Film Review: Hollywoodland

Rented a couple of flicks over the weekend. The first was Hollywoodland, that Ben Affleck movie about George Reeves - the first tv Superman.

It starts off pretty well. I was actually quite impressed with Affleck, who was WAY better than he normally is. He was much more subtle and sympathetic. The bulk of the movie, though, revolves around Adrien Brody's private investigator character (for better or for worse). Brody tends to be hit and miss with me, too, but in this one he gets a passing grade. He was just the right kind of slimey. Diane Lane is also pretty watchable (how could she not be?).

I suppose much of the credit has to go to writer Paul Berbaum (who comes out of nowhere - the last time this guy did anything of note it was some A-Team and Riptide episodes, for Pete's sake) and director Allen Coulter (of more notable tv fame). The movie looks good and hits the right notes most of the way, even if Affleck's accent is a little all over the place.

But despite the promising start, the film gets a little bogged down in its own depression and by the time the movie's over, you might be contemplating taking yourself out. ...Ok, maybe it's not that bad, but I was a little surprised that it was only 2 hours. And the ending? Not so great.

Overall a thumbs up, but I'm glad I waited for the DVD version.