HOLLYWOODLAND" - Diane Lane, Brody, Affleck - looks good

norrisMc · 09-08-2006, 06:35 AM

HOLLYWOODLAND" - Diane Lane, Brody, Affleck - looks good Post #1

Hearing good things about "HOLLYWOODLAND". It was well received at the Venice Film Festival and has pretty good reviews so far. 70% at Rottentomatoes.com

DIANE LANE is getting very good reviews as is (wait for it) AFFLECK.

Anyone plan on going to see it?

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Tino · 09-08-2006, 07:00 AM

Hey Martin, how are you?

norrisMc · 09-08-2006, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tino

Hey Martin, how are you?

Hmmm.

Tino · 09-08-2006, 10:42 AM

C'mon Martin. Ya know that every time Diane Lane is mentioned so favorably, we all know it's you posting under one of your pseudonyms, right?

It's kinda amusing actually....although I wonder how Ms. Lane would feel?

Russell G · 09-08-2006, 04:58 PM

Actually this film is a complex metaphor of the cold war, with George representing the post WW2 American ideal, "Superman" the liberal Jewish conspieracy, and "hollywood" the russian controlled communist media...

Oh, sorry about that, wrong thread! Parden me, but this section of the HTF has been a little wonky lately...

this movie looks awesome! Ben Afflick looks great as George, I can't wait to see it!

Inspector Hammer! · 09-09-2006, 01:28 AM

I'm a little baffled by this film, it's about the death and ensuing cotroversy of George Reeves, right? So why the strange title that doesn't really reflect that at all?

Am I missing something? I mean to watch the trailer you'd never know it was about him at all, and I know because I saw the trailer in the theater and had no idea it was about George Reeves.

Tim Glover · 09-09-2006, 04:39 AM

Nice theater John. Very nice

Craig S · 09-10-2006, 08:22 AM

Quote:

I'm a little baffled by this film, it's about the death and ensuing cotroversy of George Reeves, right? So why the strange title that doesn't really reflect that at all?

The title actually makes perfect sense. The film is about more than Reeves - his story is just one vehicle used to explore the way that Hollywood/LA eats people up and spits them out. There is a parallel story featuring Adrien Brody investigating the case which actually gets more screentime than the Reeves scenes. The "controversy over Reeves' death" is really just a McGuffin. A review I read said the film is about failure, and that is pretty much it in a nutshell.

Fine performances all around. Affleck, who won the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival yesterday, is superb.

Patrick Sun · 09-10-2006, 04:24 PM

I thought Diane Lane disappeared into the role of Toni to good effect, but overall, the film drags a lot in the final act after a promising start. Ben Affleck was good as Reeves, but he never did get the openness of the eyes, the charm, that the real Reeves imparted, and Affleck has a hard time losing the smirk he has. Adrien Brody does a good job in a low key role as Lou, but I wasn't all that interested in his subplot, even with the attempted parallel storylines drawn between Reeves' relationship with his father, and Lou's relationship with his own son.

I give it 2.5 stars, or a grade of C+.

norrisMc · 09-10-2006, 05:16 PM

We saw it last night and we both really enjoyed it.

It wasn't the fastest action-packed movie you'll see but I think it fulfilled on it's promise. I was pleasantly surprised by Ben Affleck, but (biased or not) I thought Diane Lane was terrific. She is such a good actress.

Hoskins, Brody and particularly Robin Tunney were also excellent. The film may have flaws but the acting was flawless. Affleck deserves his award.

Henry Gale · 09-10-2006, 09:18 PM

I agree with most of Patrick's comments. I went into this very enthusiastic, not about Ben of course, but I love Diane Lane and anything in (semi) old Hollywood has me hooked.
They used (unrealistically) some of the very best music from the era.
I remember the incident well; I was 12 at the time.
And finally I thought it would never end.

Steve...O · 09-10-2006, 10:19 PM

I agree with Patrick as well. Affleck never came across as Reeves to me in either mannerisms or (especially) voice. Diane Lane's potty mouthed character didn't do much for me but Bob Hoskins was brilliant as her even more potty mouthed husband. On the whole it seemed too contrived and too simplistic to be an effective noir/drama. The entire subplot with the PI's ex and kid should have been ditched as it drug down the movie.

Actor Jim Beaver is writing a book on Reeves' death, a topic that he has researched for many years. I look forward to reading it to be able to determine how much of this movie was embellished Hollywood style.