*George Reeves: Toni, don't do this.

Toni Mannix: But you've got your projects, haven't you? You're going to be a director. You'll sit in your little canvas chair polishing your balls. Thank God I got rid of that hag I had to screw. What was her name? The one who paid for everything! The one who bought me a fucking house!

George Reeves: For God's sake...

Toni Mannix: You want publicity? You'll get it. I'll say you're a Red. And a faggot. A lush. Nobody can call that a lie!

George Reeves: You know what? You've never helped me. You never helped me! You could've talked to Eddie. You could've gotten me something, but you didn't! Because you liked me where I was, in a fucking red suit! You liked that! Well, that's not who I am, understand? God damn you!

Toni Mannix: ...But, George, that's all you were good for. Ten-year-olds and shut-ins. That was the best you were ever going to be. I knew that, why didn't you?



Hollywoodland
Starring Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Ben Affleck
Written by Paul Bernbaum and Directed by Allen Coulter


THE CASE: The mysterious death of actor George Reeves, who played Superman on TV’s Adventures of Superman is the inspiration for this crime drama borderlining on film noir about a hard-nosed detective who tries to unravel the complicated life of George Reeves and while doing so realizes the complications in his own life.


THE GOOD: A very well executed film as far as esthetics from veteran HBO director Allen Coulter (Rome, The Sopranos, Sex and the City). The camera moves with skill and purpose and is placed with thoughtfulness. The glamorous side of the film really feels like old Hollywood and the underbelly feels truly ugly. Diane Lane once again pulls off another well-rounded performance (why doesn’t she have an Oscar yet?) and Adrien Brody reminds us why he is an Oscar winner. The DVD comes with some great extras such as “A Look at Hollywood Then and Now” which takes and in-depth look at the old Hollywood system as compared to now and some excellent features on the George Reeves murder case and the creation of the sets in the film. A director commentary by Allen Coulter is also included.


THE BAD: The screenplay written by Paul Bernbaum is precise, but that is not necessarily a good thing. Plot points and characters really need to be playful for a film that borderlines on noir to be really fun to watch and absorb. That is where Hollywoodland fails if anything; it needs to be more playful. I was hoping for a career defining performance out of Ben Affleck with such a juicy role like playing the complicated George Reeves, but unfortunately he does not deliver. Ben Affleck still looks and feels like Ben Affleck. Good for Jennifer Garner, but bad for his film career.


THE LAW: Being a big fan of Superman and all that is Superman as well as the film noir genre -- I really enjoyed this film. From an objective standpoint, the film is a little to clean cut for me, but definitely a nice film to watch on a rainy Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon.