LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Movie critic Josh Bell takes a look at the latest Vegas connections onscreen.
First up is the revival series CSI: Vegas
With new episodes streaming weekly on Paramount+. The original CSI, set in Las Vegas and created by UNLV graduate Anthony Zuiker, ran for 15 seasons, ending in 2015, and is one of the longest-running and most popular TV crime dramas of all time.
Original stars William Petersen and Jorja Fox return for the new version, which features their characters solving a season-long mystery connected to the old CSI team, while new characters solve individual episodic cases.
As before, most of the show is shot in California, but the first few episodes feature a good amount of location work in downtown Las Vegas. The new show doesn't change up anything from the old formula, delivering a familiar comfort-food crime procedural, with a conception of Vegas that's a mix of superficial and sensitive.
It’s the same old CSI, in the same old Vegas.
From Vegas to New York City, former Las Vegas journalist Julie Seabaugh makes her directorial debut
The documentary Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11, which is streaming via Vice TV and on Vice's YouTube channel.
It's a comprehensive look at how the comedy world found its voice after the 9/11 attacks and helped audiences heal from tragedy, featuring interviews with some of the biggest names in comedy, including Las Vegas regulars like Jeff Ross, Gilbert Gottfried, and Doug Stanhope.
Recently showcased at Sin City Horror Fest is Die Influencers Die
Now available for video on demand rental. This Las Vegas production takes a playful approach to its slasher-movie story about a group of self-centered social media influencers set up for slaughter.
Vegas filmmaker Gary Orona has worked in the adult industry for decades, and he combines a cast of adult film stars including Katie Morgan with special effects from renowned visual effects artist (and Boulder City resident) Tom Devlin.
And finally, the Las Vegas Queer Arts Film Festival returns
This weekend the festival returns with an online edition Oct. 15-18. All of the movies in the festival feature LGBTQ talent and/or LGBTQ stories, with messages that matter to the community.
The result is a diverse slate of short films (and one feature) highlighting the variety in LGBTQ+ filmmaking, including a program of local shorts. Festival passes are $20 and are available at lvqueerarts.com.
For more movie talk from josh Bell, check out Awesome Movie Year, the podcast he co-hosts with comedian Jason Harris, at awesomemovieyear.com or wherever you listen to podcasts.
