The Frame

Did George Reeves, TV’s original Superman, commit suicide or was he murdered? That’s the question facing detective Adrien Brody in this attempt at neo-noir. In all honesty, this is a better film than the similarly-themed and similarly-timed The Black Dahlia, even though it covers a lot of the same ground, but in all honesty, it’s still not that good. I liked the flashback parts dealing with Reeves’ frustration at being typecast more than the murder investigation parts (which suffered from the same “detective’s personal issues take over from the case” syndrome that plagued Dahlia), and Ben Affleck did a creditable job as the washed-up wanna-be actor; he seems to be better in supporting parts, and now behind the camera, than he ever really was as a leading man. Anyway, if you want a look at the underside of Golden Age Hollywood, stick with L.A. Confidential. Hollywoodland and Dahlia are just mostly failed attempts to do what that film did.
Below Average