Maps to the Stars

Detractors may carp that Cronenberg is showing us nothing new, but Maps is so flawless in its execution, it vividly refreshes the subject matter. Never overcooking the setting, it’s a story right in his wheelhouse; a very human look at characters barely clinging to their humanity.

Maps to the Stars is haunted by ghosts, the way the film industry is haunted by its past, and Cronenberg gradually tapers down the dark humor and starts to amp up the ugliness of these blank, superficial lives.

The status-anxiety, fame-vertigo, sexual satiety and that all-encompassing fear of failure which poisons every triumph are displayed here with an icy new connoisseurship, a kind of extremism which faces down the traditional objection that films like this are secretly infatuated with their subject.

An entertaining tour of Tinseltown served with poisoned popcorn.

A lot of the movie works, but enough doesn’t for Maps to the Stars to go down as a lost opportunity and one of this director’s braver missteps.

In "The Player," Robert Altman carves up Hollywood with knowing, surgical precision. Cronenberg is a gifted filmmaker in his own right, but here he takes a meat-ax to the place. He gets what he's after but leaves quite a mess.

She’s (Moore) the best thing in this toxic carnage of creepy, self-indulgent decadence, but under the direction of loopy Canadian David Cronenberg, she goes beyond the limit of acceptable artistry.

While this film made me feel a bit dirty I got to admit I was strangely entertained. Everyone in this film are disturbed in ways that only Hollywood could produce. I really thought the hopeless whining of Julianne Moore would get really annoying instead I was mesmerized by her performance. Cronenberg's last film Cosmopolis was a head scratcher with ridiculous dialogue. This one gets him back on track. A-

Cronenberg's horrifying insight into Hollywood's craziest is a punch to the gut. The acting by Julianne Moore is brilliant and she keeps getting better each time. The story is dissapointing, its creepy and full of unexpected twists coming out of nowhere. The odd characters and bloody violent scenes including a head being bashed in by an award, are weird. Maps To The Stars is not as good as I wanted it to be. But it delivers Moore's greatest performance in years, also there is some thrills and popcorn violence fun to be had in Cronenberg's nightmarish potboiler.

Maps to the Stars is a deeply flawed film that is all over the place. Each scene feels loosely connected at best and though it is a captivating look at stars and fame, it just falls apart slowly throughout the film. The acting is very good, but that does not save this one from feeling like a beautiful mess at times. David Cronenberg is a great director, but just did not have control over this one, but for the great portrayal of Hollywood, this one is anything but a disaster. Though messy, it is very captivating and very well shot and would be interesting to place under a microscope to figure out what it all means. However, on the whole, Maps to the Stars just falls flat and does not live up to the performances of its stars.

I usually love David's work but this one was a bit slow for me. It held my interest but it could have been better. Great Cast but a little underwhelming for me.

Cronenberg continues to try and make us care for rich narcissists and again fails. Characters without depth or sympathy in a story that drifts from one genre into vague horror by the end. So much potential wasted. The performances, however, are very strong, especially Moore and Cusack. By the end, I just didn't care about Hollywood and its "problems". There are better stories to be told and Cronenberg no longer seems to be the man to tell them.