An odyssey into the heart of darkness

explorer Percy Fawcett, a visionary who forged his way into the Amazonian wilderness time and again. Initially tasked by the Royal Geographical Society with surveying the unmapped border between Bolivia and Brazil, the cartographer (Charlie Hunnam, riveting) discovers evidence of a previously unknown agrarian society deep within the jungle.

Evocative of place and period, the wide-screen 35-mm cinematography by Iranian-born Darius Khondji (Woody Allen’s regular latter-day collaborator) contributes immensely to the film’s success. The Lost City of Z is an illuminating odyssey into the heart of darkness.

The scallywag pirate Captain Sparrow (Johnny Depp, still heavily mascaraed and stumbling drunk) sets sail again in the fifth instalment of the blockbuster franchise.

This time around, he’s up against a formidable new adversary in the shape of a ghoulish pirate hunter (Javier Bardem) determined to rid the ocean of buccaneers once and for all.

The pirate forges a tenuous alliance with a self-taught astronomer (Kaya Scodelario, oozing oomph) and a headstrong young sailor (Aussie newcomer Brenton Thwaites; bland) and together they decide to solve their problems by retrieving a mysterious artifact capable of breaking any curse at sea. Incoming Norwegian directing duo Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg (Kon-Tiki) deliver plenty of thrills and some awesome underwater effects. The plot is a semicoherent brew of boisterous battles, a budding romance and an outlandish bank robbery unlike almost anything seen before. Supernatural elements help stir things up too. In addition to Geoffrey Rush, who reprises his role of the flamboyant nemesis-turnedcollaborator, there are cameos by Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley.