Hollywoodland

Here we have another first time guest critic: Eddie Kent, Billy Joel fan extrodinaire, and now obviously Hollywoodland fan extrodinaire. I, too, really enjoyed this film. Great film noir. Hey, Eddie - nice tux!

Without further ado, here's Eddie!

My wife and I were intending to see Jackass 2, but since the free passes were not able to be used at this time, we chose to see a deeper, dramatic film, Hollywoodland. It was the right choice, because this is a great movie. Sometimes moving, many moments suspenseful, and at times haunting. This film had it all. The acting was phenomenal, and I believe that Ben Affleck's somewhat brief performance of Superman star George Reeves, will finally give his acting some respectability, and quite possibly an Oscar nomination, if not a win for Best Supporting Actor. Adrian Brody was great as always, and Diane Lane gave a remarkably intense portrayal of Toni Mannix, the wife of MGM studio executive Eddie Mannix, with whom Reeves had an affair.

The story centers around the mystery surrounding the apparent suicide of actor George Reeves (Ben Affleck), TV's Superman on June 16, 1959. Dead by a single gunshot wound to the head, the LA police determine the cause to be suicide, closing the case. The actor's mother, Helen Bessolo, doesn't believe her son could do such a thing, and hires $50 dollar a day private detective Louis Simo (Adrian Brody) to try and find out the truth. Simo decides to string his payday out by saying he thinks it could be murder, but soon discovers that he may be closer to the truth than he thought. Simo uncovers the steamy affair Reeves had with Toni Mannix (Diane Lane), the wife of MGM studio exec, Eddie Mannix. Louis follows many leads, some that become dangerous as he nears the truth. He also sees some parallels between Reeves and his life, and begins to understand the actor's reasons for possibly killing himself. During the film, all angles are shown as to what might have happened, ranging from an accident, to murder, to finally the suicide. There are many questions still left unanswered concerning Reeves death, and it's this that left me feeling haunted for quite awhile after leaving the theater. I did some reading up on the case, and it made the movie that more fascinating.

This is one of those movies that has superb acting, a good story, and makes you think a little. I would highly recommend seeing this film, because this is one of those movies that gets it right.


Dan, again. Thanks Eddie! And I agree: I think Ben Affleck may very possibly get at least an Academy Award nomination.