Hollywoodland (2006)

Nice effects though.

It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The violent death of a famous actor prompts an opportunistic private investigator to kick up a media storm with allegations of murder, but what trouble awaits him when vicious thugs from the movie industry are drawn into the frame?Elaborate noir with a down on his luck outsider, a femme fatale, feckless dames, and a twisty plot that spins a web of confusion without tearing apart. It's a fictionalised bio of the famous actor, which exaggerates quite a bit to increase the sense of tragedy and generate mystery. The atmosphere of '50s Hollywood is well done, and we're presented with a cycle of broken lives all trying desperately to feed off each other. The one inch of solid ground is provided by the actor's agent, who concludes with a non-committal act. So it's nihilistic, but there's plenty of passion and emotion - especially the sadness of loss.The performances are good, although I find it hard to accept the lead actor as a tough guy. As Marlowe would say: "no iron in his bones". The climax is good, but didn't pack a full punch for me - I think maybe the b&w footage of the wrestling audition didn't give the intended insight.The music is good, plenty of sorrowful brass. Highlight of the photography is flame-lighting of faces from dozens of cigarette scenes.Overall: Well paced genre piece that ends up solid rather than awe-inspiring.

It's 1959 and George Reeves (Ben Affleck) best known as TV Superman is found shot dead in a house full of people. The police rules it a suicide. Questionable private investigator Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) is hired by Helen Bessolo to investigate the death of her son Reeves. As he digs into the case, the show flashes back to Reeves' time in Hollywood starting as a nobody trying to get his foot in the door. He has an affair with Toni Mannix (Diane Lane) who he doesn't know at first that she is actually the wife of a MGM studio head Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins).The movie is a little slow and a little long relishing in the noirish hard-boiled style. Allen Coulter is a TV director and that may be why the movie moves more slowly. It doesn't quite have the urgency. Adrien Brody's slow brooding mannerisms only accentuate the pacing. I like the era and the style. I could do with a quicker pace. Ben Affleck fits this character better than his other nice guy roles. He's a little dark and a little complicated. It signals a change in Affleck's career path for the better. The style is there but the pacing is lacking.

The mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the actor who was known to millions of TV viewers for his starring role in "Adventures Of Superman" (1952-1958) gave rise to widespread speculation about whether his death was a case of suicide or murder. "Hollywoodland" tells the semi-fictitious story of an investigation into the case by a private detective who, just like television's Superman, finds that his ambitions lead him into dark territory.Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) is the private investigator whose personal life is in turmoil and whose professional activities don't earn him enough to pay the bills. He becomes aware of the death of George Reeves (Ben Affleck) when he discovers how upset his son is about what happened to his TV hero and later becomes more intrigued when he learns, from a detective that he used to work with, that there are certain facts about the case that the authorities want to keep under wraps.Simo sees an opportunity to win some valuable publicity and soon gets himself hired by Reeves' mother Helen Bessolo (Lois Smith) who doesn't believe for a minute that her son would've committed suicide. Simo's investigation reveals a number of unexplained pieces of evidence and it isn't too long before a few different theories emerge about how Reeves actually died.Reeves was an actor whose career had started with a small part in "Gone With The Wind" but subsequently failed to develop in the way he'd hoped it would. He'd become involved with an older woman called Toni Mannix (Diane Lane) who bought him a house, a car and good clothes but ominously turned out to be the wife of MGM studio executive Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins). Reeves' initial anxiety about this was relieved however, when he learnt that Eddie and Toni had an open relationship and Eddie also had a Japanese mistress.The opportunity to play Superman was a turning point for Reeves because it made him famous and provided him with a modest income. Unfortunately though, he didn't find the role satisfying and had aspirations to play more demanding parts which could earn him recognition as a serious actor. Very few roles of the type he wanted came along and when they did, audience reaction was negative because being so well known as Superman meant that no-one could take him seriously in any other role. Reeves became bitter, dumped Toni and later became involved with a young starlet called Leonore Lemmon (Robin Tunney) who was present at his Hollywood home on the night of his death."Hollywoodland" is a movie in which the Los Angeles of the 1950s is beautifully and convincingly recreated and its story about the unexplained inconsistencies surrounding the death of George Reeves is genuinely intriguing.Ben Affleck is marvellous as he brings to life the charm and sadness of his character and subtly shows how humiliated he felt at certain points in his career and Diane Lane is terrific as the wealthy but vulnerable Toni who was left devastated and angry when her affair with Reeves ended. Bob Hoskins and Adrien Brody both make a strong impression but overall the quality of the acting in this film really is exceptionally good.

George Reeves (no relation to Christopher) was the first actor to play superman on television: his suicide was a mystery and many have speculated that he was actually murdered. This story is investigated in Alan Coulter's low-key thriller 'Hollywoodland', which combines scenes from Reeves' life with the story of a not-particularly likable private detective investigating the case. The result is a tale of superficial glamour, suburban reality, limited opportunities and complicated private lives; in fact, it's really such an everyday story (in spite of the fame of its protagonist) that it struggles to bear its noir-ish pretensions ("I'm just trying to turn a buck here" and so on). Whatever killed him, Reeves wanted to be an actor but was ultimately just a celebrity: famous for his role, but not for his talent. And that seems to be the most pertinent message from this film for our times.