Movies

An excellent story about a dirty cop for a neighbor and Patrick Wilson's character not being able to do much about it. Great that it's not the type to contrive racist things all over it instead it's more subtle. I love how the movie gets away with 2 f bombs! Lakeview Terrace is under appreciated and highly entertaining in my opinion; deserves more credit!

Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson) is a tough aggressive LAPD officer living with his two kids with lots of rules. Chris Mattson (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa (Kerry Washington) move in next door. Abel isn't happy with the couple, and tension rises.Director Neil LaBute is supposedly putting together a little treatise on racial politics. But it's really just a way to a cheap thriller. The problem is nobody is likable. Nobody is compelling. It's the annoying neighborhood spate that everybody rolls their eyes at while desperately trying to avoid. That's what I feel when I watch this. I like to avoid this if at all possible.

Lakeview Terrace is stressful because it feels like something that could really happen. In fact, this movie is based on actual events, which makes it even more scary. And while this film does escalate into the melodramatic at the end, most of it is a realistic thriller that makes you feel as helpless as the protagonists. You can't pick your neighbors, but hope that you never get one like Abel Turner.