the Mind’s Chew Toy

Synopsis:

A young interracial couple (Wilson and Washington) has just moved into their California dream home when they become the target of their next-door neighbor. A stern, single father, this tightly wound LAPD officer (Samuel L. Jackson) has appointed himself the watchdog of the neighborhood. His nightly foot patrols and overly watchful eyes bring comfort to some, but he becomes increasingly harassing to the newlyweds. These persistent intrusions into their lives ultimately turn tragic when the couple decides to fight back.

Our Thoughts:

Since Samuel L. Jackson is a favorite actor of the site (with this film, appearing in 15 movies on the site, giving him a sizeable lead over any other actor), so when we hear he has a new film coming out, we’re definitely interested.

With his latest, Lakeview Terrace, he looks to be portraying the villain of the film - a switch for him, and not something that sounds appealing. After all, we always root for Jackson, so putting him as the bad guy skews the movie a bit.

Then again, it’s a refreshing change of pace for him, and he’ll probably win us over in this role as well.

One interesting thing about the trailer (although it’s playing over at yahoo.com that didn’t work for us and we had to search elsewhere to see it) - although the film has a racially charged atmosphere (apparently, Jackson starts his harrassment because he doesn’t like the couple’s interracial status), the trailer downplays that, instead focusing on the fact that Jackson’s character also happens to be an LAPD cop, a profession which hasn’t exactly gotten rave reviews in recent years.

With the double whammy of LAPD cop and beleaguering an interracial couple, Jackson’s going to have to work extra hard at getting the audience on his side. But then again, the worst villain is one who starts out as a friend - and in the viewers’ eyes, that’s exactly what Jackson is going into Lakeview Terrace, so his bad guy persona could hit home even harder than otherwise.

Whether fans will accept him as a bad guy or not, his performance is the one that will make or break Lakeview Terrace. Either way, it should be interesting to watch - but I think we’re going to wait for the DVD, just in case.