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Summary: post-preview review of previously witnessed theatre display
Review: ideal...right... makes sense...right... correct...right... entertaining...right... incredibly delightful...right... possibly worth the effort of looking at this and buying the acting display...right...
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Summary: A briliant adaptation to a wondeful book.
Review: After reviewing many comments about this movie I see that many people do not understant it. It was not designed to be "Titanic" and it was not writen as "Gone With the Wind". It is story of 2 depraved journalists looking for the american dream and finding it. The story Takes place mostly in Las Vegas, the only place in the world were Duke and Gonzo could get6 away with their savage insanity. Some call this a dard comedy, some call it a depraved work of non fiction. If you are a true thompson fan and have read up a little about him you will enjoy this movie a great deal.
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Summary: Passion undone by devotion
Review: Pairing Hunter S. Thompson and Terry Gilliam is an idea that should have spawned a subversive, critical and insightful film that looked at the American Dream and how in making it real it has become something alltogether different.Unfortunately Gilliam shows a dedication to the source material that verges on reverence, which is understandable but also counter-productive. We are hand held through a picture gallery of Thompson's world but never does Gilliam let loose and let use the material he is given for all its worth. Contrary to general opinion there IS a point to the film, unfortunately it is really only made in the last few minutes in an exposition speech by Hunter, and the narrative work before it is only partially relevant. It's a good film but for this kind of reverence it should have been given to Merchant Ivory, I can't help but wish that Terry Gilliam had been in the kind of SUBVERSIVE mode that used to be his norm, his work is much more insightful and brutal when he is, which i feel this film needed, as opposed to his recent meloncholly from Fisher Kind and 12 Monkeys, both which I loved.
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Summary: absolutely the best acting job ever by Depp.
Review: This is a movie that was so good, i rewound the tape & watched it again all in one sitting.Johnny Depp plays the roll of his life as a totally believable Hunter S. Thompson.This is now my favorite flic.I only wish it could of been made into a 6 or more hour movie to capture more detail as to what all went on.
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Summary: Get the Ten Strip on the Desert Strip
Review: "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" Review Though it was greeted with lukewarm reviews and mediocre ticket sales, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" was a wonderfully made movie that catches every essence of Hunter S. Thompson's word. The movie follows Thompson's drug induced alter ego, Raoul Duke (played by Johnny Depp), and his doped up Samoan attorney, Dr. Gonzo (played by Benecio del Toro), as they travel in pursuit of the "American Dream." Based on the 1971 novel of the same name, the (drug) counterculture comedy was a roller coaster ride on LSD. Due to its graphic depiction of drug use and its effects, the film was looked at as a "plotless movie about drug addicts." I found these reviews a little hard to swallow, though. True, the movie is about drugs and how those on them function differently from the "sober" half of society. Those who are opposed to drugs on the screen (or drugs in general) could easily damn the movie for its content. Moreso, though, it is a lifestyle that few get to see. It is an ADVENTURE for the ambiguous "American Dream." Being undefined, this pursuit is almost aimless. This, however, does not mean the movie does not have plot. The search for the "dream" and their experiences with others is the real story here. It just doesn't have any real closure. Throughout the film, the story follows the book pretty closely. The movie begins with Duke and Gonzo speeding through the desert on their way to the Las Vegas. Being a writer, Duke has been sent to cover the Mint 400 Race, a motorcycle exhibition that takes place in the desert near Vegas. Having received the assignment while "relaxing" with Gonzo, Duke decides to make the trip more "pleasure" than "business." They purchase a new car (the Red Shark) and fill its trunk to capacity with nearly every drug imaginable. Upon arriving in Vegas, the duo begins their mad drug fed romp through the "sin city." They terrorize the desert town without trying to get caught. Their diet, consisting mainly of grapefruits and the contents of their trunk, provides them with enough sustenance to stumble from casino to casino. Duke attempts to report on the Mint 400, but finds no glory (and no hint of the American Dream). For a time, the two are seperated, as Gonzo returns to LA for business. Upon his return, the duo continue their search for the "Dream," but quickly find interest in other activities (infiltrating a police officer conference while under the influence, drinking pure adrenaline, trashing a room and assaulting a maid, etc.) In the end, the two give up their mission and leave Vegas with unpaid hotel bills and alot of angry citizens. From start to finish, the movie pretty much parallels the book. There are even times when pieces of dialogue are verbatim. One scene that definitely does not appear in the movie (and is very oblique in the book) was a chapter based on a static recording made by "Thompson." In it, he and Gonzo make inquiries of the vague "American Dream" to dime store waitresses who can offer no real directions. With the storyline and the material similar to the book, the originality and flair of the film comes from a mix of the elements. First, the cast is a stupendous gathering of Hollywood's finest underlings - Christina Ricci as the depressed, Streisand infatuated tag along; Cameron Diaz (for a minute) as a spellbinding TV reporter; Gary Busey as the righteous but accepting Highway patrol officer; Benecio del Torro as the unbearable but faithful (to the "Dream") Dr. Gonzo. Secondly, Johnny Depp delivers the performance of a lifetime as the eccentric and insightful Raoul Duke/Hunter S. Thompson. Also, people who have seen Thompson in interviews on TV would know that Depp truly embodied the writer in both body movements and speech. Third, with artists like Jefferson Airplane, Three Dog Night, and Bob Dylan on the soundtrack, the psychedelic music that accompanies the film is both fitting and mood inspiring. Fourth, and lastly, "Fear and Loathing" would never have come to the screen in the format it did if the film had not been placed in the capable and crafty hands of director Terry Gilliam. With movies like "The Fisher King" and "12 Monkeys" under his belt, Gilliam has proven himself to have an original touch and an eye for the abnormal. These can be seen in the wide angle shots of desert, the extreme close ups of the panic stricken characters, the dark lighting that accompanies the hallucinations, and the special effects that enable the audience to tread lightly on the drug trips. In the end, I saw "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" as one of the better films of 1998. The acting was commendable. The directing, superb. And all in all, a damn good movie to watch if you wish to find the "American Dream" for yourself.
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Summary: Jisses!!
Review: A werry cool movie... I liked Johhny Depps way to do with his hands when he is high. That`s cool! Have a nice day!
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Summary: One of the most funiest, mind altering movies I've ever seen
Review: Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Torro are amazeing in this demonstration of what a road trip to Vegas (when properly supplied)is like. This movie was captivating with it's awsome special effects that were so close to reality that I felt like I was trippin right along with them. This is the perfect movie to see in any state of mind. It makes you feel as if you were sittin in the back seat with a head full of acid the whole time. I recomend this movie to everyone. Weather your looking for a good laugh or a way to trip yourself out, this movie is perfect.
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Summary: Best Film of 1998
Review: I just waded through the 140+ reviews to get to the dozen or so hate mongers, and the most frustrating and irrational complaints about the film is that "there's no plot" "it's incoherent" "It sucks, don't see it", well that's some real peircing insight there. There is plenty going on in this film if you care to see it, it makes perfect sense and is entertaining from beginning to end. Depp and Del Toro are amazing, and Gilliam's direction and visual approach is perfect. I understand this type of humor, and storytelling isn't for everyone, but I would never tell anyone NOT to see something simply because I didn't like it (or understand it as the case maybe), see it, watch the whole film, and form your own opinion. It's obviously connected with many people, as it did me. Look beneath the surface a little bit.
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Summary: Great Form, Very Little Substance
Review: Having repeatedly watched this film in hopes that Terry Gilliam's brilliance would shine through at last, I have finally given up. It's not that there is anything wrong with the acting; fine performances all around from Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Torro. They capture the spirit of the book (as well as Hunter S. Thompson's mannerisms) perfectly. The same can be said of the directing and the cinematogrophy. The problem here lies with the source material...it just isn't that funny or clever to poke fun at American culture through the metaphors of cheesy shriner-types, badly dressed, vulgar, cigar-chomping tourists and lounge lizards that inhabited casinoland twenty years ago (and still inhabit it today, albeit in different form...the emperor's new clothes you know?). It just isn't that difficult a task, and to be quite honest, the reality of the matter is more interesting and complex than this story leads you to believe. Let Robert Altman make a film about Vegas culture and you'll have a more accurate as well as less judgemental view of America. So after the novelty of the "zany-drug-fuelled-movie" wears off, you are left with a film which has very little to say. I'd recommend this one only for Gilliam fans who just HAVE to complete their collection.
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Summary: Unbearable
Review: I have to agree with the reader from san diego this movie just plain SUCKED!! maybe you have to be tripping to enjoy watching this film, but since I am not into drugs I would'nt know. If I wanted to watch people being high I would go to a midnight rave. I was disappointed in this film and I hope nothing like this is ever made again. Same goes for the overrated film Austin Powers
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