Mr. Brooks (2007)

Mr. Brooks desperately wants to be taken seriously, but, like the title character, the film is in deep denial. So insistent on being a character study of a conflicted serial killer (Costner), it never elicits the kinds of tingles a competent thriller should, even during the otherwise tense scenes where an aspiring psycho (Dane Cook) blackmails Brooks for private lessons. EXTRAS In their earnest commentary, director Bruce A. Evans and co-writer Raynold Gideon cling to hopes for a Brooks trilogy, but a measly $28 million box office take makes that prospect DOA. C-