"The Black Dahlia" *1/2 (out of four): Stilted mess of a noir by Brian De Palma only loosely tied to the infamous Los Angeles murder case.

Lately it seems like every movie want to be “L.A. Confidential”. First, “Hollywoodland” aimed for the seats with its story of the circumstances surrounding the suicide of “Superman” actor George Reeves, and now Brian De Palma gives us his take on the L.A.-as-land-of-corruption theme with “The Black Dahlia”. Like “Confidential”, “Dahlia” is based on a James Ellroy novel, this one involving an infamous unsolved murder. But unlike that earlier film, Mr. De Palma’s “Dahlia” is a stilted melodrama in the worst sense: it actually seems that the director isn’t in on the joke.

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