accessAtlanta

'Hollywoodland' mystery is short on oomph
by Bob Longino

As the flashy and slightly overlong "Hollywoodland" conjectures, in 1959, a year after the final new episode of TV's "Adventures of Superman," the canceled series' despondent real-life star, George Reeves, climbed the stairs in his Beverly Hills home and either: 1) Was accidentally shot and killed in a drunken argument with his new, deliciously named girlfriend, Leonore Lemmon; or 2) Died at the hands of a home-invading studio thug in the wake of the actor's horribly messy affair with an MGM mogul's wife; or 3) Picked up a loaded Luger and simply blew his own brains out. Read the full review

TO SUM UP
Felled by a single gunshot wound in his Hollywood Hills home in 1959, actor George Reeves — the heroic Man of Steel on TV's "Adventures of Superman" — leaves behind a fiancée and millions of fans who are shocked by his death. But it is his grieving mother who will not let the questionable circumstances surrounding his demise go unaddressed. She seeks justice, or at least answers.

FILM FACTS ...

Focus Features

'Hollywoodland'

Director: Allen Coulter
Starring: Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Ben Affleck, Bob Hoskins, Kathleen Robertson
Run time: 126 minutes
Release date: Sept. 8, 2006
Rating: R for language, some violence and sexual content.
See showtimes

On the web
Official movie site
View the trailer
Trailers require Quicktime

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READ THE REVIEW

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: B-
"(Diane) Lane is a heady mixture of rattled hope and outright hysteria. There's not a scene she's in she doesn't steal."

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Austin American-Statesman: 3 of 5 stars
"... ample material for a murder mystery."

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The Palm Beach Post: C+
"The tawdry look of 1950s Los Angeles is well-captured by production designer Leslie McDonald, but the film feels all dressed up with nowhere to go."

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The Associated Press: C+
"This is the best work we've seen from (Ben Affleck) in a long time, and it reminds us that, given the right material ... he can offer a certain charisma and even depth, and not just serve as a punch line."