Lakeview Terrace

Ahhh, racial tension. The stuff great movies are made of. In Samuel L. Jackson's 4,976th movie, he plays a racist LAPD officer (shocking, I know!) named Abel Turner, who doesn't care for his new neighbors Chris (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa (Kerry Washington). Chis is white and Kerry is black. Abel is black as well. I find it very interesting that Sam Jack's character is named after a sweet, GOD-fearing boy, murdered by a jealous brother, and an angry black gun-wielding revolutionary. One of these two Sam Jack plays extremely well. I'll let you guess which one.
I must say I was disappointed by the lack of ridiculous hair and needless profanity by Sam Jack, but there was no shortage of yelling and angry black man looks. My personal fav was, "I'm the police! You have to do what I say!" Classic Sam Jack.That man oozes hate!

Pat Wilson plays the role of the insecure white guy pretty darn well. I have a feeling he's dated black women before, although with much more disastrous results. I can tell he didn't have to dig too deeply to recreate pained looks of inadequacy and shame. He did step it up eventually, so I gota give him his props for that.

Our last main star is Kerry Washington. I've decided that she really isn't that great looking. Sorry. I think it's because she does this weird thing with her lips when she talks. It distracted me so much, I think I only heard two actually words come out of her mouth the entire movie. Mostly it just sounded like a bag of jumbo marshmellows being repeatedly squished.

These three characters are thrown together in the midst of the annual California wildfires, which is a revered pastime of the Golden State. That Golden color comes from the tips of raging fires that threaten to devastate California's hallowed over-priced mansions. If only there was a way to protect these precious symbols of American consumerism. Who will weep for the burned out shell of a once majestic 7 bedroom estate that once stood proudly perched atop the sweeping cliffs, gazing over the valley of the middle class? To what symbol of hope will the destitute masses look to, and aspire to achieve? Who will weep!?! Wow...um, sorry.
Anyway, estute viewers and cinema geeks will notice that as the fires inch closer, the intensity of their interactions flare up as well. Very clever Neil LaBute, very clever indeed. Must've gone to one of those fancy Ivy League schools - you can't harness that kind of creative energy at a publicly funded unversity. Not at all. To wrap things up, the movie ends in a hail of gunfire and cheesy alls well that ends well movie fluff. In these unstable financial times, I'd recommend saving my $9.75 and wait for it to show up in the previously viewed section at Blockbuster. Use that $9.75 to buy about 35 shares of Lehman Bros...You'll thank me later.


Tay-Tay Willomane's final verdict: If you missed the movie you actually came to see, and don't wanna waste that gas, go see it.

Do you.