Maps to the Stars

I heard about this film because Julianne Moore was getting some Oscar buzz for her performance and that it compared to that of Cate Blanchet in last year's Woody Allen film (she was good but nowhere near Blanchet). I didn't expect much from it but I ended up really enjoying it.

Women in fire. Bad effects.

Little plot and some stabs at Hollywood certainly don't make a great movie but I enjoyed the tone and odd characters.

All in all, a mediocre film that could be mistaken for a straight-to-TV Friday night thriller. At some point, it just felt like they were tired of playing with their toys and dumped the whole thing in the compost bowl. I am not even sure the ghost story elements had any meaning. I feel bad for Julianne Moore, as she had to fart sitting on the toilet and play the "lousy dyke" at 54, but her acting was a bit too over the top for me to actually give a damn thing. However, I still think Cronenberg deserves some credit for his natural ability to induce repulsion towards his characters, as well as his courage to deal with uncomfortable themes without compromise. I just wish they spent more time on the script and more money on photography instead of hiring famous actors for stupid roles.

Interesting and compelling film in some ways, with a few funny lines, but overall it's a bit slow and dull. I didn't find the Hollywood character journeys that interesting. Maybe because they have such shallow lives in this movie. It's almost as if this movie thought it would be interesting enough just because it's about Hollywood. The last 20 minutes seemed stupid.

I love movies about movies so I really dig this. A less weird Mulholland Drive.