Rating:  -
This movie portrays Steve Reeves in the worst possible light. A man of limited talent who was not above mixing with the most transparently crude people in order to further a career that never went very far anyway.
Apparently there is some truth in the treatment of the man. Ben Affleck played him in a very stiff manner, and I had to wonder if this was what Reeves was actually like. The studio exec, Bob Hoskins, was credible in all but his relationship to his wife. That he allowed, and apparently encouraged her liaisons, didn't ring true. Brody, as the detective investigating Reeves' death, appeared credible, and was not as obnoxious as some of the other characters in the movie. I imagine that his character was the one we were to sympathize with . . there was no one else of interest in the movie as far as I was concerned.
The movie constantly went into flashbacks and flashbacks of flashbacks that began to wear thin. It was difficult to watch at times. In the end I agreed with Brody's conclusion about the death, but by that time I really didn't care one way or the other.
Rating:  -
This is an interesting movie. A little slow moving but it keeps you in there till it picks up. I enjoyed the story and period costums.
Rating: -
"Hollywoodland" is two films in one. One is about the tragic life of actor George Reeves, best known as Superman on TV during the 1950s, who committed suicide in 1959. The other is about an opportunistic private detective Louis Simo hired by Reeves' mother to find out truths behind the mysterious (so say some) death of Reeves. My impression after watching this moody film is, Had first-time feature director Allen Coulter used only the first part as basis of the storyline, telling it in a more straightforward fashion, "Hollywoodland" might have been much better than what it is, overlong, unnecessarily complicated nourish film.
I am not saying "Hollywoodland" is a bad film, but if you are expecting something full of twists and turns like "L. A. Confidential" or thrilling crime mystery, you will definitely feel that way. In spite of the superb performance from Oscar-winner Adrian Brody as low-rent private eye, the investigation part has nothing new to offer and the slow-moving plot actually goes nowhere. Obviously Simo's story, or his messy life, is intended to be compared or contrasted to that of Reeves, but his is not just as interesting as that of George Reeves, real-life actor whose unexpected success as Superman becomes a curse for him.
In fact, besides several technical things such as film's meticulously realized period details and slick editing, Ben Affleck's portrayal of George Reeves is one of the reasons you should see "Hollywoodland." He has created the convincing image of the affable actor with darker side hidden inside, who wanted to be taken seriously, but couldn't achieve it. Diane Lane provides a solid performance as Toni Mannix, older woman and neglected wife of powerful Hollywood producer (Bob Hoskins), and according to the film, Reeves is romantically entangled with her while he is later attracted to Leonore Lemmon, much younger actress-wannabe played by Robin Tunney. All the supporting cast is wonderful, most notably Lois Smith, Joe Spano and Jeffrey DeMunn.
Perhaps the real protagonist of "Hollywoodland" may be the town of Hollywood itself back in the 50s when old studio system was going and the producers had to find out a new way to attract audiences to the theater, who were more attracted to new kind of pop culture - television and rock music. With this historical background of the American movie history that is certainly interesting. "Hollywoodland" could have been a more intriguing film with only one person in its center, not two; that is George Reeves who exactly represents the time when films, music and other pop culture were about to drastically change.
Rating:  -
I was not impressed with this movie at all. It was very poorly done and was a waste of time watching it. It jumped around so much, you had trouble keeping up with what time they were in.
Rating:  -
Hollywoodland is a wonderful movie about the mysterious death of George Reeves, who became known to millions as Superman, a role he despised. The film doesn't pretend to solve the case, which I liked, and the acting is superb: Adrien Brody and Diane Lane are wonderful, as usual. And it was nice to see Ben Affleck in a good movie, for a change.
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