Harry @ CINEVEGAS - I am totally IN THE LOOP!!!

Hey folks, Harry here... up on the 52nd Floor in a super suite at the PALMS casino. I'm here in Las Vegas to not gamble, not pay for fornication, but to attend CINEVEGAS. Some of you readers may remember a few years back when I was a juror at this festival, a series of reports on a number of outstanding films, my personal favorite being SEXO Y LUCIA. Well, I'm back this year and leapt out of a crazy huge bed with an enormous picture window of the entire strip at the foot of the bed. It's weird that the shower has an enormous window - full length looking out at Vegas and the mountains... but even though this "suite" is larger than my actual house - the thing that has me most excited at the moment is the film I just saw... IN THE LOOP. The film played at Sundance earlier this year and will be having a LIMITED release in late July from IFC films. If this film opens anywhere near you... and if you love brilliant BBC Witty Comedy, this is right up your alley. With a cast of folks like Tom Hollander, Peter Capaldi, Gina McKee, James Gandolfini, Chris Addison, Anna Chlumsky and other wonderful character actors - this film is very much a story that you could imagine becoming a fantastic series on the BBC. It is essentially structured like an international politically charged version of THE OFFICE. The dialogue is lightning quick. In fact, if I were the folks at HBO - I'd leap after this team immediately to reconceive this as an ongoing series. I would literally tune in every fucking week, because at least in this FEATURE version... it is magic. I say HBO, because the language is amongst the most skillful and creative use of vulgarity that I've seen in a sustained storyline that also managed to be SMART whilst being crude. I want to see it a few times just so I can ABSORB some of these phrases. In particular, Peter Capaldi's character is masterful at dressing down everyone. It's absolutely stunning, hilarious and shocking how funny he is. The basic story is about how a British Minister gets drawn into a larger scenario of a build up for war that comes from his mouth's fascinating ability to create catch phrases that seem to support to idea that we are helpless in the face of War, which none of us can anticipate or forsee. And still later he's quoted as "climbing the mountain of conflict" - which becomes a "bumper sticker" for the Hawks on Capital Hill. The film takes place in London, Washington DC and New York - as the "War" moves from rumor to meetings to committees to the UN. Chris Addison is brought in to help his clueless Minister to navigate the future situation, but he seems to kind of fly by the seat of his pants. This film moves at a lightning pace and is the smartest comedy that I've yet seen in 2009. That's the first film I've caught here, but like I said - look for the film as it gets a limited release in the US beginning in late July. You British readers have already seen the release in April of this year. Look for it, it isn't to be missed!