Hollywoodland - 3 stars out of 10

Hollywoodland - 3 stars out of 10

The trailer for "Hollywoodland" looked so good but I underestimated Ben Affleck's ability to ruin a promising story.  This fictional investigation into the real-life suicide of George Reeves explores the conspiracy theories that this death was not actually a suicide.  Unfortunately, the film failed to draw me in at the beginning and left me without attachment to a single character as the movie progressed.  While the concept is interesting, there is little action and the quality of acting is not enough to drive the film.  That's really surprising with people like Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, and Bob Hoskins on-board.  The only scene that resonated with me was when a young boy approached Affleck (in his Superman persona) with a loaded gun, asking if he can shoot him to watch the bullet bounce off.  This scene was filmed with poignant regard for our society's dependence on television to define our reality.  But other than that, I struggled to leave the film on since the ending was of no consequence to me.  "Hollywoodland" is good if you are looking for some insight into the darker side of Hollywood but I definitely would not put this one on my Top 1,000 Movie list.