Viva, Las Vegas

Las Vegas is usually a brief road stop for most vacation movies, a brief distraction for people living mundane lives. So what happens when a film is based entirely in Sin City? Here is a look at the top five films set in Vegas.

Ocean's Eleven
Casino mogul Terry Benedict stole Danny's (George Clooney) wife, now he's going to steal Terry's money. A popcorn movie if there ever was one, Ocean's is pretty much the standard for Vegas films. The glitz of the casinos on The Strip, the glamour of an A-list cast (Clooney, Pitt, Damon) and the intrigue of taking part of one of the most massive scores ever. In all the chaos though, Steven Soderbergh isn't above adding a nice in-reference to Hollywood camaraderie where Brad Pitt teaches Topher Grace how to play poker.

The Hangover
This comedy sprung up out of nowhere in 2009 and went on to become one of the more successful franchises of all-time. Phil, Stu and Alan run through Vegas trying to piece together last night's Bachelor Party and where they misplaced the groom-to-be. One raunchy laugh after another, The Hangover proves Vegas to be the cure for each of these men's problems. Just one reminder: what happens in Vegas, stays here.

Leaving Las Vegas
Two spiraling addicts take comfort in each other as Ben (Nicolas Cage in his Oscar-winning role) decides to drink himself to death. Not one of the more dazzling portraits of Las Vegas, but certainly one of the most compelling. A splash of cold reality on the wild and crazy times that Vegas usually promises on celluloid.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Only a truly demented man could capture the more eccentric side of Sin City and only one man could play Hunter S. Thompson. Thanks to Terry Gilliam and Johnny Depp this delightfully weird vision of a drug bender came to life. Raoul and Dr. Gonzo revel in digging into the counter-culture aspects of 1960's America, but when they head to Las Vegas the psychedelics launch up into the Stratosphere.

Casino
While Casino is sometimes derided for being a Goodfellas knock-off nothing could be further from the truth. DeNiro and Pesci playing Kingmakers in the city that the mafia built. Sam (DeNiro) runs one of the most lucrative casinos in town and Nicky (Pesci) makes sure that it stays lucrative. Martin Scorsese's look at Vegas expands on the bipolar nature of the city built on grit and glitz. Simultaneously riveting and horrifying.