'd let the hair down. Besides, when your hanging out with a couple of seasoned pros like Jules and Jared, it just sort of comes naturally. What can I say? This party was crazy insane. Dancers, food, open bar, zombies! You name it, it was there. After a few drinks, I began to mingle with fellow press (a hello to Judy of theflickchicks.com and Stephen of trippervision.com) and even had an opportunity to speak to Jury Award Winner Christopher Jaymes (his "In Memory of My Father" won the fest's top honor). For whatever reason though, I never did bump into Mr. Romero. Upon meeting up with Don Woods at the party, he made sure to rub it in good and proper that he did meet the veteran film maker at the massive shin dig. Lucky bastard! While I did get to shake the director's hand at the Land of the Dead screening, it would have been cool to chat with him in a more laid back environment. Oh well, it was still a great time. Actually, we wound up staying at the party until it ended at around 3:30 a.m. At that point, Jules was pretty much gone. That woman can drink. Likewise, Jared began the mumbling faze of drunkness. It was a blast hanging out with these two. They really were the life of the party. After sleeping for a while in the Aladdin Hotel parking lot (we were in no position to drive-and in fact, we were even too drunk to call a cab-ridiculous), it was time to pack the bags and head home.

It was another outstanding CineVegas. Programming director Trevor Groth really out did himself this year. While this festival isn't on the same scale as Sundance, it is no less grand. And each year, it's crowd continues to grow. If you're a fan of film and you don't have a lot going on next June, hit CineVegas. You'll love it.