Andrew Troubadour (mrbluesky11637)

How do you describe a film which not just defies convention, but tears it apart, stamps on it and steals its wallet? Essentially, you don't - and this is such a film. Of course, it's the celluloid interpretation of Hunter S Thompson's book of the same name, in which he (alias Raoul Duke) and his attorney companion Oscar Zeta Acosta (alias Dr Gonzo) take a trip to Las Vegas, ostensibly to do some journalistic work, but end up tripping out in an attempt to find the "American Dream" of Horatio Alger. It's tinged with the bitter-sweet taste of regret as Johnny Depp's Thompson/Duke realises that the dream is a myth, and that the chance there was to realise it was equally ephemeral. Even if you don't like drugs, love this film.

I didn't think I would like this film - when it comes to Keltic mythology, I am very protective. And although, this being the case, there is much to dislike about the film - from the goidelic Charm of Making to the fact that much of the film is in fact goidelic rather than Brythonic, the acting is superb - from Nigel Terry's pan-generational Arthur to Helen Mirren's deliciously evil Morgan Le Fay. But for me, far and away the brightest star is Nicol Williamson, whose Merlin is peerless. And for all the goidelic nonsense, there are touches of Brythonic genius, nevertheless - the dragon motif, for instance, and the majickal corvids as a theme for Merlin.