Maps to the Stars

Maps to the Stars - Dir. David Cronenberg (2015)

David Cronenberg always held a fascination with body horror and psychosexual themes. Although his latest films lack the grotesqueries of early works such as Videodrome and The Fly, they still maintain the same thematic through lines. Maps to the Stars is no different with a screenplay by Bruce Wagner. Cronenberg finally turns his eye on Hollywood with this searing critique of celebrity culture that plays out like a modern day Greek tragedy.

Havana Segrand (Julianne Moore) is a fading actress who was emotionally and physically abused by her late mother, screen legend Clarice Taggart (Sarah Gadon). Havana attempts to jumpstart her career by portraying her mother in a remake of her most celebrated picture, Stolen Waters. Havana is also haunted by hallucinations of Clarice in her youthful prime.

Benjie Weiss (Evan Bird) is a bad boy of Bieber proportions. At only 13 years of age, he’s been in and out of rehab. He’s not above lighting into his assistant with an anti-Semitic tirade for an embarrassing mistake. Benjie’s parents are no prizes either. His mother, Cristina (Olivia Williams), is a shark when it comes to managing her son’s career. His father, Dr. Stafford Weiss (John Cusack), is a celebrity psychologist with more interest in scoring talk show appearances than fixing his crumbling family.

Into their lives comes Agatha (Mia Wasikowska), fresh off the bus from Florida with long black gloves covering the scars from a childhood fire. Thanks to a connection from Carrie Fisher (in a cameo as herself), Agatha becomes Havana’s new personal assistant.

The usual sticking points about life in Los Angeles are all present. Young actors engaging in excessive drug use and inane conversations. Others opine about meeting the Dalai Lama, not as a spiritual awakening, but as a hip trend. One character talks about becoming a Scientologist as a “career move.”

Cronenberg has a tough time balancing the multiple storylines and characters. Robert Pattinson takes a supporting role as Jerome, a limo driver who aspires to be an actor and screenwriter. In a change of pace from Cosmopolis, Pattinson spends most of his time in the front of the limo instead of the back. However, his brief dalliance with Agatha could have easily been excised from the movie. None of the characters are particularly sympathetic, which may be a problem for those who want their films about likeable people.

Maps to the Stars succeeds due to Cronenberg’s interests into the macabre and a stellar cast. Julianne Moore won the Oscar for Still Alice, but it’s clear she didn’t get enough recognition for her less audience friendly role as Havana. Moore is absolutely fearless in portraying Havana as a flaming hot mess in yoga pants. During one scene, she runs down an ornate shopping list for Agatha while sitting on the toilet. Another scene sees Havana doing a celebratory dance when she learns she’s won a role because the previous actress’s son drowned.

It makes complete sense for David Cronenberg to turn his eye on Hollywood. The land of cosmetic surgery and Botox injections is a perfect fit for his brand of body horror. Shining the light on the dark side of Tinseltown isn’t anything new and the subject matter has been done better. You can take a look at Barton Fink, The Player or go all the way back to Sunset Boulevard. Maps to the Stars doesn’t bring anything new to the table, but Cronenberg’s unique vision makes for compelling drama.

Rating: *** (*****)

Wild Card

Wild Card - Dir. Simon West (2015)

There’s a set formula to nearly every Jason Statham action film. The British bruiser generally plays a stoic anti-hero with a rigid code of honor and woe to anyone who attempts to violate his rules. The Transporter, The Mechanic, and Parker are good examples of the prototypical Statham vehicle. One of the rare occasions in which Statham broke from said formula was Steven Knight’s Redemption. Statham did his finest work in the somber tale of a homeless war vet, his romance with a kind-hearted nun, and an investigation into the murder of another transient. Yes, Statham laid serious beatdowns to an assortment of baddies, but the fight scenes weren’t elaborately staged and were always in service of the story.

Wild Card is an unsuccessful attempt to once again give audiences something more than a standard Statham punch-a-thon.

Wild Card is based on the 1985 novel Heat by William Goldman, the legendary scribe behind All the President’s Men, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and The Princess Bride. Heat was previously adapted into a box office flop that starred Burt Reynolds and featured a revolving door of directors including Robert Altman and Dick Richards, who was punched out by Reynolds. Goldman tries his hand once more with Statham in the lead and Simon West (Con Air, The Expendables 2) in the director’s seat.

Statham is Nick Wild and he’s a more credible protagonist than Reynolds as Nick “The Mex” Escalante. Wild makes his home in the underbelly of the Vegas Strip, the parts that are tucked away from the gaudy tourist traps and glamorous suites for high rollers. Wild’s Vegas is a purgatory where ambitious travelers failed to earn the riches necessary to live out their dreams. In Wild’s case, he’s got his eye on Corsica. Unfortunately, he’s also an inveterate gambler who loses any money he earns from assorted odd jobs. Wild’s latest problems involve Holly, a former flame working as a prostitute who is beaten to a pulp by volatile gangster Danny DeMarco (Milo Ventimiglia). When Wild helps Holly exact revenge on DeMarco, it leads to problem after problem.

Wild Card won’t be highlighted anytime soon by the Las Vegas board of tourism. This is a film far from the glitzy hotels with gloomy skies and lonely nights. The supporting cast is layered with noted actors like Jason Alexander, Stanley Tucci, Anne Heche, and Sofia Vergera. These are mostly glorified cameos and it’s almost disappointing to see someone of the caliber of Hope Davis appear in a handful of scenes as a blackjack dealer. In fact, the women in Wild Card are all waitresses, hookers, and the like. On the other hand, these casting coups accentuate this version of Vegas as a depressing way station where someone can easily lose himself or herself.

This is an intriguing premise to find Jason Statham. Unfortunately, none of the filmmakers felt truly invested in making Wild Card a Sartre-esque tale of existential entrapment. Moments of melancholy are brief as the movie breaks out into a bar room brawl. Wild Card features two significant fight scenes, neither of which are particularly memorable in spite of choreography by Corey Yuen.

Wild Card was quickly shuffled off into obscurity following a limited theatrical run. This is a film confused about its own existence. It’s one that’s not quite a drama and not quite an action flick. Recommended only for die-hard Statham-ites.

Rating: ** (*****)

Mortdecai

Mortdecai - Dir. David Koepp (2015)

Oh, Johnny Depp, what have you done?

There’s no doubting that Johnny Depp is an iconoclastic performer. He was always a well-respected actor who finally shot into the upper stratosphere of superstardom after Pirates of the Caribbean. Ever since the emergence of Jack Sparrow, Depp’s track record has been rather iffy. His high-profile roles in Alice in Wonderland, The Lone Ranger, and Dark Shadows were criticized for being nothing more than one-note cartoon characters. Is he simply trying to recapture the magic of Captain Jack?

Depp doesn’t do himself any favors with yet another overly mannered performance in Mortdecai, based on a series of novels by Kyril Bonfiglioli.

Lord Charlie Mortdecai is a renowned art dealer and a self-absorbed aristocrat. He also owes £8 million in back taxes to the British government, much to the dismay of his long-suffering wife Johanna (Gwyneth Paltrow). Meanwhile, a valuable Goya painting has been stolen during a restoration. As it turns out, the stolen painting leads to yet another long-lost Goya that would be priceless on its own. The artwork was looted by the Nazis during WWII and Hermann Goering himself was rumored to have written the numbers to his Swiss bank accounts on the back of the canvas. Now, a litany of ne’er do wells are after the paintings from a Russian gangster (Ulrich Thomsen) to notorious terrorist Emil Strago (Jonny Pasvolsky). MI5’s Inspector Alistair Martland (Ewan McGregor) must enlist the aid of Mortdecai, who is reluctant to agree because Martland holds an unrequited torch for Johanna.

There’s a part of me that actually admires that a film like Mortdecai was actually made. It’s the type of picture no one makes anymore, a throwback to the old screwball comedies of Howard Hawks and Preston Sturges with a dash of The Pink Panther. Despite the best efforts of Depp and Paltrow, their dialogue has none of the same snap or wit. Chalk that up to screenwriter Eric Aronson whose last credit was the dubious On the Line starring ‘N Sync’s Lance Bass. Mortdecai’s idea of humor revolves around Johanna gagging at the prospect of kissing her hubby’s ludicrous mustache, a nymphomaniac played by Olivia Munn, and Mortdecai nearly getting his testicles hooked to a car battery.

David Koepp directed Mortdecai and he’s a filmmaker who knows his stuff. He’s written big blockbusters such as Jurassic Park and Spider-Man, along with directing psychological thrillers (Secret Window), rom-coms (Ghost Town), and action (Premium Rush). Koepp clearly drew inspiration from classics like Charade and How to Steal a Million in attempting to make Mortdecai a modern globetrotting caper. If you remember, Depp already starred in one of these (The Tourist) and the results weren’t any better. Koepp is really let down by the flat material. The slapstick lacks any energy and the whole thing drags on interminably.

As Depp borrowed heavily from Keith Richards for his turn as Jack Sparrow, he draws from British comedian Terry-Thomas for his performance and look as Mortdecai, right down to the gap in his teeth. Sadly, Depp seems content with performing shtick than any sort of subtleties and it becomes tiresome in the long run. Paltrow gets to dust off her British accent, but her and Depp don’t have the chemistry that she and Robert Downey Jr. do. The one highlight in Mortdecai is Paul Bettany, who clearly relishes the opportunity to do some comedy for a change. Bettany goes Cockney to play Mortdecai’s manservant/bodyguard Jock.

One can imagine Mortdecai working had it come along in the 60’s with Peter Sellers or Terry-Thomas himself in the title role. Today, Mortdecai is an anachronistic bore. It seems as if all Johnny Depp hoped for was to amuse himself and on that level he succeeded.

Rating: * (*****)