Review of Maps to the Stars (2014) by Allen G — 21 Apr 2016

*** Average.

I was sort of lost in David Cronenberg's "Maps to the Stars". It's not that I did not understand the movie, it's just that it was not mapped out as it should have. Cronenberg, who has done some wonderful innovative direction in the past, fills "Maps to the Stars" with prototypical Hollywood archetypes; such as the young tween star who is spoiled to riches, the dysfunctional Hollywood family whose past can't derail them to brighter pastures, and so and so on. I am not going to tour you too much of the plot of "Maps to the Stars" cause that would be an exercise of stupidity. Sorry David! Your movie did not give me the chills of your classics as "A History of Violence", this to me was more a "Hollywood History of Silence". Now, the movie was not a total disaster because of the great Julianne Moore. Her performance as the obsessive actress Havana Segrand was quite grand. But I can't say the same for the humdrum performances from John Cusack, Mia Wasikowska, Olivia Williams, and Robert Pattinson. David, you just should have, to quote Britney, "Gimme Moore". It's a shame because I originally thought that "Maps to the Stars" was going to be a tactical cinematic discovery, instead it played similar Hollywood strings we have heard & seen before in Hollywood archetype movies. So the only reason to find your way to "Maps to the Stars" is to witness Julianne Moore's electrical performance.