6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.6 |
Havana Segrand is a mature actress struggling for work that her agent can't provide. Dr. Stafford Weiss is a famed TV self-help guru with an A-list celebrity clientele. Christina is Stafford’s wife and has her work cut out managing the life and career of their disaffected child-star son, who has just been released from rehab at the age of 13. Unbeknownst to Christina and Stafford, however, another member of the Weiss family has arrived in town – their shunned daughter, just released from the psych ward where she was being treated for criminal pyromania, who is ready for a fresh start. As more details emerge about the reasons for their daughter’s incarceration, Havana delves deeper into her own problems as she tries to confront the abuse she experienced as a child.
Starring: Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack, Evan Bird, Olivia WilliamsPsychological thriller | 100% |
Drama | 94% |
Dark humor | 14% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Add another one to the "oddities but goodies" list. Maps to the Stars, the latest from Director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence), looks at dysfunctional Hollywood from two perspectives: the older has-been living in her mother's shadow and the young teenager whose life slowly succumbs to the pressures of ultra fame and huge fortune. The picture offers a mildly comical but largely sobering look at the cost of fame and the obsession of stardom. Mix that together with some strange bits of happenstance and the picture tells a largely unbelievable, but weirdly plausible, tale of interconnectivity and the personal falls from unimaginable heights. The movie does boil down to that very simple but, in the film, intimately complex notion of crumbling façades and broken spirits as experienced by two disparately aged but otherwise indistinguishable figures haunted by past pains and driven to maintain their success at any price. The movie lacks substantial, life-changing commentary and casts a light on figures too far removed from the full understanding of even the most cinema-savvy audiences, but it's still an interesting, albeit (probably) exaggerated snapshot of the toll Hollywood can take on those unprepared to ride its ebbs and flows without too much in the way of personal upheaval.
Not as cool and collected as they seem.
Maps to the Stars features a no-frills 1080p transfer. It's baseline effective, rarely offering anything amounting to a major hiccup, but it's also a thin, unremarkable image that lacks substantial subtlety. Details are fine, a hint soft but largely impressive in terms of delivering raw, accurate facial lines, freckles, clothing textures, and broad image clarity. Colors are satisfactory but don't showcase as particularly robust or attractive. Base reds, blues, and yellows nudge towards dullness but generally stay true and pleasant. Black levels aren't problematic and flesh tones appear even. Minor banding creeps in across a few spots but isn't generally intrusive. The image doesn't struggle with regular noise or show any other assorted maladies.
Maps to the Stars features a fairly basic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack that's no challenge for even modest sound systems but still offers a pleasing, nuanced listen. Music is generally light and agreeable with gentle surround flow, even front side spacing, solid instrumental clarity, and positive attention to detail. The track picks up some nice little bits of support effects, such as lightly ringing wind chimes and the background din of a party where chatter and music are considerably reduced to emphasize dialogue. A couple of slightly heavier effects crop up on occasion, notably a gunshot later in the film and some thuds at the end, neither of which are strikingly detailed or robust but at least get the point across. This is predominantly a dialogue intensive film; the spoken word flows clearly and efficiently from the center with constant intelligibility and perfect prioritization.
This Blu-ray release of Maps to the Stars contains no supplemental content. Inside the Blu-ray case, buyers will find a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy of the film.
Maps to the Stars isn't meant for mainstream consumption. It's not that it's too smart, too complex, too off-the-wall, or too emotionally or physically grotesque, it's that it's not particularly relatable to main street. It's a hardcore movie fan's movie, perfect for someone in search of a darkly quirky, oddly mesmerizing, and oftentimes repulsive look at lives in the death spirals of fame and fortune. It's the antithesis of the typical "glamorous Hollywood" façade and, for films fans, an interesting, albeit (supposedly) fictional account of what happens behind the camera. Universal's Blu-ray release of Maps to the Stars is disappointingly absent any supplemental content. Video and audio presentations suffice. Recommended to the right audiences.
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