My Lakeview Terrace Take
I liked Lakeview Terrace a lot. A lot of people have been throwing around the term thriller but I see it as much more of a smart movie with a few thriller scenes. Samuel L.–as is often the case–is the driving force behind the film. He plays a scary character but is able to portray him oh-so-well that it’s easy to find yourself getting behind him and rooting him on in chasing out the a-hole neighbor Chris Mattson (Chris Wilson).
Short and sweet. LT is a nice break from the whole anti-racism subgenre, especially since the shoe is finally on the other foot. It’s also a nice break from hardcore horror and action films because you could take all the action scenes out and still have an excellent plot.
It’s an intelligent film. Very intelligent. And all that without a single snake on a plane.
Lakeview Terrace, review
This dramatic thriller from director Neil LaBute follows Chris and Lisa Mattson (Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) as they settle into their Los Angeles dream house — only to be harassed by their off-kilter cop neighbor, officer Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson). 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.
I saw Lakeview Terrace last weekend and didn’t like it. And I really wanted it to be a good movie, for the plain fact that Samuel L. Jackson was the star. I was even expecting a good movie. And while switching the role of racist antagonist and making him black seemed a novel idea, the implementation was not very satisfying. Especially when none of the characters were very likeable.
Pulp Fiction Fun-ness
The other night I came upon this typography thing on Youtube while recording a few scenes for an upcoming About12Minutes show with Jay V. It has some graphic language, but it’s pretty cool the way this was put together. Plus, just about everybody has to have seen (and laughed at) this scene.
