Genres

Visitors Review

2013-06-15 14:27:01

Lakeview Terrace

Saw It,Didn't Like It.Reminded Me of The Movie,(Unlawful Entry)With Kurt Russell And Ray Liotta,Which Was Far Better Than This.

2013-06-15 01:38:54

Hatred out of hand

Home ownership is still the American Dream. When newlyweds Chris and Lisa Mattson (Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) move into their first home together, they are understandably excited. Very quickly, that dream becomes a nightmare for both them and their neighbor, Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson). Turner's a widowed Dad with two kids he's trying to keep out of the trouble he sees every day on the street. He's pretty strict, but it's just him parenting. And he's not too comfortable about the interracial couple who's just moved in the neighborhood.Lisa and Chris can't sleep for the security lights Abel has around his home.Abel's kids see Chris and Lisa having a sexual encounter in their poor. Chris plays loud rap music driving up to his home--and throws the cigarettes his wife doesn't know he's smoking over on Abel's yard. Okay, Abel's pretty heavy. He patrols the neighborhood and issues unsigned parking tickets to people over the line. Not everyone likes it. Tensions mount as Abel gets in trouble on his job. Chris and Lisa aren't doing so well, either. Lisa wants to start a family, but Chris isn't so sure. The film has fascinating character arcs for both Chris and Abel. Initially, neither person is fully at fault, but as relations continue to spiral downhill, the tit for tat gets more and more vicious and cuts closer to home. Abel's character rivets you to your seat. You see him determined to make a good home and family and yet his life is spinning further and further out of control. Hate him/pity him, you will not be devoid of emotion when you see the man on the screen. And are the Mattsons the happy couple they initially seem to be? As the story unfolds, duplicity on both sides is revealed. The honeymoon is definitely over. While this story has been told before, I don't think the director could have chosen anyone better than Jackson to play Abel. He's what ultimately makes the film stand out. Rebecca Kyle, March 2009

mrcjoker 2013-05-28 18:29:34

Very...Very Different

Let me tell you...I would not want Samuel L Jackson for a neighbor. Heacted awesome from beginning to end. Right of the bat he makes you feeljust as uneasy as the neighbor...He almost made this a horror movie with the things he says and does.You would think you can predict this movie... and you probablycould...but not the flow of events. The way things occur and happen,are very different from other suspense type thrillers. I can't sayanymore because I will probably ruin the movie for you.Watch it because it's worth watching. You'll probably be saying "Ican't believe he just said that" a lot.

2013-05-28 07:34:53

Transcended cultural boundaries by a well-chosen story and acting

The clash of the Titans is the best description of the story of Lakeview Terrace. The new generation of Americans who got used to flash their intimate feelings in public without weighing the consequences of inflaming others versus the old generation that viewed intimate feeling too sacred to be advertised in the open. Between the two generation ran a link of racial and class feud. The Black police officer took the law in his own hand and succeeded in may instances to solve complex social problems with big heart and little or no adherence to the standards of his profession. The law turned into a lethal tool by which he destroyed his own family and came very close to ruin his neighbor's. The new resident of Lakeview Terrace unaware of the protective and intrusive nature of their neighbor and police officer triggered his deep seated anger on their liberal expression of their emotion, that was perceived as a threat to the raising of his children, The conflict that led to the death of two people was fueled by both parties' impatience with trivial issues in their neighborhood. The police officer who was able to restrain his kids from sneak-watching of neighbors intimate expression of feeling failed and instead perceived his neighbor and mixed couple as a threat to his family's moral upbringing. The new neighbor was too edgy with demanding their old neighbor to turn his lights off, keep the noise down, and refrain from working in his own backyard. The movie is a great story on dealing of neighbors, avoiding devastating social conflicts with the least restraint of not inflaming others, and on the overzealous abuse of power by those entrusted to enforce the law. Even though the story took place in Los Angeles, it would be perfectly perceived in almost all cultures across the globe.Mohamed F. El-Hewie

Ben 2013-05-23 18:37:30

Racial tension and anger make for poor neighbors

In almost every way, Lakeview Terrace is a pretty typical Sam Jackson movie. He's intense. He's furious. He's armed like an octopus. His performance is royale -- with cheese.But this time, Jackson is a police officer, not a Jheri-curled hit man. And his director is Neil LaBute, the brutalist playwright/filmmaker (Your Friends and Neighbors), hiring himself out for a Hollywood hack job.I mean that as a compliment, up to a point. For about 90 minutes, before it plummets into one of those cowardly endings so common in movies that lose their nerve, it's as tight, absorbing and trenchant as a commercial thriller can get. LaBute receives no screen credit for the script -- two people worked on it separately, one rewriting the other -- but you can hear LaBute's tart insights in some of the lines.He directs his actors to streamlined performances: Patrick Wilson, as the object of Jackson's ire, is an expert at playing Yuppie stiffs, but Jackson's steel-edged character seems to focus Wilson even more, and the two together are very entertaining.Lakeview Terrace takes place in an upscale, mixed-race Los Angeles neighborhood far from where Abel Turner (Jackson), a 28-year veteran of the LAPD, busts heads. He wants it that way, both to escape South Central, where he grew up, and to insulate his two kids from the world of drugs, hip hop and loose talk. (He corrects every grammatical mistake they make.) He's a widower of three years, but that's not why he's so angry. It's clear from what people say that he's always been like that.His partner is Latino, his neighbors are Asian, and he would probably have no issue with his new white neighbor, Chris Mattson (Wilson), except that Chris' wife, Lisa (Kerry Washington), is black. This seems to bother him more than it should, given what we know about him for most of the movie. Of course, there's a "reason," an "explanation," and we learn it just before (or just so) everything can unravel and explode.Before it does, though, Lakeview Terrace asks us to consider the dilemma of a man like Abel. He knows the dangers his kids face out there. He's spent his career arresting them. What's a father to do? How long can he go before his reasonable fear turns into a righteous and dangerous anger? He doesn't like the changing world, and a mixed-race couple represents it. He doesn't want his children -- especially his teen-age daughter -- getting any ideas.In one of many smart and poignant scenes, Lisa and Abel's 15-year-old daughter, who's interested in a white boy at school, share a little girl talk after a swim (unauthorized by dad) in the Mattson pool. How much should she "like" a boy before she goes out with him? She has no mom to tell her. The Mattsons' marriage is often just as frank: Lisa's imposing lawyer-father doesn't approve of their union, and the friction he foments joins them in bed. A few of their spats are tense, but their reconciliations happen naturally. It's a surprisingly realistic portrait of a marriage complicated by prejudices on both sides.All of that would have been enough for a thoughtful little movie about race and urban culture without Abel also being a rogue cop. Chris listens to hip hop, which doubly angers his neighbor, and when Chris asks why they can't just get along, Abel snaps back: "Not Rodney King. Not the race card." (Close your eyes and hear Jackson saying it.) LaBute makes movies about people who are uncomfortable in their own skins, and Lakeview Terrace makes his metaphor literal. So, too, does the wildfire creeping up the hills toward the homes of the characters, as they struggle with their fires inside.

2013-05-23 08:42:37

Not happy with the movie

This review is from: Lakeview Terrace (DVD) The movie arrived as expected and was in excellant condition.I did not like the content of the movie but only because I have a strong tie to religion.

2013-05-18 10:52:18

Worth renting, Jackson's character believable

Pretty good movie but it was a missed opportunity in that the role played by Patrick Wilson was miscast. Someone better known, maybe Michael Keaton, would have made this a much better film. But, it's still worth renting for Jackson's tour-de-force performance as the over-the-edge cop with issues.

npatel-8 2013-05-17 13:13:02

Didn't expect this...

Honestly, I never watch movies about racism other than those I wasforced to watch (even read about) in high school. Fortunately, collegedoesn't focus on this. I've seen quite a few of the more conventional"whites are racist" versions and they are all better than this.I had no idea what the movie was about. I thought it was a thrillerwith a misjudged cop living next door. Wrong! The entire first half isslow...very slow. They slowly show you the personalities of everyoneand then the movie starts.By the end of the movie, I was very mad. I knew the cop was racist butI didn't realize the whole dang movie was about this. I thought therewould be a better motive than the one that was given. They try toexplain how he became like this and it still wasn't enough.I should have read the synopsis first...and I would have passed on thismovie. Unfortunately I didn't and this movie gets anther negativereview.

2013-05-17 07:51:36

Very Interesting.

This review is from: Lakeview Terrace (DVD) Reverse discrimination. It was a good movie. But I do not think all Police Officers are that way...or are they?

eric262003 2013-05-17 00:03:24

Pans Out in a Typical Samuel L. Jackson Movie

It comes to no doubt that Samuel L. Jackson is still playing the samerole here as we've sen him numerous times in the past. His fury, hisintimidation and his determination offers very little in terms oforiginality in his performances. "Lakeview Terrace" is no exception.Here, Jackson comes on as a veteran cop with almost 30 years in theforce as director Neil Labute, a noted playwright, takes the helm as heguides Jackson to pose as threat to a young interracial couple (PatrickWilson and Kerry Washington) starting a new life in this ethnicallydiverse neighborhood. Sure the premise is great and shows a potential for greatness, it's thepedestrian ending that really catches the audience off guard like somany other lazy scripts before this. The banal ending spells outcommercial openly as opposed to art. Though LaBute didn't write thescript, with two writers trying to usurp the other, many of LaBute'sfamous lines from previous outings were added in, but not necessarilyfor good measure.Performance wise, Patrick Wilson is wonderful as the unfortunate victimto Jackson's obsessive demeanor and when the two are in the samescenes, the tensity heats up in epic proportions. Set in the cozy neighborhood, Abel Turner (Jackson) feels calm andrelived that his two children are safe in this area from drug-addicts,gangsters and inner-city parasites. He goes so far as to make themsound intelligent by avoiding them from talking in Ebonics. He's nottough because of his wife's sudden death, he's been that way since theday he was born.Though not entirely bigoted, he has a partner who's Hispanic and livesnear an Asian neighbor, we are lead to assume that the new neighbors ofAbel would get along just fine. The main setback is that the newneighbor, Chris Mattson (Wilson) a Caucasian man is married to a blackwoman named Lisa (Kerry Washington). That's when things get ugly. It'sstrange and hardly explainable why this bothers Abel so much, itreminds me of the hostility George Jefferson had on the Willis' on "TheJeffersons". Only here it's a lot more darker in subject matter. Butthe purpose comes into effect and this is where the tensity begins tomanifest. We can still understand Abel's fears and for the protection of hischildren and the fears that they face. But eventually his fear andhostility escalates into nothing more than petty anger andself-centered hatred. He feels that interracial couples are a threat tothe changing world we live in and doesn't want it to be an influencetowards his teen-aged daughter. One of the more fascinating scenes where Lisa and the daughter wereexchanging love interests in a Caucasian boy, at the poolside withouther father knowing. Abel isn't the only character who's disdained abouther marriage to a white guy. Lisa's father who's a lawyer is peeved byher commitment to Chris, but later reconciles with her are just some ofthe more believable scenes in this movie.It would have been more natural if Jackson was more restrained and notso over-the-top scary. Chris listens to hip-hop an R&B which angerspeople surrounding him, and when Chris gives his "why can't we all getalong" and Abel shrugs him off. LaBute has a resume of making skinissues personal. "Lakeview Terrace" clearly examines the insecurity ofthat perfectly clear. And it was tripe that we add a wildfire comingtheir way that's tamer than the inner fire between the characters.

2013-05-15 08:07:41

Another stupid RACIST movie

here is another stupid RACIST movie. I am very disappointed in Mr. Jackson being aligned with this whole production. He must have needed the money. Weak characters. weak plot. RACISM at it's finest. Mr. Martin Luther King must be rolling over in his grave. Mr. Jackson and Mr. Glass, you should be a shamed. the idea is to do away with racism not promote it. People, liberals, Conservatives wonder why we all can't just get along, it is because of stereotypical crap like this. it did have ENGLISH closed captions, that is the only good thing i can say about this movie.do not waste your money or your time on this one. it just stinks.

michael 2013-05-14 19:53:22

New view from "Lakeview Terrace"

I'm a big Samuel L. Jackson fan and i think anyone who is will enjoy this film. Sure, its PG-13 so you won't be hearing any F-Bombs but he's a real hardass in this one and does a great job playing his role. "Lakeview Terrace" is a pretty simple and straightforward movie. Interracial couple moves in next door, and Abel Turner(Jackson's character) objects and does whatever he can to push them out of the neighborhood. This movie works because, for once, we see an African American character playing the "racist" role for once. Typically, the "white" guy is casted as the one with prejudice but this is different. Push comes to shove as the movie continues and boundaries are crossed by the time "Lakeview Terrace" comes to an end. Good solid movie that is worth the time in theaters.

kai ringler 2013-05-05 21:41:42

lakeview terrace

i was really impressed with the study of interracial dating andrelationships in this one,, Samuel Jackson plays a cop who is widowedraising 2 kids on his own,, he has strong beliefs about how to raisehis children, so when he sees the new couple move in next door , awhite guy and a light skinned black woman he snaps,, but not all atonce . It's slow and gradual,, at first he is open and warm with thecouple and nice,, but i think the point where he just loses it all iswhen his two kids are upstairs and look out there window, and see theinterracial couple doing it in the pool, so now you got the kids seeingthis image burned into their brains,, and the father just goes off thehandle,, and i really don't blame him either. you have severalsequences in which the neighbors go at it, and the tensions do mount toa climactic ending,, not a bad movie,, i thoroughly enjoyed it.

bob the moo 2013-05-05 10:40:06

Seems happy to be a genre film and is good for what it is but always feels like it should have been more

Mixed race couple Lisa and Chris move into their first starter home ina respectable area of Los Angeles as part of career advancement for himand breaking from her family a bit. They first meet their neighbour,police officer Abel Turner, when he puts a "friendly" ticket on thewindow of their van, which is illegally parked. Their next fewinteractions are just as odd as they quickly get it that Abel is astickler for the rules and what he sees as "acceptable" behaviour. Thismakes him someone they decide to ignore but their proximity and hisapparent dislike for them makes for increasing tensions.You've see this basic plot before and you'll know that before you evenget settled into your seat – the details are different but it is hardto watch it without feeling like you are a couple of steps ahead of itmost of the time. This is not a problem though because it is hard tomake a film that is genuinely new and unpredictable nowadays and justbecause Lakeview Terrace is similar in theme or approach to other filmsdoesn't stop it being a really good film. No. No, what stops it being areally good film is the lack of ambition, intelligence and grit in thematerial. It isn't that the film doesn't engage, because it does, it isjust that it doesn't really do much beyond the basics. These basicsmake for a distracting film that builds in a comfortingly familiar wayto a climax that, although overblown and out of nowhere is actuallyquite gripping for a few moments. It is disappointing though to havepotential that it doesn't use to make it stand out from the genre assomething a bit different. The racial element is a big card but thescript doesn't use it very well at all – it is simply a hook on whichto hang Abel's attitude. I wanted this issue to feel as tense as theending did, but it never does because the film never pushes it, neverfinds a rawness that makes the audience uncomfortable.Instead we are left with the impression that Abel is a c*ck who isangry about a lot of stuff, although again this is not particularlybrought out or played with – it seems the writers were happy just tohave the conflict and use it within the genre rather than do more withit. It is a shame because Jackson does do good work with his simplecharacter, coming over really creepy and menacing before ultimatelyheading down the road of least resistance in terms of his performanceand his actions. This is a man who has produced some great stillmoments where the viewer is hooked because the spark of violence isright on the edge of the scene, but he cannot do that here. Wilson isweak alongside him; he does initial discomfort quite well but he cannotkeep up with the rising tension. Washington does feel a little like sheis slumming it and again it seems a waste that the material isn't thereto give her more to do.Lakeview Terrace is what it appears to be and as such it is a perfectlyfine film. Initial weirdness leads to tensions leads to confrontationleads to everyone running and everyone shouting – this is what youexpect and this is what it delivers. Those looking for more will bedisappointed that it doesn't deliver in a more interesting or grippingfashion but it still does an OK job that is par for the genre course.

mikepowell2 2013-04-17 20:10:36

Good....

Don't get many chances to see Mr. Samuel L. Jackson as a bad guy, but here he really delivers. Jackson's demented and twisted cop is memorable if anything else. And Patrick Wilson is also good as the suffering white guy who constantly gets heat from black guys for being with a black woman. Wilson is a great up and coming actor and he delivers another fine performance here. The story is good, the racial stuff gives the movie a unique twist that will stay with you for a long time. And the tension from Jackson's character is what gives the film it's selling point. Definitely a good movie, it won't win any Oscars, but it will stay with you for sometime.

2013-04-17 14:06:39

Another Gulity Pleasure From Samuel L. Jackson

From the early trailers, Lakeview Terrace seemed like nothing more than a Pacific Heights or Unlawful Entry rehash from the nineties and in essence that Lakeview Terrace is. However it's Samuel L. Jackson performance as the menacing Abel Turner that earns the movie thumbs up from movie. As Turner, Jackson is able to make emotion as only he can since the movie is rated PG-13. Patrick Wilson does what he can with the material, and while he makes a good rival for Jackson, I would love to see what a more capable actor like Edward Norton could do with the material. In the female lead, Kerry Washington really doesn't have to do anything other than look sexy and she does that very well. The film could have served as a social drama, but the producers wisely decide to go the thriller route which makes the film another one of my guilty pleasures.

kuciak 2013-04-17 12:23:49

From an interracial prospective

Having been married to a African American woman for 9 years, and alsohaving an African American girl friend now, I could relate to thecharacter played by Patrick Wilson somewhat. Fortunately, I never hadthe negative experience he had, though, sometimes, I felt, like hesays, that my in laws were really never speaking to me directly, onlyto my wife. But, perhaps that is in all relationships.I was apprehensive about seeing this film, my girl friend wanted to seeit. The film is a typical Hollywood production, much like Guess WhoseComing to Dinner was some 40 years early, and therefore, really takes arather easy road to its conclusion.However, what makes this film interesting is that all of thesecharacters are flawed, and not necessarily likable. The married coupleare hiding things from each other. Abel Turner, played effectively bySamuel Jackson, when we first meet him, appears to be just a singlefather trying to raise his children the best way he knows how. However,his character is a tragic, lonely character, (Perhaps he should have agirl friend) racked by inner demons. Later he will show that he is aJekyl/Hyde character, and that he is just as much a hypocrite, eventhough he rails against hypocrisy.The ending of this film, I don't want to give it away, someone alreadydid on the boards, is one that could be interpreted in many differentways. Its ending, might provoke the viewer to ask more questions, thangiving answers.

qpr-4 2013-04-17 01:49:18

Why expect so much

This film is what it is. Those who expect the film to explore theracism aspect to death are watching the wrong genre. The plot is plainto see and Samuel LJ plays a good part as a physco with a chip on hisshoulder.... a welcome change from some of the bull he has done in thepast with voice overs, adverts and any paycheck he can grab.I liked the movie. He has a thing against inter racial relationshipscoz his wife may have been unfaithful to him with a white guy. No needto dis the movie because it does not offer analytical insight into thesituation. It covers it as much as is warranted considering we aredealing with a character who is unbalanced at best!

brandon_lee420 2013-04-07 13:22:12

An entertaining neighbor movie.

After having finished this movie a mysterious smile formed on my face.A smile which meant it had me wanting more of this film. It is slow atthe beginning, then it gets thrilling and it stays like that during thewhole one and half hours. The film is about a neighbors racist problemwho can sometimes get a little aggressive and that's when the troublestarts.After a black and white couple move in to their new homes, they startdeveloping problems with their racist neighbor who thinks black andwhite don't mix. He tries to get the couple out of the house by pullingpranks on them. Then suddenly the couple fight back and that's when thetrouble starts between them two.The movie doesn't have any major action scenes (sorry action fans) buteven when there is action it's not what you expected. Samuel L. Jacksonportrays the role of the racist man very well. Kerry Washington is notthat bad as well. The biggest let down in this whole movie is probablythe racism but what do you expect from a movie about that particularsubject.You should not miss this one.

marchesa 2013-04-06 23:55:30

A promise broken

This vehicle for Samuel L. Jackson begins with great promise. A rolesomewhat "out of fach" for Jackson, a gentle, caring, loving father,trying to bring up his children to behave and be respectful, etc. Newneighbors present an interesting situation, fraught with difficulty.The movie hints that it may take some adventurous and creative stepswith spinning out the story line. Indeed the social commentary hintedat, honest depiction of racism from various perspectives is begun. Thenthe film takes a sharp left turn, abandons character developmentcompletely, tosses unnecessary characters and scenes at us withoutreally justifying them and quickly descends into a clichéd and violentrun-of-the-mill pointless story. Sorry, but so much more could havebeen accomplished with this film and premise. It makes me wish for aremake already.