Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Riveting, 14 Mar 2008
Did not expect to like this film half as much as I did. Even my wife, who is not keen on violent films admitted the next day that she found the film enjoyable despite it subject matter. What we both agreed on was: that although the plot gets quite complex, the story is clearly told and you always understand what is going on. You are never sure how things are going to turn out and so even near the end of the film you are still thoroughly engaged.
There is a twist (or two) at the end, one of which I could have done without, but still it gets five stars. Recommended viewing; whatever you think of Mr. Costner's abilities as an actor?
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bloody brilliant!, 16 Mar 2008
WOW! I watched this film last night with my hubby and it was so good, I watched it again straight away with my daughter! It kept me riveted to the spot and my hubby actually gave it 8 out of 10 which is unheard of!
It follows the story of Earl Brooks, (Costner), who is named business man of the year at the start of the movie and shows us that he is a perfectly normal man with a loving wife and daughter. It's not long though before we meet Marshall, (William Hurt), Earl's evil and twisted alter ego. He wants nothing more than to kill innocent people and he always gets what he wants from Earl.
So off we go on a journey to kill another unsuspecting couple. Only this time, Earl makes a mistake by killing these people with their curtains open. He quickly closes them and continues his mission, all the while he's being chastised by Marshall.
Next day at work his daughter turns up unannounced and says she's dropped out of school, (we later find out why and it's brilliant!), and there is a man, (Dane Cook), with an envelope who is keen to speak to him. It turns out that the envelope contains photographs of Earl at the murder scene. What he wants in exchange for his silence is to accompany Earl on another murder.
There's also a sub plot that runs along side the main storyline. This is police detective Tracy Atwood, (Demi Moore), who is searching for the thumbprint killer, (Brooks), going through a messy divorce and is also being stalked by another serial killer, the hangman, she had caught before, and who has subsequently escaped from jail.
There are several twists and turns to this story that kept me interested both times I watched it. It didn't lose any of it's power the second time through either. Another thing that I was pleased about was that although this is a story about a serial killer, there wasn't too much violence in it. There was only two bits in particular that stand out for me that have the eeeew factor.
If you enjoy a film that keeps you guessing til the very end then this is the film for you. If you're a fan of Kevin Costner, you will love this. He gives another fantastic performance. All in all you could do a lot worse than this film so just trust me and buy it.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kevin Costner as a serial killer ....the banality of evil. , 14 April 2008
Films about serial killers rely a great deal on the casting of the killer. From Tom Noonan as "The Tooth Fairy" in "Manhunter" ( And for that matter Brian Cox's mesmerising cameo as Hannibal Lector) , Kevin Spacey as John Doe in "Se7en" through to Michael Rooker in "Henry Portrait Of A Serial Killer" and Benoit Poelvoorde in the brilliant blackly comic "Man Bites Dog" the real coup is the actor playing the roles. So casting the rather limited and insipid Kevin Costner as the killer in Mr Brooks could be construed as a major error. Yet Costner does a more than passable job of portraying a man conflicted by his addiction to killing . Okay he does it in his usual understated manner rather than consuming the scenery but none the less it works. Whether you buy the rest of this rather preposterous adult thriller is open to vigorous debate.
Earl Brooks is a successful businessman in Portland, He is also a serial killer, egged on by his imaginary partner/alter ego/unbridled id, a man named Marshall (William Hurt) who he has conversations with in the middle of conversations with real people. Brooks also has a supportive loving wife Emma ( Marg Helgenberger) and a grown up daughter Jane( Danielle Panabaker) who is away at college. He hasn't killed for two years but when the malevolent Marshall goads him he can no longer resist the urge so he commits another murder where the usually meticulous Brooks makes a mistake and is photographed by a voyeur, Mr Smith (Dane Cook), who lives across the street.
Smith wants something from Brooks but it isn't money. He wants to join in on his next murder or he'll tell the cops. The cop on the case is Atwood(Demi Moore) currently undergoing an expensive messy divorce and is also on the trail of another serial killer who has escaped from prison so she has her hands full. Mr Brooks has his hands full too suddenly with Mr Smith , his errant daughter (Thats his daughter not Mr Smiths) and dodging Atwood while keeping it all secret.
Director Bruce A. Evans, who wrote the script with Raynold Gideon keeps the action ticking over nicely and the scenes between Costner and Hurt have real spark and bile. The plot though is bogged down by extraneous stuff, mostly involving Atwood. Why all the stuff about her divorce and the second serial killer just seems gratuitous -almost put in so we can see her at least succeed with one bad guy. Given that Atwood is played by Demi Moore as well it might have been wise to limit her screen time.
Consequently Mr Brooks feels padded out when it could have been leaner and meaner, which is nicely ironic because some seeing Costner's turn as the psychopathic but guilt ridden killer will feel the same about his performance. I though ,think it's possibly one of the better portrayals of the banality of evil ,certainly since Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu in the outstanding Dutch thriller "The Vanishing " though the film itself falls some way short of that level of excellence. Well worth watching none the less.
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