Mr. Brooks (2007)

Mr. Brooks - DVD

For not knowing what it was about, it is a very good movie, I'm a Kevin Costner fan anyway, so I like all his movies, no matter what the critics say. Worth the points!!! October 5, 2008

Mr. Brooks

Mr. Brooks is one of the best suspense movies I have ever seen. His conversations with his 2nd personality add alot to the unfolding of events. Kevin Costner is amazing. October 1, 2008

One of the best thrillers to come out in the last 5 years

Although Kevin Costner hasn't been in a "big time" movie in the last 10 years of so, he's still one of today's best actors. And with this movie, he really came back. I can only say good things about it. It's just one of the best ones to come out in 2007, it's a perfect thriller, without even one dull or boring moment. The suspense is amazing, and so is the acting - especially that of Costner and the co-star William Heart (he's just one of the best evil guys on screen, he really is). Demi Moore is very good as well, but her role could've used a bit more depth (and that wasn't her fault but the screen-writers'), yet it was still great to watch her as a troubled cop (she is quite convincing actually). The writing is superb, on so were the dialogs and the story itself. It's a rare great thriller and I really recommend it. You won't be dissapointed. September 19, 2008

An interesting character study of a serial killer could have been better

We find in the opening moments of Mr. Brooks that Kevin Costner's title character is a serial killer. We also find out that he is a devoted husband and father, a dedicated community philanthropist, and terrified at the prospect that he will be exposed as a killer.

His character is the best thing in the movie, even if it makes the audience uncomfortable that you are pushed into identifying with a murderer. The most interesting thing about the writing is that a second character, played by William Hurt, is created only to represent that part of Mr. Brooks that is compelled to do bad things. It's tricky and as you watch you have to accept that Brooks is "talking" to "Marshall" (sometimes in extended sequences) while other characters in the room not only don't see "Marshall", but don't notice that Mr. Brooks is taking time off from his conversation with a "real" character to dialogue his inner demon.

Mr. Brooks is good at being a serial killer, choosing his victims so carefully and leaving no condemning evidence behind that the police are not sniffing his trail. He's more careful and anal than "Dexter". (Perhaps more narrative tension would have been generated if the police WERE closer to catching him.) He hasn't killed for two years when the movie opens. He attends AA meetings trying to shed his addiction to murder. ("Marshall" sarcastically chides him that he is a hypocrite in the sense that he only says that he is an "addict" and not "I killed two people last night".) Mr. Brooks is deliberately careless in his return to murder, and has his picture taken by photograph voyeur Dane Cook from the apartment building across from his latest murders. Rather than informing the police (believable), saying nothing (believable in our real world), trying to blackmail Mr. Brooks for money (certainly believable in a movie world), or selling his photos on ebay (believable given the intelligence of Mr. Cook's character), Cook's voyeur instead blackmails Mr. Brooks into making him an apprentice.

I don't know how many serial killers a movie needs, but "Silence of the Lambs" got it right and Mr. Brooks misses by at least one.

An interesting subplot develops with a daughter who abruptly drops out of her freshman year of college after a mysterious murder of a classmate.

As I mentioned, the police are not close to catching Mr. Brooks. The cop most closely following the "Thumbprint Killer" is played by Demi Moore, and a sharply written deftly performed female detective would have added another satisfying dimension to the film. Unfortunately, "Detective Atwood" is written as a 2-dimensional rich Daddy's girl who became a cop because Daddy never loved her otherwise, although he left her 60 million dollars, which her dirtbag restaurateur about-to-be 2nd ex-husband is trying to get in negotions. Even more unfortunately, this shallow character is portrayed by Demi Moore with little more skill than a cardboard cutout. Where is Jodie Foster's Clarice Starling (or even Julianne Moore's?) when you need her?

So - do I recommend it? Yes, but not enthusiastically, and I lament what this movie COULD have been. September 6, 2008

I nice change in the genre.

This IS Kostner's best performance. And, the serial killer thriller has a fresh approach with some stable tried and true twists. I'm not actually a fan of this genre and I rented it because nothing else was good at Red Box. I'm glad I did. Might even buy it when it hits the 5 dollar bin. August 27, 2008

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