Ted V. Mikels

"... That kind of dedication powered filmmaker Ted V. Mikels, who once said he’d like to be remembered as 'a hell of a filmmaker who did 28 hours a day, 10 days a week toward the making of films.' Mikels directed 25 movies over the course of five decades, from 1963’s Strike Me Deadly to 2015’s Paranormal Extremes: Text Messages from the Dead..."

An appreciation of Ted V. Mikels for Vegas Seven.

Cool World

I wrote about Ralph Bakishi's live action/animated trip through Las Vegas and the Cool World for my day job at the Vegas Seven. A deeply flawed film, but it has its moments....

Las Vegas Schlock

Here's a link to three brief writeups on Vegas-set B-movies I did for my day job at the Vegas Seven. There's the Mamie Van Doren 50s heist flick, Guns, Girls and Gangsters. Then a piece of absolute crap from the 80s, a tale of showgirls turned mercenary commandos, Hell Squad. Finally, a little 90's indie downerdom, Speedway Junky, in which a runaway hits Vegas, gets rolled and becomes a hustler.

Want to go for the gold standard of bad movies? Enjoy a timeline of how Showgirls went from hype to flop to cult classic. Of course, if you like movies that are actually good, here's an oral history of the shooting of Casino. And, finally, you can take the Vegas movie quiz.

Fake-Out

Here is a brief writeup I did for Vegas Seven on the 80's Vegas flick, Fake-Out aka Nevada Heat. All the Pia Zadora, Telly Savalas and Riviera Casino you can stand!

Las Vegas Movies

Here is a link to an article i wrote for the July 2012 issue of Desert Companion about films set in Las Vegas. Featuring best heist, best road trip and best high-roller experience with films like One From the Heart, Corvette Summer and Dark City.