Raoul Duke is on his way to Las Vegas to cover a bike race. As a journalist, it's kind of what he does. You know, go to different places and cover different things...only seizing an opportunity is too good to miss and we're never sure exactly what his interest in the bike race actually is, or if it even exists! He has brought along with him his lawyer, Dr Gonzo, and we first meet the two of the them as they are speeding across the Nevada desert on their way to Vegas, dodging a flurry of killer bats among other strange obstacles. They pick up an innocent hitchhiker who gets more than he bargained for, the strange unfocusing eyes of Raoul and the constant ...  Read the complete review

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is based on the novella of the same name by Hunter S Thompson. Released in 1998, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas stars Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Torro as Raoul Duke and Dr Gonzo respectively. The narrative of the film stays true to Thompson's novella and follows Duke and Gonzo on a drug fuelled frenzy in Las Vegas. Accompanied by a whole array of 'uppers, downers, screamers and laughers', the pair embark on a bender of epic proportions. Duke is supposed to be in Vegas to cover the Mint 500 (a motor cross rally) but quickly realises that he has a far higher purpose in Vegas - the search for the American Dream. ...  Read the complete review

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas directed by Terry Gilliam and based on the novel by Hunter S. Thompson. We follow the misadventures of the perpetually intoxicated Raul Duke (Johnny Depp) and his equally-intoxicated attorney Dr. Gonzo (Benicio del Toro) during their stay in (you guessed it) Las Vegas. While watching this I felt torn in two parts, one liked it, one didn't. The first felt deeply uncomfortable with the drug abuse masquerading as some sort of everyday pick-me-up when in reality they can totally f*ck up your life, and I speak as someone who has been unfortunate enough to witness that first hand. In one scene after a man in a suit walks in on him ...  Read the complete review

As my nickname suggests, this film had a big effect on me. It was so refreshing to see the effects of drugs on professional, intellectuals rather than the usual junkie depictions seen in the movies. Terry Gilliam's vision of how to turn Hunter S.Thompson's book into a film couldn't have been done better. Gilliam was the perfect choice. The acid scene in the hotel near the beginning of the film is perhaps one of the most stunning visuals of the 90s. Johnny Depp is to be commended on his brilliant portrail of Raoul Duke. In all of his films since Fear and Loathing and in interviews you can see that the role had a big effect on his life and the way ...  Read the complete review

Surrealist films were virtually unknown until the nineties, as film-makers usually stuck to action, comedy, and romance. The recent bizarre film releases have usually been so due to the books they have been based on. Fight Club, for instance was based on Chuck Palanhiuk’s fantastic novel by the same name, and the screen version is nowhere near as confusing or surreal as the book. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was also based on a novel, and is one of the strangest and bowl prolapsingly hilarious films I’ve ever seen. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is technically a road movie and as Easy Rider demonstrated before it, road movies are doped up to the ...  Read the complete review