Cinevegas: A little bit of Thor, the god of thunder! 

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“Thor at the Bus Stop” is the greatest movie ever made.

If that quote doesn’t find its way onto the back of the DVD box, I’m going to be pretty mad.

And though that may sound a bit overzealous, there’s no denying that “Thor” was an extremely enjoyable and funny film. Made by two Las Vegas locals and former UNLV students, Jerry and Mike Thompson, “Thor” prevails as one of the most noteworthy films of the 2009 CineVegas Festival (so far).

The story revolves around the god of lightning, Thor himself, waiting at a bus stop in suburban Las Vegas so he can catch a ride to save the world. A cast of dozens of supporting characters is uniquely interwoven into the story as their paths cross throughout the course of the day.

The large ensemble cast is what elevated the film to true brilliance. There’s two twenty-somethings just cruisin’ around on a summer drive, a philosophical pizza man, a girl and her pushover boyfriend, a carjacker, an eccentric newsman and one man news team, a man who just wont die despite the fact he’s been impaled through the stomach by a ‘Yield’ sign, two bumbling cops, and of course, the titular Thor.

Most movies have a hard time developing just one main character, yet “Thor” has about a dozen different characters, each with their own unique ark. And the best part, no loose ends. Every single character gets a satisfying conclusion come the end of the film. No one feels cheated.

“Thor” is completely silly, yet strangely deep in some areas. The soundtrack is also pretty amazing given the low budget. (Musicians are expensive, right?)

Because the film was made with an almost entirely local cast, nearly every person involved in the project was present during the screening and the Q&A following. Perhaps it was the energy of knowing that the film was made entirely by folks from your hometown, but the whole crowd was into the movie. It got the biggest reaction out of any of the screenings I have attended. Everyone laughed and cringed in all the right places— guffawing at the good jokes and still chuckling at the bad ones. I didn’t see one person not smiling as they left the theater.

Admittedly, it is not the greatest movie ever made. I did lie about that. But I will say “Thor” is a perfect representation of the kind of creative, unique and bizarre stories an independent film can tell, that big studio movies don’t have the balls to. Its wackiness was refreshing and inspiring.

I loved it.

Check out everything Thor at thoratthebusstop.com