The Lost City of Z

Worse version of The Mountains of the Moon meets a worse version of There Will Be Blood. Which does not mean, however, that in any respect it was a boring or perhaps even a bad movie. On the contrary, this is not so adventurous movie about Conrad's destructive obsession with finding a chimera, and exactly the kind of old-school movie that would fit in a movie theater with the clatter of a classic "obsolete" film tape rather than the air-conditioned silence disturbed by popcorn crunch. The only mistake is that, unlike the best movies in this department, this works a little worse if you already know Fawcett's adventures. (2017-04-24)

A pretty appealing premise and a promising Charlie Hunnam, who made a decent name for himself after King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, but simply boring for my taste. On the other hand, if the whole film was set in the jungle with the cannibals, I'd find it much more entertaining, but once the story starts going home and back, it loses pace and my interest considerably. The production design is decent, visually it’s ok, but the slow pace and extremely long running time hurt the film. 55% (2017-07-20)

James Gray is a director that doesn't seem to belong in today's world. This is how films were told in the 1950s and 60s, in the era of David Lean's thoughtful big movies, i.e. slowly, deliberately, with an emphasis on character portrayal, with a strong lead (the charismatic Hunnam was an ideal choice). Today's spoiled kids, addicted to Fast and Furious, Marvel and similar crap on steroids, let them go somewhere else, they wouldn’t appreciate this. This favors a strong story, and I like it that way. PS: Charlie Hunnam is a stud. There aren’t many more charismatic actors than him today. I hope that the lack of commercial success of his last two films won’t kill his career with producers. (2017-07-05)

People who compare The Lost City of Z to Indiana Jones and refer to its hero as Indy's predecessor probably lack judgment, insight, or both, and a pinch of common sense. The film, from which I didn't really expect much at first, reminded me of Lawrence of Arabia in the best sense. It's a similarly impressive adventure spectacle, somewhat old-fashioned (sometimes in a meditative style reminiscent of Terrence Malick), superbly written (searching, finding, prejudice...) and also acted. I was particularly surprised by Robert Pattinson, whom I've only seen in a small role in Harry Potter so far, and who definitely has something to say to the film world. (2017-04-25)

Just don’t expect another Indiana Jones. The Lost City of Z is not big-screen adventure fun (like the recent unremarkable Kong), but an almost intimate drama about a dreamer who would like to be a good husband and father, but he is driven onward by his endless determination to discover hidden worlds. The movie’s characters and atmosphere are nice, as is spirit of the story. There’s no annoying digital crap, but no really exciting scenes either. Charlie Hunnam is good; as the producer, Brad Pitt is turning him into his younger successor. Incidentally, what is it with Brad Pitt and the letter Z? (2017-04-19)