Hidden Figures

Black or White: A Collection of Stereotypes

The Quick and Dirties: 3 Days to Kill, Non-Stop, Brick Mansions

Thursday Movie Picks: Movies Set Locally (North Carolina)

Hey folks! Here we are, once again, on Thursday, that beautiful day before the day before the weekend officially starts. It is on this day every week I suggest some movies based on theme selected by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves.

Let's pause for a second.

Join us. Swing over to Wanderer's site, check out the meme, and post your own Thursday Movie Picks. Do it.

Okay. Let's get back to it.

This week's theme is 'Movies Set Locally.' Here's the deal. It's up to the blogger to pick their own location.

Hmmm...

There were only three places I even thought of when I saw this topic. The first was Queens, New York, where I grew up. The second was Hawaii, where I lived for two years. Neither quite suited my fancy, so I went with my third choice: North Carolina, where I currently live. For those of you who don't do maps, yes, that is North Carolina in the pic at the top of the page. However, North Carolina has a tricky relationship with the movie making world. Tons of movies (and TV shows) come here to film, particularly to the city of Wilmington, but NC usually winds up as a stand-in for some other place. Wikipedia has a pretty good list of stuff that's filmed here. That means not a ton of movies are actually set here. Of course, there are some. These are my faves...

Kiss the Girls

(1997)

Here, Morgan Freeman plays detective Alex Cross, who usually does his work in Washington, D.C. This time he heads down to Durham, NC because his niece, a college student in the area, has been reported missing. Shortly, he joins forces with Kate (Ashley Judd), who managed to escape from being kidnapped, herself. The added bonus for me is that a number of scenes are set not far from where I live.

The Campaign

(2012)

Okay, so I'll admit this one isn't an all time great. Still, it's fun. The short story on it is that it covers the election for the congressional seat in North Carolina's (fictional) 14th district. The two candidates are Cam Brady (Will Ferrell), the incumbent and Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), who has literally been plucked from obscurity to run for office. Does this have lots of sharp, biting, wit? No. It did make me laugh, though. (Full Review Here)

Bull Durham

(1988)

I mean, how could this not be here? The math is simple. I'm a huge baseball fan. I'm obviously a movie buff. This is one of the greatest baseball movies ever made. This one follows the Durham Bulls, and more closely the team's catcher, Crash Davis (Kevin Costner). He strikes up a romance with local baseball groupie Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) and tries to mentor hot, young pitching prospect Nuke Laloosh (Tim Robbins). It's a movie that just works wonders every step of the way. I live within minutes of where the actual Bulls play, which is a gorgeous minor league park that they often fill up, by the way. Watching games there is a blast. If you're ever in Durham during the summer, check 'em out.

Click here for my other Thursday Movie Picks.

Man of Steel

Mr. Brooks

Directed by Bruce A. Evans.

2007. Rated R, 120 minutes.

Kevin Costner 

Demi Moore

William Hurt

Rene Russo 

Danielle Panabaker

Dane Cook

Marg Helgenberger

Ruben Santiago-Hudson

Aisha Hinds

Serial killer Earl Brooks (Costner) gets the urge to kill again after two years of inactivity. He follows the urge, tries to maintain his successful business and his family but things aren't quite working the way he wants.

In a welcome change, this movie foregoes any notion of it being a 'whodunit' right away. Its not interested in discovering who the killer is, that's established fairly early. It's more interested in how Mr. Brooks copes with all that's going on in his life. Often, it involves talking things over with Marshall, the walking talking persona of his conscioence played by William Hurt. Admittedly, its a gimmick but these two actors make it work extremely well showing off a mutual morbid sense of humor. As the police officer trying to capture "The Thumbprint Killer," Demi Moore goes into tough-chick mode and delivers as well. The writers did well to give her three story-lines of her own that all work even if they're a bit over the top. Even Dane Cook is adequate in his role.

Story-wise, twists in the plot are presented more as complications Brooks has to deal with and you become interested in how he's going to take care of the various problems that arise. Between he and Marshall they come up with some pretty good stuff. Though there are a good number of tense and even a few gory moments, this is more of a psychological thriller than a true horror film, but one that takes the odd approach of presenting the killer not as a raving lunatic but as a normal guy with an unusual addiction.

With the number of story-lines going on, at least six off the top of my head, some things just fall by the wayside. Namely, how Mr. Brooks came to be a serial killer is ignored. Though, the suggestion is there that homicidal urges are hereditary. Also Brooks' wife (Russo) is also ignored. She's pretty much there just for reaction shots. She could've been developed a lot more. Through her action scenes we discover that Demi Moore's character is a superhero or at least related to John McLane from the Die Hard series. This character made her G.I. Jane look like her character from Ghost.

Mr. Brooks is for fans of movies like Silence of the Lambs and Seven. It's not quite in their league but I think it is terribly underrated. Far better with far less hype than 2007's other big thriller, Perfect Stranger. It was fun to see Costner playing way against type and like I said earlier it was fun watching the back and forth between he and William Hurt. Stay away if you think there have to be likeable characters in a movie. I honestly don't think there are any.

MY SCORE: 8/10