DVD Collectors Online

Mr. Brooks, a review by Jon

Mr. Brooks
4 out of 5



Kevin Costner plays Earl Brooks, a successful business man who's just won a Man of the Year award, has a beautiful house, a great wife and a gorgeous daughter. Everything is perfect. Except Mr. Brooks has an addiction to killing and he's constantly fighting temptation to give in. Two years have passed since his last kill and Marshall (who the hell is Marshall, you say!) thinks they deserve a treat.

I took a risk here. Being a serial killer film, there was half a chance I'd have to exclude it from this horror marathon, but Thriller was born from Horror and it doesn't take much to count (e.g.: Silence of the Lambs, Seven). Luckily Mr. Brooks has enough perversions to join them.

It's a great film that unashamedly revels in it's subject and is darkly funny. It should easily appeal to Dexter fans being from the killers point of view and making the bastard likeable! But there's no cosy way out here. Brooks will kill anyone he takes a fancy to. It's Costner's best role for years, easily, and he seems to have a lot of fun with it, letting his guard down to show Earl is, like any addict, prone to obsessive emotions. Marshall both tempts and calms him luckily. His double-act with William Hurt is a joy.

Hold on... I've gotten ahead of myself. A double-act? Two killers? No. This is Fight Club style, embodied conscience territory and it's very well written. Marshall pops up at all sorts of awkward moments and Earl talks to him, though this is only for the viewers benefit as other characters don't even suspect Earl may be barking. Repeat viewings should reveal all sorts about the character that is easy to miss first time around. It's not so much a split personality as a partnership. They make independent decisions and congratulate each other, or argue. Marshall even comforts Earl in one moment and has a mardy fit in another! Of course, it's all Earl which just makes the sick depths of his mind all the more fascinating.

His killings are meticulous and perfect down to the last detail. Well, they should be. He's a little out of practice and a voyeur captures his endeavours on camera and blackmails him. But actually he just wants to join in. Marshall isn't happy, but Earl has a plan. To further complicate matters, millionaire Det. Atwood (Demi Moore, actually quite good. I know, it's just vulgar. "Demi Moore" and "good" in the same sentence) is getting closer to catching the notorious Thumbprint Killer (Brooks) through the same voyeur. Meanwhile an escaped convict is after her, while she's dealing with a messy divorce.

Complicated? Not really, but the film does rather have a lot of plates to keep spinning. And I haven't even mentioned the daughter, dropping out of school because of a secret. Marshall thinks she's lying... just how far does the secret go?

Towards the end all the threads crash together and annoyingly cripple the film for a good period of time. Thankfully the last act takes the threads and ties them up beautifully with much relish, so much so, you may find yourself cheering him on. Before you feel guilty, you'll also be cheering for Atwood, who gives the film a good kick up the arse a couple of times, just as it becomes too much about Earl and Marshall. She has two major action sequences and they are very well staged, especially a gunfight neat the end.

I sat watching the entire thing with a huge grin. Highly recommended. It isn't going to set the world on fire, but it has enough ideas to carve it's own niche in a busy genre.

The R1 DVD has a DTS sound mix and for the most part, being a drama, there's nothing to test your speakers. Except for the gunfight I mentioned which has incredible punch.




(From October Marathon: Horror! on October 11th, 2008)

Drive Angry, a review by dfmorgan

Drive Angry

Year: 2011
Director: Patrick Lussier
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard
Overview: Get ready for one hell of a ride! Milton (Nicolas Cage) is a hardened - albeit dead - criminal who has broken out of Hell to stop a religious cult sacrificing his baby granddaughter. The police are in hot pursuit but they're the least of his worries - The Devil's none too pleased either and has sent the enigmatic emissary "The Accountant" (William Fichtner) to bring him back.

Aided by sassy waitress Piper (Amber Heard) and driving a series of smoking hot muscle-cars, Milton is Hell-bent on his mission and is breaking all the rules - but what are they gonna do, not let him back in?

Watched: 2nd Jul. 2011
My Thoughts: This was quite a bit of fun.

My Rating: A fun 3



(From Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews on July 24th, 2011)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

Game Over
GAME OVER is the critically hailed CGI animated comedy set in the world of video games. The comedy revolves around the Smashenburns, you typical video game family.

Rip (Patrick Warburton of "Seinfeld" and "The Tick") is a race car driver who's better at crashing than crossing the finish line. His wife, Raquel (Lucy Liu), struggles to balance her responsibilities as a mom with her career as a secret agent in search of the emerald monkey. Yet every day the biggest challenge these parents face is with their kids.

Alice (Rachel Dratch of "Saturday Night Live") is a teen with supreme angst. And Billy (E.G. Daily of "Powerpuff Girls") is a trend obsessed mook in love with an anime exchange student.

To complicate matters, they adopt Turbo (Artie Lange of "The Howard Stern Show"), a fat, purple cigar smoking pet of undetermined origin to bring the family together.

They're the first family of video games, glitches and all.

Meet the Smashenburns
The Smashenburns are worried that the family is breaking away from each other, causing them to go their separate ways. This inspires the family to buy a new pet, which might bring them back together again. A 300-pound creature, with the ability to speak is brought into the family. They name it "Turbo." This creature gets urges to perform a crime and a need for cigars.

My Thoughts:
Another fun animated series. One that didn't last long at all. It makes a family (and neighborhood) of video game characters. While it is fun I understand why it didn't last long. The whole idea of it gets a little old after a while. But over all a series I am glad I added to my collection. Is a fun watch when you are in the mood.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on January 26th, 2010)