"MR. BROOKS"

Kevin Costner explores his dark side in this uneven, but surprisingly entertaining thriller. The former Robin Hood plays Earl Brooks, a pillar of his Portland community ... and a closet serial killer. When an amateur shutterbug (Dane Cook) catches him in the act, Brooks has to go to extreme lengths to avoid being handed over to the cops, led by dogged detective Tracy Atwood (Demi Moore). Although Moore's zombified presence keeps threatening to drag the film down, Costner's witty performance is a lot of fun to watch, and the scenes he shares with William Hurt _ who plays Brooks' invisible best friend _ are almost single-handedly worth the price of admission. Ladies and gentleman: a new comedy team is born. 2 hrs.

"DAY WATCH"

When the Russian blockbuster "Night Watch" arrived on American shores two years ago, it was supposed to launch the next great sci-fi/fantasy trilogy. Not surprisingly, audiences didn't turn out en masse for this densely plotted tale, but the movie attracted enough of a cult following that Fox Searchlight is releasing its sequel "Day Watch" in theaters rather than sending it straight to DVD. If you enjoyed Part I, Part II should keep you entertained as well. Once again, our hero Anton (Konstantin Khabensky) finds himself in the middle of an increasingly tenuous truce between the forces of Light and the forces of Dark. In order to prevent the apocalypse, he must locate the mystical Chalk of Destiny, which has the power to change the past. Although it's a tad overlong, "Day Watch" boasts noticeably improved effects and a smoother story than its predecessor. That makes it the only sequel so far this summer to actually measure up to the original film. 2 hrs. 20 mins.

"GRACIE"

Contrary to popular belief, Al Gore didn't win an Oscar this past year for his documentary "An Inconvenient Truth." The statue actually went to the film's director, Davis Guggenheim, who graciously ceded most of his time at the podium to the former vice-president. For his follow-up, the newly minted Oscar winner returns to the world of narrative features with this based-on-a-true-story inspirational sports picture about a girl who bucks the rules and joins a boys' soccer league after the tragic death of her older brother, his team's star player. Guggenheim's wife and brother-in-law Elizabeth and Andrew Shue star, and former "Lizzie McGuire" actress Carly Schroeder plays the title character. 1 hr. 32 mins.

"KNOCKED UP"

Two summers ago, Judd Apatow was just another writer/producer with two critically adored, but ratings-challenged TV-series ("Freaks & Geeks" and "Undeclared") to his name. Then "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" happened, and overnight Apatow shot to a whole new level of fame. So expectations are through the roof for his sophomore effort as a feature filmmaker, which casts his frequent supporting player Seth Rogen as a scruffy loser who has to grow up quickly when a one-night stand with gorgeous entertainment reporter Alison (Katherine Heigl) turns into full-time parenthood. "Knocked Up" contains plenty of big laughs-particularly during the scenes where Rogen hangs out with his fellow stoners, all of whom are played by veterans of Apatow's TV shows, but overall, it's not quite as consistently hilarious as "Virgin." Still, it's far from a sophomore slump _ maybe call it a sophomore whiff? 2 hrs. 9 mins.

"RISE: BLOOD HUNTER"

While investigating the local goth scene in Los Angeles, journalist Sadie Blake (Lucy Liu) is attacked by a roving gang of vampires and transformed into a blood-sucker herself. Now, she patrols the streets armed with a bow and quiver full of silver arrows on the hunt for the big bad vamp Bishop (James D'Arcy) who stole away her normal life. Michael Chiklis rounds out the cast as a cop who lost his young daughter to the vampires and becomes Sadie's unlikely partner. Writer/director Sebastian Gutierrez's previous writing credits include the screenplays for "Snakes on a Plane" and "Gothika," but the real reason you should hate him is because he goes home every night to knockout actress Carla Gugino. 1 hr. 34 mins.

Ethan Alter | Merge of The Morning Call

DISC FLICKS DVD REV

"HANNIBAL RISING" (2007, Weinstein, Unrated,$30) With its 1940s setting, lavish backdrops and tasteful gore, Hannibal Lecter's (Gaspard Ulliel) origin story resembles nothing so much as an edition of Masterpiece Theater directed by Rob Zombie. It doesn't cut as deeply as "Silence of the Lambs" _ or even "Red Dragon" _ but if you're in the mood for some guilty-pleasure chills, bon appetit.

Extras: Bringing fresh blood to the franchise is U.K. director Peter Webber, best known for helming the more sedate "Girl With a Pearl Earring." On his almost giddy commentary track, Webber does a fine job drawing attention to the Lecter in-jokes. Check out that wild boar! A making-of featurette notes that scripter and "Silence of the Lambs" author Thomas Harris had a firsthand knowledge of murder, having worked as a police reporter for the Associated Press in the '60s and '70s. Webber says he had to talk Ulliel ("A Very Long Engagement") into stepping into Anthony Hopkins' shoes. Once Ulliel joined up, though, the Frenchman became hungry for mayhem, even going so far as to attend a real-life autopsy. "He came back from the autopsy all lit-up with excitement," recalls Webber. "He wanted to go back to the morgue the next day. That's when I started locking my hotel room door at night."

Amy Longsdorf | Merge of The Morning Call