Mr. Brooks

Mr. Brooks is a successful small businessman who started and grew his own box factory to the point where he has just won a local man of the year award. He has a lovely wife and a daughter in college. He seems to have it all, but he has one problem. He's an addict. And he's not the kind of addict who needs pills or alcohol or gambling to satisfy his craving. Instead, Mr. Brooks is addicted to murder.

He killed total strangers at various intervals for years. And he always carefully planned each crime. But he gets no satisfaction from killing, he's simply driven to do it by his addiction. It's been two years since his last killing, and he's tried to keep the addiction at bay by going to AA. He merely tells the group "I'm an addict". You'd think that eventually the group at AA would press him for more details than that, but I digress.

William Hurt is Brooks's alter ego. And it works because Hurt is not just playing the part of Brooks that wants to kill, like some maniac. Instead, this guy is also somebody who talks to Brooks, as much as you can talk to yourself. He sympathizes and gives Brooks a hug when he breaks down over a huge family dilemma he's facing at one point.

The problem is that, after two years, Brooks gives in to his addiction and kills again. But this time he makes a mistake. He doesn't notice that the curtains are open when he commits the double homicide in the victims' loft apartment. Complications ensue.

Demi Moore plays a dogged homicide detective who is after this serial killer, and at first I wondered why there were so many details of her life in her thread of the plot - her inherited wealth, the gold-digging husband who is trying to drain her dry in the divorce setllement, the prison escapee who wants her dead. But then the whole thing comes together at the end magnificently.

I'd say this rates right up there as one of my favorite Costner films. He is terrific as a guy who looks and acts so incredibly predictable and reliable in his daily life. Nobody would ever suspect. He even protests his daughter's announcement that she wants to terminate her unplanned pregnancy. Also kudos to Dane Cook as Mr. Smith, a role that proves that it may take brains to be a mechanical engineer, but that doesn't necessarily mean it requires common sense.

I saw this movie at Showest back in March and was really impressed. My initial thought was that this movie would be a cheesy rip of "Dexter" or any other "Behind the Serial" type of Movie/Series. Costner gives us an interesting view into the life of an upstanding family man that just happens to be a serial killer on the side. Dane Cook isn't his predictable wacky self, and actually helps round out the film with his twisted comic/perverted view of serial killing. Take every film that you have seen by Costner, Cook and Moore and throw it out the window. This film is surprisingly original and has plenty of plot twists to keep you alert and anxious to see where the story will head next.

This movie was not what I expected, but in a good way. I saw that Kevin Costner was in it, and figured it would be a light-hearted drama. Then I read that it was suspense, and figured he was a good-guy spy or something. Not so.

I don't want to spoil exactly what Mr. Brooks is (even though it's revealed in the early part of the movie), but let's just say he's not a good guy. He is cold, brilliant, methodical, and heartless. Definitely not the traits we normally expect from Kevin Costner. And yet, it's fascinating to watch. I found myself rooting for him, and then had to kick myself because his character is so despicable. Top notch acting from him.

Dane Cook seems an odd casting choice for a suspense thriller, and yet he is believable in his role as a cowardly average joe trying to get the better of Mr. Brooks.

This movie is surprisingly graphic and brutal in some scenes. Yet it is so engrossing that you will be hooked on every twist and turn (and there are some good ones).

Not for the faint of heart, not your normal Costner flick, but a very good movie.

Good throwback film, I watched it years ago and it's still good. There is a good variety of characters in the mix and the story keeps you interested. It's also darkly funny in places and overall it's a good serial killer film.

Really captivating film with no dull moments that I can think of. The film is pieced together well. The cast of Demi Moore and other supporting cast members did a great job too. I personally wanted some parts built on more like his daughter's story and their relationship, why he had killed his first victims and I would have preferred a different ending, but all round a good fiom worth watching.