the name's brooks. mr. brooks.

it's movies like mr. brooks, that make me love being a student of psychology (even more than i already do). there is something about legitimately mentally fucked up people that fascinates me.

(note: this will be a short review. and may possibly be updated at a later date.)

wow. kevin costner as a bad guy? wtfuwt? really good and pretty convincing. i haven't seen a whole lot of his movies but hes a great actor. he made sociopathy seem like a typical character trait anyone can succumb to. there were a few scenes here with william hurt that were some of the best pieces of movie entertainment i've seen in a long time.

dane cook. impressive. i'm a big fan of dane. i love his mannerisms and the way he uses his whole body to act out things and supplement what he is saying. i thought he did a pretty good job here. i have only seen him as a comedian and in employee of the month, so this was a nice departure. i never would have thought he could play a naive, albeit eager, killer in training. pat on the back(side) for you, dane!

demi moore. yawn! half of her scenes were soooo unnecessary. never really loved her as an actress. she just seems a little... flaccid. there's potential there, but shes not delivering. maybe i haven't seen the right movies; her best work. but really. the stuff i have seen doesn't really make me want to give her the chance. demi, go raise your kids. play some mom roles. leave the embittered single/divorced/widowed woman roles behind.

william hurt. fucking genius. holy crap, he was phenomenal in this movie. i got chills. he plays the alter-ego/sociopath role perfectly. he is what makes kevin costner as a bad guy believable. i really can't sing enough praises for him. high five!

i absolutely loved the idea of using the alter-ego as a narrative tool. very resourceful. and i am thankful for it. without marshall, or using a voice-over narrative instead, the movie would have been flat and uneventful. scores also make movies more interesting. this one was great. one of my favorites i suppose. i think that a good score magnifies the emotion of the scene/film and really help get the viewer emotionally invested.

the only thing i wish was explored more was the reasoning behind the fingerprints, positioning of the victims and other crime scene nuances mr. brooks left. i would have liked a little more back story there.

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overall, i give mr. brooks an A-!

-t