Lakeview Terrace

Genre - Thriller
Year Released - 2008
Running Time - 110 minutes
Rated: PG-13
Directed by Neil LaBute (In the Company of Men)
Written by David Loughery (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) & Howard Korder (The Passion of Ayn Rand - which I want to see)
Cast Includes:
Samuel L. Jackson (need I say more?)
Patrick Wilson (Hard Candy)
Kerry Washington (Fantastic Four 1 & 2)

Rating: 3 Skulls

Plot Summary:

This dramatic thriller follows Chris and Lisa Mattson as they settle into their Los Angeles dream house - only to be harassed by their off-kilter cop neighbor, Officer Abel Turner. Turner disapproves of the couple's interracial relationship and is determined to drive them away, but as the harassment turns violent, the newlyweds have no choice but to fight back.

Review:

The reason to see this movie is Samuel L. Jackson!
Boy, does he play a great bad guy! (though I really shouldn't call him "bad" - more of an antagonist really)

Samuel's performance is such that you can see his conscience warring against his emotions, right through his eyes. You, as a viewer, know that he is going way overboard, and you can tell that Samuel knows it to, yet he doesn't stop himself!

My favorite scene in the movie doesn't have anything at all to do with his "neighbor issues" - it is when he is on duty, chasing a perpetrator, and he catches him against a fence - Intense! - It is at this point that you realize that Samuel's character is not mentally stable.

Eventually Samuel's petty harassment escalates into larger things, ultimately reaching a violent stage. . .

So, is this movie worth seeing in the theatre?
That really depends on you - there is a background storyline about the California Wildfires that was pretty cool to see on the Big Screen - there was so much smoke in the air, it almost looked like a mushroom cloud from an atomic bomb. Other than that, nothing that you need the big screen for - everything else is in Jackson's performance. If you are a Samuel Jackson fan and don't mind spending the $10 bucks or so, sure - see it in the theatre.
If you are not a very big Samuel Jackson fan, then you can wait for DVD.

In all honesty, the movie was a bit long - though it is well worth it for Samuel's performance!



Jason