MAPS TO THE STARS ☆☆☆☆☆ 5/5
Cronenberg's MASTERFUL and fascinating exploration of the 'C' list people in Hollywood, where you are one lucky or one unlucky break from becoming a legend or a bum. There is no redemption for anyone in this hateful landscape; empty and vapid
**** stab their way to the top of the "it" list.
The centre of it all is a child star and his well-damaged family. The kid is trying to sign on for another sequel of the series that made them all wealthy. He's 13, just out of rehab, and a right nasty little gem. Once you get to know him, it's a short crawl to the other vile characters in the film.
But David Cronenberg sure can tell a story to keep you interested, and so he keeps it going, plowing through this snakepit to the final horrible and fitting end.
And I'm not one for negative movies either, but the story and the acting are tight and just right. Julianne Moore is no first-timer, and she won a deserved Best Actress award at Cannes for this. One exception is John Cusack who to me stuck out as miscast.