Hooroo Jackson, known for making A Very Long Carriage Ride, is releasing his latest effort Lucky Stars. Lucky Stars is a space opera concerning the exploits of Princess Mora. The byline tells me Princess Mora is a performance blended from five machine voices. This sentence attests to the profound degree of effort demonstrated in Lucky Stars. A film written, directed, edited and produced by Hooroo Jackson, Lucky Stars is a greatly improved effort over even A Very Long Carriage Ride.
The plot is representative of a multi-cultural melodrama. In the vastness of space, humanity lives on 20-odd moons. Each moon possesses its own royal family, and is under an alliance. Mora, a seasoned diplomat, has been sent by her parents to cement a relationship between herself and Zot princeling Fidge. Fidge is less than interested in spending time with Mora. While waiting to try and woo him, Mora meets Darin O’Joy. Darin O’Joy, nicknamed The Rocketman, is a star cruiser pilot. Mora, deciding she would rather go to a training academy rather than cement her relationship with Zot’s Prince Fidge, stows away on O’Joy’s vessel. This is where the story of Lucky Stars takes off.
Two women pose in a gleaming crystal palace hall as armored guards wait behind them in Lucky Stars.
“Mora, deciding she would rather go to a training academy rather than cement her relationship with Zot’s Prince Fidge, stows away on O’Joy’s vessel.”
Lucky Stars is a fascinating and aspirational AI-powered effort. I rather enjoyed the visual effects, sets, and scenery on display in Lucky Stars. The aesthetic of the space cruisers on display in Lucky Stars is intriguing. The AI engine has prepared vessels which seem to hybridize the ship designs of the Flash Gordon matinees with the Buck Rogers series. While other reviews cite Star Wars as an influence, I see the films of the Golden Age of Science Fiction as the clear inspiration for the moons and worlds Mora and her crew visit.
I also see a nod to the Super Mario Bros movies. The frequent presence of turtles, from sea turtles in an aquarium to special Zot turtles, call to mind the pervasive presence of the Koopa soldiers. Lucky Stars, much like any item crafted from AI, relies on blending and remixing all manner of material to create a composite that will bear a striking, if uncanny, resemblance to a film prepared by a full human crew. Lucky Stars demonstrates that people like Hooroo Jackson are now able to generate films without any kind of crew or cast. All the actors are digital composites. Hooroo, as mentioned, wrote, directed and edited Lucky Stars. Further, this film was made for 1000 dollars, which definitely is one of the smallest budgets for a striking and handsome space opera I’ve ever heard of, dear reader. Hell, George Lucas still spent 2 million dollars on Episode IV. While Lucky Stars does not escape the valley of the uncanny, it does traverse a clear and steady path through it. I was quite impressed with the effort it took to make Lucky Stars, dear reader. It did not feel derivative or sloppy in any practical way.
If you’re the sort of person who’s all in for AI and the inexpensive advancements it promises, you owe it to yourself to watch the wild world building of Lucky Stars. This is a delightful and visually dazzling effort.
For screening information, visit the Lucky Stars official website.
"…a delightful and visually dazzling effort..."
