Lakeview Terrace

Running Time: 106 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13

Samuel L. Jackson is really good at shouting. That's what the man does best. Whether he's complaining about motherlovin' snakes on a motherlovin' plane or sportin' a Jheri Curl and spouting scripture before bustin' a cap in some guy's chest, the dude knows how to project.

And in "Lakeview Terrace," Sam gets to do his share of bellowing and looking menacing. It's too bad he's wasting his gift on a turkey of a movie that tries to make a statement about race, but never goes beyond superficial arguments and contrived plot devices.

In "Terrace," Jackson plays Abel Turner, an L.A. cop who lives in the 'burbs with his two children. His wife recently passed away under suspicious circumstances. Abel is strict, ultraconservative and definitely oldfashioned in his views.

Enter Chris and Lisa Mattson (Patrick Wilson, Kerry Washington), a young newlywed interracial couple who move into the house next door. Abel doesn't approve of the liberal couple or the fact that a black woman is married to a white man. The rage over the possibility that his wife may have died as a result of an affair with a white man, plus the proximity of an interracial couple living next door, sets Abel off.

He begins to harass them — first by blaring super-bright security lights into their bedroom and slashing tires, then by trying to split the newlyweds up and hiring a criminal to ransack the couple's house, and finally attempted murder.

The first half of the film is actually quite good. Jackson's seething and menacing presence set a unsettling vibe that makes for some suspenseful moments. The problem is the last half of the film. Even though Abel disapproves of the couple and is shattered by his wife's death, I just don't believe that he could be pushed to the extremes the film takes him. It's out of character — and because of that, bits of the film that should be shocking turn out just plain laughable.

"Lakeview Terrace" isn't a horrible film, but I'd wait to rent it if I were you.

(c) 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.