Lakeview Terrace

In many ways, Lakeview Terrance from 2008 is a dumb film. My uncle bashed it like no tomorrow. So did probably a lot of other people. Samuel Jackson can be easily questioned as to why he put himself in this movie and there appears to no market for a film like this. In spite of these issues, I liked this movie.

Interracial couple Chris (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa (Kerry Washington) move into an upscale neighborhood next to cop Abel (Jackson). Abel is a cop who is mean to his neighbors for no reason and takes any opportunity to be disagreeable. He also isn't so nice to his kids and won't really let them do anything. Abel is a cop who makes us look at police officers differently.

I think the cast does a fine job in this movie. New actor Patrick Wilson is really good and shows for one of the first times in his career what a great actor he is. Kerry Washington who will probably always be the in the little films with a small fan following, is also good. The kids played by Jaishon Fisher and Regine Nehy are ok for the child actors that they are. Samuel Jackson is a character who dominates every scene he is in and he drives this film. He is very uneasy to watch  but also does some ordinary things you might not expect. It really is quite daring for director Neil LaBute to cast Samuel Jackson this way.

Along with rather different Jackson character, the whole film has a lot of different stuff and the main idea is a fresh and original one. This movie does tackle the black and white racial issue, and how a cop could be the opposite from what he is supposed to be. California is the setting for this movie and this seems to add more drama and suspense to the story. That said, there are many holes and unrealistic parts to this movie.

This is a very strange film that has been forgotten and really has no following but in spite of it's flaws, I liked it.


3.5/5

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Superman Talk

When it comes to superheroes, Superman is the one that I always seem to forget about. Superman to me is a character that is immortal, with not much depth, and frankly not very memorable. The Superman movies are probably my least favorite superhero films to watch. That said, even though I am not the biggest Superman fan, there are still some things in Superman movies that I do enjoy.

Historically, Superman was a character that first appeared in The Reign of Superman, a short short created in Cleveland. In 1938, his first comic book appearance came in Action Comics #1 and then appeared a self-titled series starting in 1939. In 1945, the first spin-off came about in Superboy with many more to follow.

In 1973, the first idea for a film came for this character with the film  finally coming out in 1978. Actor, Christopher Reeves was chosen to play Superman, his love interest Lois Lane was played by Margot Kidder and the villain Lex Luthor was played by Gene Hackman. Unlike some other superhero series like the Fantastic Four, the Superman series got off to a fabulous start with this movie. The film had a fun plot, the cast was really good and this propelled some careers. This also told the Superman story in a neat 70's style.

Of all the Superman films, the second Superman film is the one I found to be the least memorable. It did a have a good and more meatier plot and has a 1980's feel to it.

Superman III is where things really started to fall with this series in my opinion. It introduced then comedic star Richard Pryor to the series and he attempted to inject the type of silly comedy into the movie that did not seem to fit in a Superman film. The plot was not very strong and in the end, it just did not feel like a Superman film.

As bad as the third movie was, the fourth one Superman IV: The Quest for Peace was worse and was the worst film of the series. This movie has the worst plot of series. There are also a lot of bad errors in the film from poor effects to set pieces being seen where they shouldn't. I remember this film being the joke around my grade school buddies. This film effectively ended the Superman series for while which was probably a good thing.

After a 19 years absence, the Superman movies returned with Superman Returns in 2006. This was a very different Superman film as this was the first one where Christopher Reeves did not play Superman and also there were no returning cast members from the previous movies. Director, Bryan Singer put Brandon Routh who was not a big name actor and still isn't, in the role of Superman. Kate Bosworth portrayed Louis Lane, Kevin Spacey played Lex Luther and James Marsden played Richard White. All in all, this movie was very uninspiring with really no appeal or anybody to root for especially Clark Kent who lacks dialogue. The plot is kind of hit or mess with much of the story taking place on a boat which I don't think is the best atmosphere for a Superman movie. I think Superman Returns was just little below average and should have been better.

Now in 2013, the new Superman film called Man of Steel has hit the theaters. After the disappointing Superman Returns, I am a bit uncertain regarding this one. How is Henry Cavill as Clark Kent and how will he be with Amy Adams as Louis Lane? Is General Zod going to be a top-notch villain? How will Michael Shannon be in the General Zod role? How will the new new director Zach Snyder be? His movies always have something to them but he doesn't always finish them very well.

Due to a very busy home schedule and at least four other five movies I would like to see at the theater, I really don't when I will get around seeing Man of Steel. I am still optimistic, excited and and hoping for something fun. I have my fingers crossed.

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Star Trek V: Final Frontier

After four films in the Star Trek series, you really thought you saw everything. The movies included many genres including comedy, drama, action and of course Sci-Fi with plenty of interesting plots,characters and villains. That said, I never thought I would be see a bad film in this series. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier does have many fresh ideas but in the end I thought it reached an all-time low for a Star Trek movie and I hope there is never another one that challenges it.

The Enterprise crew's camping trip in Yosemite National Park gets disrupted when they must go Nimbus 111 to rescue hostages held by the character of Sybox (Laurence Luckinbill) who wants more than just hostages and who has greater intentions as a whole. Sybox wants to lure a starship to Nimbus 111 so to use the ship to travel to the mythical planet, Sha Ka Ree where creation began.

The main problem with this movie is the direction. Star Trek is a series that does not really need humor to succeed and the last film Voyage Home kind of got lucky using a great deal of humor. William Shatner is the director of The Final Frontier and seems to insert comedy at times where none of it really works. The attempts at comedy are laughable but in the wrong places and it doesn't work with the characters. The Spock character played by Leonard Nimoy kind of  works in places by being funny but the humor is also forced humor that doesn't really work. The characters also quite often are not used correctly and I note that the character Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) has a nude scene that seems not necessary. In short, the characters are really all over the place and not portrayed in the right light.

In a way, I don't mind Skbox as a character. He is given an interesting connection to Spock but I don't know what he wants. He is given too much to do and is kind of dry and really is not at all comparable or close to the villains in the series. Shatner at Captain Kirk also is a little confusing as it is not clear what he is doing with Klingon Captain Klaa who at times seems like the the villain but other times it is not clear what he is or why is he even here.

Even though I am not the biggest Trekkie out there, I have always enjoyed the series. The previous movies showed a world filled with a lot of light and images but that was missing in this movie. As with Voyage Home, this is a film with more sets then usual but in this one they are not  really fully developed. Nimbus 111 is depicted with a cheap western setting and cheap set inside of it. The effects in this movie are also nowhere near as good as the last movie in the series. It is a film that really looks dull.

I think Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is kind of a disaster that doesn't really fit in this classic series and doesn't bring anything to the table. For the Star Trek series, I see it as a terrible waste and a disaster that I don't think anybody should waste their time with.

1/5

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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

If you would have told me about a film's plot involving humpback whales and space and time travel set in the 1980's, I would have laughed. If you also explained to me that this was a Star Trek movie, I would be quite shocked and  thought that this is something that would  not work. That said, this is what Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is about and in some ways, it is the strongest Star Trek sequel and demonstrates why Star Trek is such a great sc-fi series of movies.

In the year 2286, there is deadly probe which is moving through and has taken over space and on earth it is causing storms, sun blocking and power outages while sending out strange signals. It is eventually determined that the signals are humpback whale calls, and the Enterprise must go to the present 1980's of San Fransisco to get to the whales and stop this probe.

Though it's a strange plot that is original and creative, the idea of the movie being set in the San Franscisco Bay area might be the most original. Being from 23rd century, the cast creates interesting and funny comedic scenes with the crew lost in the 1980's erawhere they learn about pizza, punk rock and all things 80's. For the animal lovers, the whales are portrayed in a sc-fi way with a lot of charm and love. A plot that shows us once again what a great director Leonard Nimoy is and how he can really work with a different type of plot.

This involves basically the same cast that we have known and loved from the prior movies with more fine work from Catherine Hicks as Dr. Gillian Taylor who is the unexpected star here. Hicks really helps move the plot along and also brings charm and chemistry to the role and  also makes this film seems more realistic.

This is also one of those Star Trek films that has many settings. Following an ending on a Vulcan planet, the film then uses three settings which including Earth. The sets are difficult to pull off but the effects, design and structure really work.

As with all Star Trek movies, one important question is  "Where does this film fit into the Star Trek series?" Following in the footsteps of a drama, The Search for Spock, The Voyage Home is a refreshing comedy that does not go overboard with it that fits perfectly into the series.

Frankly considering the very different plot, I am not sure why this worked for me or why it became one of my favorite Star Trek movies comparable to the classic Wrath of Khan film but it does. Even though this is set in the 1980's, this is a film that could live on forever with any audience no matter what decade they view it.

4/5

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