Drums up the odd moment of effective mild suspense before succumbing to standard genre shenanigans
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10/06/08
Lakeview Terrace (2008)
47
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:150
Fresh:70
Rotten:80
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: This thriller about a menacing cop wreaking havoc on his neighbors is tense enough but threatens absurdity when it enters into excessive potboiler territory.
Australian Theatrical Release:
Jan 29, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $39,263,506
Synopsis: A quick perusal of any of LAKEVIEW TERRACE's promotional materials--its nervy trailer, its foreboding (and painterly) dawn-hued poster featuring Samuel L. Jackson looking less-than-neighborly in... [More]
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson, Kerry Washington, Jay Hernandez
Director: Neil LaBute
Reviews for Lakeview Terrace
Top CriticLakeview Terrace isn't anywhere as wacky as LaBute's Wicker Man remake, yet the two reveal an artist too caught up with his misanthropic conceits to notice the ridiculous humor in them.
08/26/09
This angry black man wants a 'chocolate drop' of his own -- yes, 'chocolate drop' is actually used in this film! However, it's such a weak movie that you won't get offended.
07/03/09
Click to read the article
04/23/09
It's ironic when the tactics it uses to ratchet up the suspense actually reduces the very real tension that gets communicated in its first half.
02/12/09
As a thriller, it's passable, but at what point do we say to director Neil LaBute, "Enough already with the misogynistic themes"?
01/21/09
The race-baiting thriller Lakeview Terrace is exactly what you would expect from a screenplay by a Hollywood hack and an established playwright: some sharp dialogue grafted onto a credibility-stretching and familiar plot. [Blu-ray]
01/20/09
Lakeview Terrace is not a hit by any means, but it is a lot better than Jackson's last film Snakes on a Plane and much improved for director Neil LaBute, known for his previous work on The Wicker Man.
01/04/09
...should satisfy fans of "(fill in the blank) from hell" thrillers.
12/14/08
As a thriller it’s solid three-star tension. As a Samuel L. Jackson showcase it proves a man can only coast through so many motherfuckin’ or milquetoastin’ turns before having to display his full and overpowering talent.
12/05/08
Top CriticThe yawning chasm between the film’s aspirations to social significance and its cheese-o-licious straight-to-video construction make it a chucklesome guilty pleasure.
12/05/08
A potboiler with pretensions that's never really at the races.
12/05/08
It’s a terrifically unstable performance that is admirably matched by the exasperated victims. The ending is too allegorical for its own health, but this is intelligent cinema.
12/05/08
Top CriticFrom certain angles, Lakeview Terrace may look neurotic or even reactionary, but I found it bracingly tactless, particularly because interracial couples are still something of a taboo in modern Hollywood.
12/05/08
Top CriticYet despite the crudeness that finally overtakes Lakeview Terrace, it may be a more accurate representation of racial attitudes in Los Angeles than many inhabitants would care to admit.
12/05/08
After multiplex clinkers like Jumper and Cleaner, Lakeview Terrace does give Jackson somewhere to move that actually brings the house down.
12/05/08
Lacking even a Changing Lanes level of insight into America’s racial partition, this old-school, domestic-invasion thriller still has Samuel L Jackson’s twisted enforcer to push the right buttons.
12/05/08
Watching this film is like stretching a spring and then letting it go again… and again… gripping and utterly absorbing.
12/05/08
Having an angry Samuel L Jackson as your nasty neighbour would be anybody's idea of bad news. Tense and terrifying, this is a smart thriller.
12/05/08
It’s uncomfortable viewing.
12/05/08
Latest News for Lakeview Terrace
January 17, 2009:
Worst case scenario moviemaking, with interracial mating as the cinematic incendiary device of choice, along with Jackson's honed terror tactics that can make you shrivel with the slightest disapproving snarl. 
More...
January 13, 2009:
Interracial mating as the cinematic incendiary device of choice, and it's not white racists that are made to seethe about cross-racial romance, but oddly enough, black folks. Reality check, please.
More...
December 05, 2008:
UK Critics Consensus: Writers Warm to Madagascar 2; UK Critics Liked Lakeview Terrace
With thirteen new releases in the UK cinemas this weekend, let Rotten Tomatoes help you sort the tinsel from the turkeys. We have animals on the loose in Madagascar: Escape 2... More...
October 20, 2008:
Sam Jackson Talks Lakeview Terrace: Taking The Tough Questions
More...
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