Mr. Brooks

It has been awhile. I mean a whole LONG while since I've thought that Kevin Costner made a good movie. This is a great little movie and Kevin was delightful in it. But he didn't direct or meddle with the screenplay - he let Bruce Evans do all that. He did help produce so it got made independently - which also helped. But mostly, he did what he used to do before he got to be all that and a bag of chips. He ACTED and really damn well.

So Kevin plays Mr. Brooks - entrepreneur, philanthropist, artist, loving husband and father- all around evolved human being in Clark Kent specs and bow ties. He just has one little addiction - he really likes to kill people. When the 12 steps fail him, and he gives in to that nagging little voice in his head (gleefully brought to life by none other than William Hurt!) he is caught on film by a creepy peeping tom (Dane Cook) who is so excited by the whole thing that he decides to blackmail Mr. Brooks into letting him tag along on his next adventure. Is this twisted enough for you? Cuz it gets a whole lot more complicated.

The story is deliciously convoluted as our hero (!) dodges the detective (Demi Moore,) deals with his demented fan, digs his equally dangerous offspring out of her mess and battles his personal demons. Our Mr. Brooks may be tortured but he is NOT dull and it all comes together in a tidy little way that left me grinning. Well written, original thinking for a thriller and Kevin, Dane and William are having so much fun! Kudos! Check out the clever website here.

Reign Over Me

Movies about male friends tend to be of the a.) sophomoric toilet humor variety or b.) buddy movies about men forced to be together by virtue of the job or the insert your silly circumstance here. It is a rare thing indeed to watch a film devoted to the concept that even a real man can need a friend... in the 'traditionally left to the girlfriends' sense of someone to talk to as well as hang out with. It is also the rare film that allows men to have emotions... I mean other than the seven deadly sins. (Anger, lust, greed, pride, yup... those are all approved for the guys. Just skip the mushy stuff.)

In this lovely little film, Alan (Don Cheadle) is all overachiever and full of the angst of the perfect life - successful business, beautiful clingy wife, gorgeous kids - when he bumps into his college bud Charlie (Adam Sandler.) Charlie's a mess having lost his family on 9-11 and is living on the edge. By reconnecting with each other, both men find something they've lost along the way.

With an unexpected supporting cast (Liv Tyler, Jada Pinkett Smith, Donald Sutherland) Reign manages to only seem a trifle contrived and Mike Binder threw in some humor to lighten the load. And both of the guys handle the mushy stuff masterfully. There's also the value added glimpse into the world of post traumatic stress, unfortunately common these days. Check out the website here.

Once

I've never been a fan of musicals. The whole concept of people spontaneously bursting into song on a street corner always struck me as, well, odd. People don't behave that way on average, so at the very least it's contrived, and most musicals have lyrics that are, by and large, hokey and forgettable. That said, this is what a musical should be. Read that: this is a story about musicians and their music plays a role in the story. And as I believe all artists put themselves into their art, we come to know these people through their songs. And it's wonderful.

Our guy (Glen Hansard) meets our girl (Marketa Irglova) while playing on the streets of Dublin. He's a vacuum repairman who is airing his painful breakup in the songs he plays on the street corners, she's an immigrant with a past of her own. Together they make music - and through a tempestuous week she pushes him to record his songs and to heal. There isn't a Hollywood ending here, just real emotion and some fine tunes.

Wish more films were made like this, with real people acting like real people. Okay, they are talented people, but none the less. Glen Hansard is the frontman for the Irish band The Frames and he and Marketa have recorded together before, hence the chemistry, I suppose. Needless to say the soundtrack is awesome. Check out the website here.

The Wind That Shakes the Barley

The fun thing about civil wars is that whole "brother against brother" mojo. That always gets their heart strings... at least in the movies. Doesn't matter where you set that story line. In The Wind That Shakes the Barley, the story is set in Ireland circa 1920. The people of Ireland have been trying to cast off the yoke of the British Empire for some time and they are tired of occupation, and all the senseless violence and random humiliation that goes with it. (Insert your favorite current event reference here.)

Our brothers are young doctor Damien (the dreamy blue eyed Cillian Murphy) and tough talking Teddy (Padraic Delaney) who's hip deep in the local resistance. After a dose too much of what passes for British justice and against his better judgement, Damien joins the resistance as well. But as happens when ideals hit the cold hard wall of reality, one brother opts for compromise and the two become increasingly oppositional. And of course, high tragedy will follow.

Director Ken Loach delivers a poignant parable of the power of ideas and those willing to kill and die for them and Wind received the honor of Best Film at Cannes in 2006. Murphy always amazes. And Ireland is gorgeous.... Check out the website here.