Mr. Brooks

Mr. Brooks (2007)

Rating: No
Moderately Trashy

'Smart' serial killer movie about a successful business man (Kevin Costner) with a psychopathic alter ego (William Hurt. Of course.) who makes him murder people. When one of his murders is photographed by a peeping tom (Dane Cook), Mr. Brooks is blackmailed into teaching him how to kill people or whatever. Meanwhile, he suspects that his daughter (Danielle Panabaker) may also be a serial killer. Meanwhile he is being tracked by recent divorcee Demi Moore who is in turn being stalked by another recently escaped serial killer she helped put away years earlier.

Individually, any one of these plot elements may have made an interesting movie. Putting all three together just detracts from the significance of each.

Although the fact that the movie was sleazy, completely full of shit and had the feel of something made for television (okay, it was a little better than Someone's Watching Me!) didn't really help either. I mean, honest to God. Demi Moore was the best they could do? Where the hell's Naomi Watts when you need her? (I love Naomi Watts)

This movie was dumb, and it was just an inferior rehash of all those serial killer movies for smart people. And I know, I know, I watched all of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, but they were way more intelligently written than this. This just tried way harder.

I still think this movie could have been half good if it wasn't so pulpy and vulgar. No taste whatsoever. Also, it could have had better characters.

And holy crap is Kevin Costner old. Just had to throw that in. I always had sort of mixed feelings about Kevin Costner. Sometimes I love him, sometimes I hate him. Really, though, what the fuck was he doing in this movie? Taking shit from friggin William Hurt, apparently.

Ech. This flick is definitely not worth the two hours I spent watching it. It wasn't even fun to whine about.


END

Directed by: Bruce A. Evans. Written by: Bruce A. Evans & Raynold Gideon. Starring: Kevin Costner, Demi Moore, Dane Cook, William Hurt, Marg Helgenberger, Danielle Panabaker.