James Gray

The Lost City of Z - 1/5

This is a beautiful, dreary wilderness exploration film that loses its way trying to obliquely shoehorn fake woke musings into an otherwise straightforward narrative. It’s a rainy slough that not only meanders aimlessly like a run-on sentence but ends without much of a resolution. In a more competent film this would seem audaciously presumptuous, but here it just feels like the writers forgot to write the story toward an ending. The only standout elements are the beautiful landscapes and Robert Pattinson’s acting, both of which are excellent and not enough to make the film worth watching.

Closest comparison: It’s like House of Sand and Fog by way of Apocalypse Now.

Setting: Adventure
Plot: Exploration
Tone: Drama

Ad Astra - 4/5

This movie is very slow, yet constantly engaging. Its gorgeous cinematography accentuates the dichotomy between the claustrophobic ship interiors and the limitless vastness of space. The story nicely mirrors the setting and gives the impression that nothing in this film is accidental. I don’t have the affinity for astronomy that many others do, so a significant percentage of this film’s viewership will likely rate it higher than I have.

Closest comparison: It’s like 2001: A Space Odyssey by way of Arrival (2016).

Setting: Near Future Sci-Fi
Plot: Adventure
Tone: Slow Sci-Fi