Mr. Brooks

MR. BROOKS (2007) - June 1, 2007
Kevin Costner was quite good in this film. And that's just about the only positive thing I have to say about Mr. Brooks. This was not a good film; badly made (by a guy whose last writing credit was Jungle 2 Jungle, and whose last directing credit was Kuffs), this was a stupid movie. About a wealthy serial killer who has William Hurt as his imaginary friend (and I suppose you could do worse than William Hurt as far as imaginary friends go) and who is blackmailed into killing again. The main problem with this film is that there are just too many things going on, and it feels slipshod. There's Mr. Brooks and his imaginary friend, there's his daughter (who, it turns out, is starting her own career as a serial killer), there's Demi Moore as a gritty cop who's trying to take down Mr. Brooks, deal with an escaped killer and her sleazy ex-husband, there's Dane Cook as a wannabe killer... It's just too much. Plus the whole thing as a really uneven vibe, like the director couldn't decide if he wanted to do a serious drama or something more tongue-in-cheek. There's also a pervading feeling of incompetence; the direction isn't outright bad, but it isn't good either. But hey... Kevin Costner was good. *1/2