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Last week's Movie Quiz winners

Last week's movie in question was Hollywoodland (2006), a "what-if" mystery based on the death of actor George "Superman" Reeves, with Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, and, in the starring role, Ben Affleck, giving the finest performance of his career to date. Not that most of us here believe that's a long, crowded list, judging from the comments included with many responses. Some, like Sam Landman, confessed to being "anti-Affleck" before seeing this film (me, too, actually), with the bluntest (and funniest) assessment coming from Justin Cullen-Benson: "The best part about the movie is you get to watch him get killed three different times."

I think another quiz winner, Bill Kelly, put his finger on the reason Affleck is so good as George Reeves: "He did a great job playing someone not too unlike himself." Or, as J. Hoberman said in his Village Voice review, "[Adrien] Brody has to act to make it in Hollywoodland; Affleck simply is."

Many quiz winners also voiced a similar dissatisfaction with Brody and his plotline in the movie, one that I share. The movie comes alive every time it goes back in time to tell Reeves' story, but the present-time private-eye story isn't at the same level of inventiveness or quality. The good parts, however, are so good that it's still worth a look, especially if you remember the original show and Reeves, one of the most likable bad actors there ever was.

(And as quiz champeen Wayne Palmer pointed out, "We're all getting older when Diane Lane, the cute little girl from A Little Romance, is cast as the older woman.")

So congratulations and a big red S to the following quiz winners: Wayne Palmer, Jack Sparks, Peter Schilling, Jim Youngdahl, Mark Gisleson, Bob Aulert, Bill Kelly, R. Vincent Moniz Jr., Sarah Maki, Kaylee Mund, Sam Landman, Alex McCown, Elizabeth Grace, Justin Cullen-Benson, Matt Melton, Vince Tuss, Kent Hofmeister, Sarah Bergstrom, and Diane Lake. And special congrats to Stacy Sarette, who wins this week's grand prize, The Very Best New Adventures of Gumby Vol.1!

Posted by Steve Monaco at April 29, 2007 11:21 PM

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