Mr. Brooks

Mr. Brooks

This has me deeply confused. On one hand, I enjoyed the actual concept behind the movie, giving us a cold-blooded killer that kills for the sheer joy of it. On the other hand, I found myself questioning the casting and acting choices.

Like, why did they cast Dane Cook in this movie? He is so bad that his terrible acting brings the entire movie down a grade point. With a different more skillful actor, this role could have been very interesting. The other poor choice is Demi Moore, whom seems to be acting in her Striptease mold and cannot get out. She is totally out of place. I guess banging Ashton Kutcher can suck the talent out of you.

However, the film draws me in. I enjoyed watching the twisted mind of Kevin Costner’s character. I also liked that he had an evil personality represented by William Hurt (Marshall). His alter ego talks to him and gives him chillingly logical reasons for murdering. I found it fascinating that he goes out and kills people and then lives a normal life as a local businessman and has a family.

Hell, I even like the twist involving his daughter, which I won’t give away here. Yet, the director makes some bad choices. The score is probably one of the worst movies scores I’ve heard in a long time. Why would he choose a techno-heavy score for this type of movie? Then there are some bad editing choices toward the end dealing with Moore’s character. Was he going for a dance music video feel?

Because of some poor casting choices and an incomplete story, I can’t fully endorse this movie to anyone, but I also didn’t hate this movie. So, watch it at your own risk.

Grade C

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Kevin: “Dane, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

Dane: “Who?”

Kevin: “His name is Carlos Mencia.”

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Here she is waiting for a call to reprise her role in Nothing But Trouble II: The Troubling.