George Reeves Death 67th Anniversary

Above, the home in Benedict Canyon where George Reeves died. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Today is the 67th anniversary of the death of the original television Superman, George Reeves in his bedroom in Benedict Canyon. 

Fans of the 1950s Adventures of Superman are familiar with the different theories of Reeves's death. The theories are suicide, murder and accident. Those theories were presented in the feature film, Hollywoodland (2006). I'll leave it to the viewer on which one to believe.

Above, Hollywoodland screenwriter Paul Bernbaum and yours truly in 2014.

Hollywoodland is a fictionalized account of the last days of George Reeves and the aftermath of his death. It was written by Paul Bernbaum and stars Ben Affleck as George Reeves. It is a film worth viewing. 

Above, George Reeves as Superman.

Justin Root posted two videos on the "Mysterious Life & Death of Superman George Reeves." Root goes through Reeves's life and death in detail. Both parts are presented below.

"The Flash" (2023)

Yesterday, I received an early Christmas present from my former roommate Jessica. It was a Blu-ray of The Flash (2023).

The movie stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen, Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne, Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne and Sasha Calle as Supergirl.

The IMDb summary:

Barry Allen uses his super speed to change the past, but his attempt to save his family creates a world without super heroes, forcing him to race for his life in order to save the future.

I viewed the movie for the second time today. I wasn't expecting too much from reading much skuttlebutt against it before seeing it the first time (yesterday). I don't feel the negative reviews expressed were justified. Was it a perfect movie? No. But I found it very entertaining.

While trying to change the past (to save his mother's life), Barry opens up a multi-verse of different times. It was fun seeing Keaton don the cape and cowl and great to see George Reeves, Chris Reeve, Helen Slater and Adam West representing the different universes. Oddly, this also included the Superman that never was, Nicholas Cage.

Gal Gadot made a cameo as Wonder Woman at the beginning. 

Overall, I would grade The Flash somewhere around A- or B+. 

"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" (Ultimate Edition)

When Batman V Superman: The Dawn of Justice (2016) came out, I posted a review of it and gave it a "B" grade. 

I bought the "ultimate edition" on Blu-ray as we are in a heat wave and needed something to watch while indoors. I also bought Man of Steel, which I had never seen. The Blu-ray has the extended version along with the theatrical version.

My opinion on Batman V Superman has risen a bit. I'll give it an "A-" now. That's for the theatrical version. 

However, the much longer (30 minutes longer) ultimate edition did not help the movie in my eyes. It muddled things more. I kept wondering, "What's the point?" I had forgotten that Jimmy Olsen was shot in the head and killed in Africa by terrorists. That was a dumb move. So much for "Superman's pal" in this DC movie universe. 

To date, I think I liked Justice League (2017) of the current crop of DC Comics movies the most. It's funny I haven't posted a review of it. I have the theatrical version. Maybe I'll get around to it eventually. 

For future viewings, I'll stick with the theatrical version.

Revisiting "Hollywoodland"

Above, Hollywoodland screenwriter Paul Bernbaum and yours truly
 at the bar at the Beverly Garland Hotel in North Hollywood in 2014.

Last night, I decided to revisit the 2006 movie, Hollywoodland, a fictionalized account of the death of Adventures of Superman star George Reeves on June 16, 1959 in Benedict Canyon.

I haven't watched the movie since before I moved out of California to New Mexico. 

Above, the George Reeves home in Benedict Canyon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Some in Superman/George Reeves fandom don't like the movie, but it has grown in favor (at least to me) over the years. It was written by Paul Bernbaum and directed by Allen Coulter. It stars Adrien Brody as (fictional) detective Louis Simo, Ben Affleck as Reeves, Robin Tunney as Leonore Lemmon, Bob Hoskins as Eddie Mannix and Diane Lane as Toni Mannix.

Above, the Hollywoodland poster.

It covers quite nicely the three "theories" of the death of George Reeves: hit man, accident (by Leonore Lemmon) and suicide. 

One of the locations used for Hollywoodland was Chips Restaurant in Hawthorne, California. I used to dine there on occasion when I lived in Hawthorne. 

Above, George Reeves and his rifle collection during a
photo shoot that took place about 72 hours before his death.

Hollywoodland as a movie holds up quite well. It did a great job in recreating the Hollywood of the 1950s. The approach was subtle, rather than going overboard as some movies do when trying to recreate a bygone era.

If one is interested in murder mysteries, Hollywood history or George Reeves, Hollywoodland is worth a look. It is still available on DVD.

Weinstein Scandal: Hollywood Eating Itself

This season's biggest spectator sport is the Harvey Weinstein scandal that appears to have tentacles reaching in all nooks and crannies of Hollywood. As such, this is shaping up to be the biggest scandal to hit Hollywood in ages.

Finally, Hillary Clinton and the Obamas have issued statements, insipid as they are, condemning Weinstein.

But that's not all.

A recording has surfaced of Weinstein admitting that he groped an actress. Go here for more.

This scandal is causing actors/actresses to turn on each other. Actress Rose McGowan called actor Ben Affleck a liar and told him to "F*ck off!" on Twitter.

From Twitchy:

 “GODDAMNIT! I TOLD HIM TO STOP DOING THAT” you said that to my face. The press conf I was made to go to after assault. You lie.

To see the full McGowan/Affleck exchange, go here.

It appears that collusion and hypocrisy in Hollywood are now being fully exposed to the world. (Not that we should be surprised.)

Get out the popcorn and sit back and watch Hollywood eat itself.


UPDATE:

Weinstein is said to be going for rehab for sexual and other issues. Predictable!

"Suicide Squad"

My former roomie, Jes and I went to go see Suicide Squad this afternoon. We picked the 3D version.

The online synopsis of the plot is as follows:

Figuring they're all expendable, a U.S. intelligence officer decides to assemble a team of dangerous, incarcerated supervillains for a top-secret mission. Now armed with government weapons, Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang, Killer Croc and other despicable inmates must learn to work together. Dubbed Task Force X, the criminals unite to battle a mysterious and powerful entity, while the diabolical Joker (Jared Leto) launches an evil agenda of his own.

I never read the comic book from DC Comics, so I went into the theater not really knowing what to expect (Jes picked the movie, anyway).

Frankly, outside of the 3D and special effects, I wasn't really too impressed. Sure, the movie had lots of action, but it seemed like the set-up of getting the baddies together for the top-secret mission was rushed and it wasn't all that clear what the objective was.

Ben Affleck had a cameo appearance as Batman. Supposedly, The Flash was also in it, but apparently his scene(s) zipped by at super-speed so I missed him. Superman was mentioned a number of times. Jared Leto had to be the oddest Joker I've ever seen. Will Smith was, typically, Will Smith. He really didn't bring much to this movie.

About the only thing that caused us any real excitement was when Jes almost had to perform CPR on me as I just about choked on a plain M & M candy.

I did like Margot Robbie's take as Harley Quinn. She also was pleasant to the eyes. Outside of that, Suicide Squad was a yawner to me.

My grade: B-.

"Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice"

For the past few days, I've been reading reviews of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice from critics and friends. Most of what I've read were negative.

Tonight, I went to go see it. 

Since the reviews I've read were mostly negative, I went into the theater with low expectations. The last time I went into a theater with low expectations was for Van Helsing. It met my low expectations.

However in the case of Batman v. Superman, I found myself enjoying it more than expected, even more so than Superman Returns.

Was it the best Superman movie ever? No. Was it the best Batman movie ever? No. Was it the best super-hero movie ever? No. But it was enjoyable. It also wasn't the worst in any of these categories either.

Granted, a lot of it was long and too drawn out. I detested the costumes for Superman and Wonder Woman. Batman looked okay, except he looked too bulky.

Henry Cavill is good as Superman and Clark Kent, if only he had a better costume (the design is based on DC Comics' current one) and a lot less cape. He reminds me a lot of George Reeves, which is a plus in my book. Ben Affleck was good as Bruce Wayne and Batman. One quibble on Affleck: if he's supposed to be a millionaire playboy, can't he afford to buy a razor?

Above, the Silver Age Batman and Superman.

Gal Gadot was good as Diana Prince and Wonder Woman. Jesse Eisenberg was fair as Lex Luthor. I was not impressed with Amy Adams as Lois Lane. To me, Lois should be a dark brunette and very hot-looking. Adams wasn't unattractive, but she was not a striking beauty to me that a Lois Lane should be.

I won't go into the story, but it wasn't as bad as some are saying. The special effects were pretty good.

My grade: B.

Ben Affleck To Face Superman As Batman

Above, Ben Affleck as George Reeves in "Hollywoodland."

First, he was Daredevil.  Then he became George Reeves/Superman.  Now he's going to be Batman.

Fox News is reporting:

Ben Affleck will don Batman's cape and cowl. 

Warner Bros. announced Thursday that the 41-year-old actor-director will star as a new incarnation of the Dark Knight in a film bringing Batman and Superman together. 

The studio said Affleck will star opposite 30-year-old Henry Cavill, who will reprise his role as Superman from "Man of Steel."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/08/22/ben-affleck-will-play-batman-in-new-movie/?fb_action_ids=10151673342822772&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582#ixzz2ckwUX4Vb