Lakeview Terrace
1.5 Lloyds – Not Family-Friendly
PG-13 for intense thematic material, violence, sexuality, language and some drug references.
The new Samuel L. Jackson movie, Lakeview Terrace, clocks in at 1 hour 47 minutes. The best part of the movie — when it finished. This is a long hour and 47 minutes. While we like Jackson’s acting abilities, his meandering laid back style seems somewhat misplaced. If anything, his slow drawl and walking crawl make this new flick of his seem even longer. The filmmakers are calling this a drama, crime, thriller. Reality is, Lakeview Terrace is more of a case study of what can go wrong when someone keeps a lot of pent up anger and frustration inside of them. The drama is shaky at best and the crime seems random and sublime. As for thriller, I’ve seen more thrill in some G rated movies than I saw here.
Lakeview Terrace is a story about a veteran Los Angeles cop named Abel Turner who guards his neighborhood with the same zeal he uses on his patrol route. The single father of a teen-aged daughter and preteen son, Abel is pretty much a one-man security force, ensuring his strict standards of behavior are adhered to. But, deep down inside, Abel has major issues he has never learned to deal with. Instead of working through his issues, he takes his anger out on those around him, while hiding behind his police badge.
Chris and Lisa Mattson on the other hand are an upwardly mobile couple hoping to start their new life away from the influence of parents. Chris received a promotion with his company and they’ve just purchased their first home, right next door to Abel. They too live a pressure cooker life as well. Lisa wants children, Chris isn’t sure. Lisa’s father is not thrilled with the marriage, nor is their new next door neighbor Abel. The problem? It’s an inter-racial marriage. Chris is white and Lisa is black. That in itself makes life difficult, but for Abel, the sight of the inter-racial marriage living next door to him, stirs up all kinds of emotions.
This is not a very strong movie. Don’t let the commercials fool you. Lakeview Terrace gives us yet another example of the fact that you can’t judge a movie by it’s trailer. Many have blown this flick off as nothing more than a cop acting badly. Others are caught up in the hype of the commercial thinking it will be one of the best movies Samuel L. Jackson has ever done. However, let’s not forget the hype surrounding Snakes on a Plane. That Samuel L. Jackson movie opened to much advertising hype, but fell flat in the box office. Lakeview Terrace falls into the same category. Much hype and anticipation, but just like Big Brown in the Triple Crown, the favorite falls way short of crossing the finish line in any kind of style.
Lakeview Terrace carries a PG-13 rating, but this is by no means a family-friendly movie. It’s violent and simply too hard to follow. As already mentioned, it’s called a crime/thriller but it’s far from that. If anything this is a study of the human psyche showing the dichotomy between good and evil in the same person.
Cautiously enjoy the show,
Dr. Rus
Dr. Rus has 30+ years experience in the field of communication. He takes this experience, and his passion to encourage others to positively effect their environment, when providing insight and movie reviews. 
