Mr Brooks

Mr Brooks is a movie starring Kevin Costner and (loosely) starring Dane Cook. Costner is a good actor, always has been. Loved him in The Untouchables and Field of Dreams and yes, god help me, Robin Hood. He's faltered these past few (10) years b/c he started to believe the hype around him. That he was this great, amazing Actor. I kinda want to compare him to Leonardo DiCaprio. Leo, god love him, was a great child actor and went on to star in Titanic. Which, he has said over and over, that he wishes he had never done. He became this huge Star, not as an actor, but as a teen heartthrob, and really, outside of Johnny Depp, who really has overcome that moniker? But Leo kept getting these accolades as being the best Actor who's ever breathed and he started to believe the hype but he put the smack down upon himself. He brought himself back down to planet Earth and realized that hey, this is just a job. I do my job, I get paid. I am NOT god, nor am I A god. I'm just a guy. Costner realized this too, only it took him a considerably longer amount of time to do it. In Mr Brooks, Costner tries to shed his good guy image (an act he tried to accomplish with A Perfect World) and you know, it's believable. He does an amazing portrayal of someone neck deep in addiction (albeit an addiction to murder) and he's trying to overcome it, only to be dragged back in via blackmail. This is where Dane Cook comes into play. I'm not saying Dane is a good actor, nor I am saying he's necessarily a bad actor. He's just Dane Cook. Luckily, his role isn't huge and his lines aren't long. I wouldn't even call him the protagnist, as that role is encompassed by a great William Hurt, who isn't even a real person, just the Devil on Costner's shoulder. This movie is long. Really long. If they would've editted out everything about the Meek's subplot with Demi Moore, I think I would've enjoyed it all that much more. As it stands, I give it a 2.5 out of 4. It would even be elevated to a solid 3 had they ended the movie 5 minutes early. And if you've seen it, you know what I mean.