INTIX members will be hitting Las Vegas in late January for INTIX 2024. I don’t know about you. But when I am planning a big trip, I often watch movies set in the locale I will be visiting to get in the mood. And, wow, there have been some great flicks set in this Nevada gambling mecca.
For the purposes of this article, I want to focus on some of the more … eh … “positive” Sin City movies. Of course, there are plenty of flicks like “Leaving Las Vegas” and “The Cooler” that show the seedy side of the city. And Martin Scorsese’s “Casino” is arguably the best movie to be set there. But, hey, we’re ticketing and live event professionals, not professional criminals.
Below is a list of 10 movies that will get you into the mood for INTIX 2024 that won’t feature scenes of people getting their knees clubbed or heads put in a vice. We start with:
1. “Ocean’s 11” (2001) — Director Steven Soderbergh makes Vegas look absolutely dreamy in this movie. That’s not hard when your camera is following professional beautiful people like Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Andy Garcia. Spoiler Alert: When INTIX 2024 is coming to a close and you and your group are saying your “Goodbyes,” consider re-enacting the ending of this movie in front of the fountains at the Bellagio.
2. “Rain Man” (1988) — Do you need a soundtrack when you walk around the casinos, playing the slots, the roulette wheel and other games of chance? Consider Hans Zimmer’s great montage music that blares as brothers Charlie and Raymond Babbitt (Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman) gamble.
3. “The Hangover” (2009) — Maybe you need a fun, funny movie that will remind you not to … uh … hit the town too hard while you’re there? Consider this flick about a bachelor party in Vegas that goes terribly (but comically) wrong.
4. “Honeymoon in Vegas” (1992) — Three words for you: Skydiving Elvis impersonators. That is all.
5. “Viva Las Vegas” (1964) — Who needs Elvis impersonators when you can call up the Real McCoy? Elvis Presley and Las Vegas go hand in hand because of this movie (and the legendary concerts the man gave in the town). It’s also the name of the song he released for this flick, which became one of his biggest hits. And, wow, what an opening credits of a Las Vegas that once was!
6. “Diamonds Are Forever” (1971) — Hey, it’s not the best James Bond movie. But it is the only one in which 007 hit Vegas!
7. “Rocky IV” (1985) —Well, it’s not the best Rocky Balboa movie. But it is the only one in which the Italian Stallion hit Vegas! OK, it didn’t go too well for Apollo Creed.
8. “3000 Miles to Graceland” (2001) — The movie flopped at the box office, but it’s really one of the more underrated flicks to be set in Las Vegas. And you can’t go wrong with the two leads and the fun plot. Kurt Russell and Kevin Costner play two crooks who plan to rob a casino during a convention of Elvis impersonators!
9. “Swingers” (1996) — Do you want to know where the lines “Vegas, baby. Vegas!” and “You’re money” come from? It’s this cool flick about a group of twentysomething dudes (most notably Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau) who hit Vegas to help one of them get over a break-up.
10. “Army of the Dead” (2021) — I can’t end this article without including, one, a Netflix movie set in Las Vegas, and two, a zombie movie set in Las Vegas! After Vegas gets infected with zombies, the U.S. government quarantines the city. Six years later, a casino owner (Hiroyuki Sanada) approaches a mercenary (Dave Bautista) to hire him and his team to recover $200 million from his casino’s vault before the military nukes the city. Zack Snyder made his directorial debut in 2004 with the super-fun “Dawn of the Dead” remake. He returns to those roots here.
Other suggestions (in alphabetical order): “Bugsy;” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas;” “The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas;” “Fools Rush In,” starring the late Matthew Perry; “Indecent Proposal;” and “Pay It Forward.”
Viva Las Vegas INTIX!
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