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Lakeview Terrace, a review by Jon

Lakeview Terrace ****
4 out of 5



A young couple (Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) have just moved into their California dream home when they become the target of their next-door neighbour, who disapproves of their interracial relationship. A stern, single father, this tightly wound LAPD officer (Samuel L. Jackson) has appointed himself the watchdog of the neighbourhood. His nightly foot patrols and overly watchful eyes bring comfort to some, but he becomes increasingly harassing to the newly-weds.

Samuel L. Jackson shares the lead with at least Patrick Wilson, but his powerful performance anchors the film. When I say this is his best role for years, don't be concerned if you think this will be full-on Pulp Fiction Jules. Instead he shows how brilliant he truly is by commanding the screen without taking it over. All three are complicated roles and this isn't the sort of story they can get through with show-boating and shouting.

On paper it seems a new play on the theme used in Pacific Heights (Modine v. Keaton!) or Unlawful Entry (Russell v. Liotta!), but the characters and situations are more exploitive in both of those and descend into predictable action beats. Not that there is anything wrong with that! It's just that Lakeview Terrace is first and foremost a drama that you may be able to identify with more readily, and it seems reluctant to cut loose until the very last moment.

Up until then, director Neil La Bute creates a simmering tension, possibly undermined by your own assumptions. If you go into it expecting Jackson to be an obvious villain, you do his performance a disservice, because throughout he deserves some sympathy. None of the three characters are perfect and it's their flaws that drive the story. Jackson's Turner is a manipulative racist, but he is also a single dad and staring forced retirement in the face. Meanwhile Wilson as Chris is paranoid that everyone is like Turner, judging his interracial relationship. His wife Lisa, played by Washington, doesn't always give Chris enough respect for that position and she also makes a particularly poor judgement that threatens their marriage.

Still, they are a close couple and Wilson and the lovely Kerry Washington have good chemistry, so you want them to work it out and that means dealing with Turner. It's a clever plot development that escalates the situation without turning him into a cartoon villain, even for the ending which is otherwise predictable. I also like the backdrop with California wild-fires that are getting closer throughout the film because that increases the immediacy of a plot that could have become tediously contrived, especially the ending. Like Gone Baby Gone, it is a satisfying conclusion, but not one that suggests a happy ever after. Life isn't like that and to suggest otherwise is insulting.

Occasionally the black versus white sensibilities border on heavy handed, but actually I still found it easier to empathise with than Crash and it bears more similarity with Gran Torino in some ways. It's a well written, cracking little thriller, that doesn't spoon-feed the viewer. Highly recommended. La Bute may have done himself a disservice by making the ill-advised remake of The Wicker Man, because here he shows a far more interesting grasp of difficult material.

(From Jon's Random Reviews on November 29th, 2009)

Saawariya, a review by dfmorgan

Saawariya

Year: 2007
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Cast: Salman Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Ranbir Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor
Overview: From Sanjay Leela Bhansali, one of India's most acclaimed cinema directors comes a love story. Saawariya is a tender and romantic musical which centres around the chance encounter of two people Raj (Ranbir Kapoor) and Sakina (Sonam Kapoor) and an impromptu romance that's initiated in the remote picturesque town of Simla, a quaint hill station in Northern India.

Watched: 13th Feb. 2011
My Thoughts: This film is based on the story "White Nights" by Fyodor Dostoevsky, not a work or author that I have ever read therefore I cannot compare them. The film is set in a red-light district and Gulab (Rani Mukherjee), one of the women who work there, relates a story that takes place over four or five nights. A wandering musician, Raj (Ranbir Kapoor), arrives in town and meets a young woman, Sakina (Sonam Kapoor), crying on a bridge. She is pining for her love, Imaan (Salman Khan), to return from whence he had wandered. The tale is about unrequited and requited love and although I guessed part of the ending I didn't expect the final outcome.

My Rating: An enjoyable 3



(From Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews on February 13th, 2011)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Action: The Complete Series (1999/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 293 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

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Plot:
Way too edgy for network TV, this funny, uncensored, naming-names series peels off the glitter of Hollywood moviemaking and exposes the duplicitous but totally addictive, behind-the-scenes truth. Campy, uncesored and very controversial, this "too-close-to reality" show features guest stars that include Keanu Reeves, Salma Hayek, Scott Wolf and Sandra Bullock.

Superstar producer Peter Dragon (Jay Mohr, host of TV's "Last Comic Standing") builds his stellar career on the three pillars of show business - prostitution, nepostism and dishonesty. Adding to that an ego as big as a Beverly Hills mansion, the aptly named Dragon and his cohorts manage to be politically incorrect, backstabbing, phony, petty, pissy and most of all -- ingeniously funny!

Action
1.01 Pilot
Writer: Chris Thompson (Writer)
Director: Ted Demme
Cast: Jay Mohr (Peter Dragon), Illeana Douglas (Wendy Ward), Jarrad Paul (Adam Rafkin), Jack Plotnick (Stuart Glazer), Buddy Hackett (Uncle Lonnie), Keanu Reeves (Himself), Lee Arenberg (Bobby G.), Cindy Ambuehl (Jane Gianopolis), Michelle Hurd (Gina), Gavin Polone (Dodi), Richard Burgi (Cole Riccardi), Sara Paxton (Georgia Dragon), Hector Contreras (Manny Sanchez), Johnny Grant (Himself)

Not a bad series and not a bad first episode, but I never quite grew to like it. Maybe it's because Jay Mohr plays a prick so well, that it's hard to get invested in the character

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on March 25th, 2011)