Mr. Brooks

Kevin Costner is the successful owner of a box company -- that's right, a box company. He is also an aberrant serial killer who lives in Portland, Oregon, and frequently consults with his imaginary friend, William Hurt. Turns out, Dane Cook sees Costner kill a couple and blackmails him into showing him what it's like. Cook wants to feel that rush, that thrill. I was reminded of The Onion article, "Dane Cook Parlays New Burger King Menu Item Into Hour-Long HBO Special." But Cook didn't say anything funny and didn't riff on anything for more than 10 seconds. Instead, Costner, with his tyro accomplice in tow, sets out on another conquest. But not before Demi Moore, a dedicated cop worth over $60 million, gets closer to solving the mystery, which requires her to reenact several scenes from "Manhunter."

I had low expectations for this movie, which might explain why I thought it was actually pretty good. "Pretty good" might be overstating it, but at the very least, it was more than merely -- to coin a word -- sitthroughable. It would have been better if Ashton Kutcher had made a cameo, or if the ending had been interesting, or if Dane Cook had used his comedic talents, but whatevs. A maxim of mine that I often resort to is that low expectations are the key to enjoying movies. And yet, I hate so many movies that I go into most movies not expecting much, and I'm still just as often disappointed. This is another theory of mine I'm still working on.