Film Review: Maps to the Stars (18) (Canada/U.S.A./Germany/France 2014) (Director: David Cronenberg), The Cameo Cinema Screen One, Edinburgh, Saturday 27.09.2014 19:30

Some reviewers have called this a satire, I don't know if I would quite agree with that, though do feel this is a biting fictionalised expose of 'Hollywood''s ways of being. 

Julianne Moore is great as the lead desperate-needy actress verging towards the end of her career. Olivia Williams & John Cusack play a cold-couple with a secret they must keep hidden below the surface, and an insufferable, just out of rehab, young brat child-star for a son. Mia Wasikowska plays the most complex character who weedles her way into the 'Hollywood' set, then becoming the assistant to Julianne Moore. Mia's secret's are hinted at on her scarred body, the rest I have to leave the film to reveal. 

There are some fantastic scenes, where all surface is very pleasant, though it is clear to see that the main characters being focused upon, hold nothing but venomous contempt for each other. There are some wonderfully off the leash scenes where the actors are portraying more extreme elements than they would usually dare allow themselves to, such as Julianne Moore on the crapper with trapped constipated wind leaking out. 

I don't feel there was any point to the film, beyond showing 'Hollywood' in not only a superficial light, though also in a way that shows it as being utterly-self-consumed, vacuous and bilious. Maybe not the most original of ideas, though this the most unvarnished I have seen a presentation of 'Hollywood'. I feel the film doesn't need a purpose or point beyond this.

It is quite a riot of a film, that also presents 'Hollywood' in a way that we can actually imagine it being. I found this to be a very enjoyable film, though it is hard to say exactly why. I also suspect it has more depth than able to pick-up upon on first viewing. It certainly sticks in my thoughts...

Rating: 09/10.     

Film Review: Scanners (18) (Canada 1981) (Director: David Cronenberg) Friday 22.06.2012 23:00 The Cameo Cinema Screen Two, Edinburgh 

This is the second early Cronenberg film I have seen at the cinema in as many weeks, having seen The Brood for the first time the previous Friday. I had not seen Scanners before either. I had though seen a clip of the exploding head shot, so knew that was coming, though it still looked quite spectacular. Sadly though, this came early on in the film, and there was never anything as visually striking as the film went on. This though feels a churlish point as there needed to be something of considerable impact for the responding attack that came to be reasonable (within the confines of the story), and for the time it was made, it was an effect that few may even have dreamed could be pulled off with such convincing aplomb.

To me the film centres around the danger of others having unedited access to our thoughts, without being able to put them though the censoring process of verbalization, and the potential destructive response from others to getting such unfiltered information. I had felt The Brood had stuck closely to what I understood the plot's focus to be about, whereas I did not feel that was done so well with Scanners, except to say that it establishes the issue, and then the rest of the film focuses upon attempts to destroy the ability to access unfiltered information by trying to destroy the Scanners. An interesting premise was set up, then built on top of this was a violet chase. Despite feeling it to not be as considered a film, I did never the less find it engaging and enjoyable.

It feels difficult to know what else to say about it, without going into plot details.

Rating: 06/10.