"MR. BROOKS"
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MOVIE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Kevin Costner as EARL BROOKS Demi Moore as DETECTIVE TRACY ATWOOD Dane Cook as MR. SMITH William Hurt as MARSHALL Marg Helgenberger as EMMA BROOKS Danielle Panabaker as JANE BROOKS Rated R Studio: MGM Directed by: Bruce A. Evans |
I haven’t totally changed my opinion of “Mr. Brooks” from seeing it in the theaters this summer. However, after revisiting the film on DVD, I have warmed up to it a little bit.
The film tells the story of a serial killer (Kevin Costner) who happens to be a well-respected member of the community. He is fighting his addiction, personified by William Hurt. However, after dipping back into his old bag of tricks, he faces new challenges in a wannabe protege (Dane Cook) and his own daughter who is being investigated for murder herself.
What originally bothered me about “Mr. Brooks” was that I had seen much of the elements before... well, that and Kevin Costner’s acting. On DVD, I found Costner’s acting tolerable, and even Dane Cook came across better. Maybe that’s because he played such a pathetic loser, and that’s refreshing to see instead of shoehorning him into some romantic comedy.
Still, Demi Moore’s storyline as the cop chasing Mr. Brooks on his chain of killings really could have been left behind for the main plot. Overall, though, the movie turns out to be better on DVD than in the theaters. I imagine part of this is because it’s not in such strong competition with the summer blockbusters.
The DVD comes with a nice assortment of special features. There’s a feature commentary, as well as deleted scenes. But the more interesting elements include behind-the-scenes documentaries which, while somewhat self-congratulatory, give a keen insight into the themes and characters.
"DAY WATCH"
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MOVIE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5 stars) STARRING: Konstantin Khabensky as ANTON Mariya Poroshina as SVETLANA Vladimir Menshov as GESER Galina Tyunina as OLGA Viktor Verzhbitsky as ZAVULON Zhanna Friske as ALISA Unrated Studio: Fox Searchlight Directed by: Timur Bekmambetov |
“Day Watch,” the film’s sequel (which was as successful in its homeland of Russia as its predecessor), dropped in American cinemas this summer. A slightly altered version of the film is now available on DVD.
The film tells the story of Anton, a member of the Night Watch, a secret group that polices vampires. He is trying to find his son, who is a target of the vampires, which turns into a challenge to stave off an apocalypse. He is also falling in love with his fellow Night Watcher. All of these things rely on Anton getting a hold of The Chalk of Fate, a piece of chalk that can change the past to whatever is written with it.
This DVD release is both better and substandard to the U.S. theatrical cut. The biggest strike against it is that it loses its clever inclusion of subtitles we saw in the theaters. Where the English subtitles were animated into the film for the theatrical release, we just get basic subtitles over the Russian voices on DVD. On the other hand, there is the choice to watch the film with English dubbing, which is a nice option.
Another advantage of the DVD release is that you can scan back and review parts of the film that go too fast and get too confusing – and trust me, there are plenty of chances for that. It’s clear that “Day Watch” is made for its Russian audience, and we are just the gravy for the release.
There’s a lot going on in the story, much of which relies on your knowledge of the previous film and possibly even the books the films are based on. Don’t watch this unless you’ve already seen “Night Watch.” While it’s not as good as the first film, “Day Watch” is a nice alternative to the American horror flicks that have been polluting the cinemas this year.
The DVD comes with scant special features, which amount to American and Russian television spots as well as a 30-minute making-of documentary, unfortunately only available in Russian.
