SHATTERED (1991)

Tom Berenger

SHATTERED (1991). Director: Wolfgang Petersen.

Dan Merrick (Tom Berenger) and his wife Judy (Greta Scacchi) are in a terrible car accident that leaves his face, mind and body shattered and her with hardly a scratch. After a year of operations and therapy the two return to their home in San Francisco, where amnesiac Dan learns some disturbing things about himself and about his relationship with Judy. He hires a private eye named Gus (Bob Hoskins) to find out about a man that Judy was apparently having an affair with, and who may be back in her life. Was the accident really an accident, and who was actually driving the car? The more that is unveiled, the more sinister things become ... Shattered is absorbing, well-acted and well-done for the most part, but some viewers may find it ultimately a little too far-fetched. Corbin Bernsen, Joanne Whalley  and Debi A. Monahan offer some flavorful supporting performances.

Verdict: Certainly holds the attention but the pay-off will either startle or annoy. ***.

HOLLYWOODLAND

HOLLYWOODLAND (2006). Director: Allen Coulter.

When actor George Reeves (Ben Affleck), who played Superman on a TV series, is found dead of a gunshot wound, private detective Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) is hired by Reeves' mother -- who is convinced it was homicide and not suicide -- to investigate his death. The problem with Hollywoodland is that it doesn't respect Reeves even in death. There was certainly enough drama in the actor's off-screen life and death to make him the focus of the movie, but Hollywoodland makes Reeves a supporting character in his own story and makes Simo the main character. While this doesn't completely sink the movie -- largely because of Brody's excellent performance -- it does at times give it a kind of schizoid feeling. If only the filmmakers had trusted in the mythic aura of Reeves/Superman and the mystery over his demise instead of fashioning a somewhat stereotypical private dick melodrama with Reeves as the backdrop. That being said, Hollywoodland is well-acted and absorbing, but ultimately quite disappointing. Affleck offers an okay semi-impersonation of Reeves. Bob Hoskins as Eddie Mannix, Zach Mills as Simo's son, Evan, and Lois Smith as Reeves' mother, among others, are all on the money.

Verdict: Entertaining despite its all-too-obvious flaws. ***.

BEYOND THE SEA

BEYOND THE SEA (2004). Director/Co-Writer: Kevin Spacey.

This biopic of singer-actor Bobby Darin was clearly a labor of love for Kevin Spacey, who not only co-wrote (with Lewis Colick), directed, and starred in the film, but also does all his own singing – and is excellent at it. For much of its length this is a fairly standard show biz biography, although it has a stylized framework of Darin starring in a movie about himself and discussing with the other actors/characters how to proceed (There is even one outdoor production number like something out of a movie musical). The movie skirts much of his younger life and brings him to Hollywood and into the arms of wife Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth) pretty quickly. It gets even more interesting when we see how he temporarily “dropped out” and then decided to reinvent himself as a folk singer (although one has to wonder if his singing anti-Viet Nam protest songs reflected his true feelings or was only an attempt to generate a new, younger audience for himself). This could be dismissed as a “vanity production” for Spacey were it not for the fact that he pulls it off, despite being older than Darin was when he died. Bob Hoskins also gives a wonderful performance, as does Caroline Aaron as his mother, Nina (who pretended to be his sister for most of his life) and William Ullrich as Darin as a boy. The songs are well chosen and whatever its deficiencies the film works beautifully on an emotional level.

Verdict: Ol' Maggie's back in town! ***.