3 Short Paragraphs: The Lost City

2022, Aaron & Adam Nee (Band of Robbers) -- download

Not my usual fare for movies, so why did I download almost immediately? One, I have always liked the "archaeological adventure movie". Two, I am more and more and MORE seeing a desire in my brain to be "distracted" by a movie, so light hearted chuckles and some adventure and pretty settings are fodder for such. I have to say though, I miss the days when I could sit down (cinema or TV) and be instantly absorbed, from the moment the production company reels displayed, to the opening scene, title credits and mood setting music. I want to go back to turning my phone off, settling in, and being transported away. But will I?

Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock, The Net) writes trashy romance novels seeded with just a bit of adventure, lamenting the days when her deceased archaeology husband and her travelled the world for real adventure. She's disillusioned, and even more annoyed by having to share the spotlight with Alan (Channing Tatum, White House Down) the Fabio-style model for her covers. Her horny housewife fans seem to mix up Alan with his character. And then Loretta is kidnapped by Evil Billionaire Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe, Now You See Me 2) to assist him in finding a lost treasure on a small tropical island, because part of the world building for her books includes real world lost cultures with supposedly real world lost treasures. And for some complicated reason, Alan decides he has to rescue Loretta.

Yes, just distraction. Its a fun little movie, worth a few chuckles and some decent performances, and even an extended cameo with Brad Pitt as basically an IRL romance cover character, who actually DOES take on the task to rescue Loretta. Tatum's character is both vacuous but sincere, which is (minorly) endearing, while Bullock basically plays the annoyed, frustrated character she plays in most movies these days. I love Radcliffe as the entitled, weirdo villain (the massive charcuterie board blown away by a helicopter was triggering for me) is just too much fun, and this being his second weirdo rich-guy villain, I hope he keeps up the trend.