Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Gilliam’s adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s classic is dazzling for about 20 minutes, then faintly exasperating until the credits finally roll. Since there’s no real sense of forward motion, and only the vaguest hint of a theme, the movie is only as interesting as its individual anecdotes, which range from the gut-clutchingly hilarious to the head-noddingly tiresome.