Lakeview Terrace

 Released Year: 2008

Directed by Neil LaBute

Casted by:

Samuel L. Jackson as Abel Turner

Patrick Wilson as Chris Mattson

Kerry Washington as Lisa Mattson

Jaishon Fisher as Marcus Turner

Regine Nehy as Celia Turner

Story: 

Abel Turner is a twenty-eight-year veteran of the LAPD. A single and widowed father, he is particularly strict with his two children, Marcus and Celia. As his kids leave for school, the new neighbors begin moving in next door. They are a young interracial couple, Chris and Lisa Mattson, who are recently married and buying their first home.

Chris’s first exchanges with Abel have somewhat hostile undertones, with Abel making comments about Chris’ smoking (which Chris hides from Lisa) and listening to hip hop music. The following night, Chris and Lisa have sex in their swimming pool. Unknown to them, Abel's children are watching. Abel arrives home to see this spectacle and is upset, so he repositions the home security floodlights so they shine into Chris and Lisa's window, keeping them awake. When Chris confronts him, Abel claims that the lights are part of his security system to prevent crime and says that it is a complex process to shut down the system and the lights.

Abel attends a housewarming party hosted by Chris and Lisa. He is garrulous but has an edge, and criticizes Chris and his friends for their liberal political and social tendencies. He also exposes Chris' smoking to Lisa, as Chris has been discarding his cigarette butts on Abel's lawn. As he leaves, Chris tells Abel that he is starting to take offense to him, but does not plan to move. One evening, they hear noises downstairs, and find the tires of Chris' car slashed. They suspect Abel and call the police. However, because of Abel's status within the LAPD, the arriving officers are unable to do anything.

Chris and Lisa have dinner with her father, who warns them that acrimony with a police officer may cause trouble. Chris buys his own floodlights and shines them into Abel's bedroom. Lisa later reveals that she is pregnant, which causes conflict as Chris does not yet want to have children. Chris later finds out that Lisa skipped birth control pills to force the issue, and when he confronts her she accuses him of being shortsighted. Meanwhile, Abel is suspended without pay for his abuse of a suspect on the job, which brings even more fury out on him. He hosts a loud bachelor party while the kids are away with their aunt. Chris arrives to complain about the music, but Abel taunts him.

Chris plants trees at the fence between their houses, which leads to an almost violent exchange between the two neighbors, as Abel refuses to have their trees hanging over his property without permission. Later Chris goes to a local bar, and as he finishes his drink, Abel enters and tells Chris that he lost his own wife, when a car hit her on a highway. Abel makes a last cryptic comment about his wife, wondering what she was doing out in that area, at that time with her white boss, when she was supposed to be working, implying she was being unfaithful to Abel.

Both Abel and the Mattsons attend a barbecue in a home down the hill. Abel's informant Clarence Darlington (Keith Loneker) is sent to trash their home, as another means of making the Mattsons uncomfortable in the neighborhood. Lisa goes home early, surprising Clarence. They struggle, which leads to Lisa being knocked out; but not before she triggers the alarm. Chris races home upon hearing the alarm, followed by a frustrated Abel. Chris rushes to the injured Lisa, while Abel comes upon his hired criminal trying to escape and shoots him dead in the pool. The Mattsons go to the hospital, where Lisa is found to be okay.

Wildfires are raging in the hills surrounding the community and the residents of the neighborhood are instructed to pack their things and leave their homes. Abel remains at his house, hosing off his roof, as he does not want to leave his home. With the Mattsons at the hospital, Abel enters their home, hoping to retrieve a cell phone which Clarence left behind, as he is afraid his call to the perpetrator could be traced, implicating him in the break-in. Before he can find it, Lisa and Chris unexpectedly return from the hospital and Abel returns to his home. Chris thanks Abel for helping him during the break-in, trying to express a sense of community with Abel. While the Mattsons are packing to leave, Chris discovers the cell phone under their bed and picks it up. He dials the last number logged on the phone and hears Abel answer. Chris realizes Abel is responsible for the break-in, and Abel realizes Chris has discovered the phone.

Abel comes over with his gun drawn, trying to convince Chris that the perpetrator was trying to set him up. He and Chris struggle and Chris tells Lisa to take the car and the cell phone to the police. Abel shoots Lisa's car and she crashes into a parked car. Chris tackles Abel and gets his gun. After pistol whipping Abel and seemingly knocking him out, Chris runs to help Lisa out of the car. This leads to a standoff, with Chris securing Abel's 9mm semi-automatic handgun and Abel drawing his backup revolver from his ankle holster.

Deputies from the LA County Sheriff's Department arrive. Abel hides his gun behind his back and tries to convince them Chris is unbalanced due to the break-in and attack on Lisa earlier that day. Chris refuses to drop his weapon until Abel puts his down, but Abel raises his arms and insists that he is unarmed. Chris finally throws Abel off, by asking about his wife's death and how he was unable to recognize that she had become unfaithful to him. Infuriated, Abel shoots Chris and is promptly gunned down and killed by the deputies. Chris is taken to an ambulance with a gunshot wound to the chest, but is told he will live. He and Lisa later talk about their pride in their home, neighborhood, and soon-to-be family.

 L² Scored: 8/10

L² Comment: 

Well, this might not be a very popular movie outside of USA, but it is not bad. I don't really remember whether Samuel L Jackson portraited any bad guy character before in any movies, but he is really good in this movie. Being a hardcore racist guy, he kept on mentally & physically attacked Patrick Wilson & Kerry Washington throughout the movie. I'm impressed on his acting skill and he is still one of my favorite black actor so far :)

Insidious

 Released Year: 2011

Directed by James Wan

Casted by:

Patrick Wilson as Josh Lambert
Rose Byrne as Renai Lambert
Ty Simpkins as Dalton Lambert
Lin Shaye as Elise Rainier

 Story:

 Renai and Josh Lambert have recently moved into a new house with their three children. One morning, Renai looks through a family photo album with her son, Dalton, who asks why there are no pictures of Josh when he was a child. Renai reasons that he has always been camera shy. One day, Dalton hears something in the attic and goes to investigate. He sees something that scares him and falls when the attic ladder breaks. The next day, Dalton does not awaken from sleep. Renai and Josh rush him to the hospital, where the doctors say he is in an inexplicable coma.

Three months later, Dalton is moved back to his home while still in a coma. Shortly after, disturbing events begin to occur. Renai believes the house is haunted when she begins to see and hear other people in the house. She confronts Josh about the events and the family soon moves to another house. In the new house, increasingly violent and supernatural events reoccur. Josh's mother, Lorraine, contacts a friend, Elise Reiner, who specializes in the investigation of paranormal activity. The family, Elise, and her team enter Dalton's room and Elise sees and describes a figure to one of her two assistants, who draws a black figure with a red face and dark hollow eyes on the ceiling of Dalton's room.

Elise explains to Renai and Josh that Dalton has the ability to astral project while sleeping and that he has been doing it since he was very young. The reason that Dalton is in a comatose state is because he has fearlessly travelled too far into different spiritual worlds (he believes the projections are dreams) and has consequently become lost in a land called "The Further"—the land is a place for the tormented souls of the dead. While Dalton's spirit is in this other world, he has left nothing but a lifeless body. The tormented souls crave another chance at life through Dalton's state, while the demon has a malicious intent. However, for a spirit to consume a body, a period of time and energy are required.

Skeptical at first, Josh later relents when he discovers Dalton had been drawing pictures which resemble the demonic figure Elise described. They run a session to try to communicate with Dalton where the demon uses Dalton's body to fight the group, along with 3 other spirits who want Dalton's body. After the session, Elise calls Lorraine and the two reveal to the couple that Josh also can astral project, and was terrorized by an evil spirit during his childhood. Lorraine shows them pictures from Josh's childhood, revealing a shadowy old woman (the same woman from the beginning of the film) nearer and nearer to Josh in each picture, which explains his fear of photos. Elise suggests that Josh should use his ability to find and help return Dalton's soul, to which Josh agrees.

Josh projects himself into The Further, finds and frees his son, who had been captured by the red-faced demon. In search of their physical bodies, Josh and Dalton flee the demon that is pursuing them. Just before the two awaken, Josh abandons his son to confront the shadowy old woman who appears to be inside his house. As he shouts for her to get away from him, she retreats into the darkness. Moments later, Josh and Dalton both awaken, just as all the spirits vanish.

With the family now happily reunited, Renai, Dalton and Lorraine chat in the kitchen as Elise and Josh pack up from the long night. Josh hands Elise the pictures from his childhood, and as she takes them from his hands, she senses something and takes a picture of Josh. He promptly goes into a rage, claiming she knows that he doesn't like to get photographed. Renai hears Josh yelling and goes into the room to find Elise dead and Josh gone. She searches for Josh and comes across Elise's camera. When she looks at the camera, she sees a picture of an old woman. It's revealed that what Elise saw was Josh's old and dirty hand and nails, similar to the old woman's, implying that she has possessed him. Josh then puts his hand on Renai's shoulder, and she is horrified to see what is behind her.

After the post-credits, the shadowy, old woman can be seen blowing out a candle.

L² Scored: 9/10

L² Comment:

It is so good to watch a nice horror movie :) This movie really freaks me out a bit, I Love James Wan :) Haha, ok back to the movie... the storyline is good, a few scene of a ghost sudden pop out really created the creepy feeling. Especially the red fire face ghost behind Patrick Wilson, woah~ that one is scary enough... Its also kinda spooky when u see the ghost making the music with its long fingernail~ yuck...

But the make up is a bit ... lol~ how should i say? I dont knw why... but this is the reason i didnt score it a full...

The A Team

Released Year: 2010
Directed by Joe Carnahan

Casted by:
Liam Neeson as John "Hannibal" Smith
Bradley Cooper as Templeton "Face" Peck
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson as Bosco Albert "B.A." Baracus
Sharlto Copley as Captain H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock
Jessica Biel as Charissa Sosa
Patrick Wilson as Agent Vance Burress a.k.a. Agent Lynch
Story:

John "Hannibal" Smith is held captive in Mexico by two corrupt Mexican police officers working for the renegade General Javier Tuco. Hannibal escapes and sets out to rescue Templeton "Faceman" Peck, who is held captive at Tuco's ranch. Hannibal saves Face after enlisting fellow Ranger Bosco Albert "B.A." Baracus, driving to the rescue in B.A.'s modified GMC Vandura van. Pursued by Tuco, they stop at a nearby Army hospital to recruit the services of eccentric pilot H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock. They flee in a medical helicopter, chased by Tuco in a dogfight which leaves B.A. with a fear of flying. The battle ends when they lure Tuco's helicopter into American airspace, where it's destroyed by a U.S. F-22 Raptor, as Hannibal planned.

"Eight years and eighty successful missions later," the team is a highly-regarded elite Special Forces unit stationed in Iraq. Hannibal is contacted by CIA SAD agent Lynch, who reveals that Iraqi insurgents possess U.S. Treasury plates that could be used to manufacture U.S. currency. Lynch wants Hannibal and his team to steal the plates and over $1 billion in cash that is due to be moved out of Baghdad in a Heavily-protected convoy. DCIS Captain Charissa Sosa arrives and warns Face, her former lover (who she left after he became serious about their relationship), to stay away from the plates. Against the advice of his commanding officer, General Russell Morrison, Hannibal agrees to steal the plates in an unofficial black ops mission. The mission is successful, but when the team returns to base, the money, plates, and Morrison's vehicle are destroyed by Brock Pike and his men from the private security firm Black Forest. Without Morrison, the only proof that they were authorized to act, the team is sentenced to ten years in prison and dishonorably discharged.

Six months later, Hannibal is visited in prison by Lynch. Lynch reveals that Pike may be trying to sell the plates with the help of an Arab backer. Hannibal, who has been tracking Pike on his own, makes a deal with Lynch: full reinstatement and clean records for his team in return for the plates. Lynch agrees and Hannibal escapes, then breaks out the rest of the team. B.A. Baracus has turned to religion during his time in prison and refuses to kill anyone. Sosa is hot on their trail, and angry after being demoted to Lieutenant after the team ignored her warning. Believing the team is working with Pike, she tries to intercept them before they leave Germany in a military C-130 transport aircraft. The plane is destroyed by drone fighters, but the team escapes inside the body of a tank on 3 parachutes.

They track Pike and launch an offensive to reclaim the plates and kidnap Pike's backer. The team learns that the backer is actually General Morrison, who worked with Lynch and Pike to steal the plates, but then teamed up with Pike to double-cross Lynch and fake his death. When Lynch learns that the team has Morrison, he orders an air strike to eliminate them. The team barely escapes but Morrison is killed.

Face hatches a plan. Hannibal arranges to meet Sosa, knowing her phone lines are tapped by Lynch, on board a container ship at a Los Angeles dock, saying he will hand over Morrison and the plates in exchange for his freedom. Ultimately, Face's plan works and Pike is killed (by B.A., who has returned to his original violent ways, realizing it's who he is), Lynch is taken into custody, and the plates are recovered. Despite their success, the A-Team is arrested for escaping incarceration. Sosa is promoted back to Captain for retrieving the plates and apprehending the A-Team, but promises to do all she can to set them free before kissing Face as he is led into a prison van. In the van, Face reaches into his mouth and smiles triumphantly as he holds a key, given to him by Sosa through the mouth. The film closes with narration (provided by Corey Burton) reminiscent of the original television series' opening credits, stating that the team now live as soldiers of fortune.

In a post-credits scene, Face walks to the tanning bed in prison, asking the man emerging from the tanning bed how to protect his face. The man tells him, "You don't mess with it, kid." In the next scene, Murdock receives electro-shock therapy, while two doctors look on. One of them comments on Murdock's mindstate, saying "This guy, Murdock, is nuts." In the extended cut on DVD and Blu-ray these scenes are put back into the film, and removed from the credits.

L² Scored: 3.5/10

L² Comment:

Well, i really been hoping that this is a good movie since it has hit a good ranking in its TV series. But yawn, its a bit disappointment and the whole movie is kinda noisy and messy for me. Usually when there's Bradley Cooper, my eyes will glue on to the tv set, but no, not this even though there's a lot of shirtless scenes of Cooper in this. YAWN !!!

Little Children

Released Year: 2006
Directed by Todd Field

Casted by:
Kate Winslet as Sarah Pierce
Patrick Wilson as Brad Adamson
Jennifer Connelly as Kathy Adamson
Jackie Earle Haley as Ronald James McGorvey
Noah Emmerich as Larry Hedges
Story:

Sarah Pierce is a reluctant housewife and mother in an upper-middle class suburb of Boston. She is married to Richard Pierce, a successful yet distant husband, who is secretly obsessed with an internet porn star. Sarah refers to her daughter Lucy as an "unknowable little person" and feels out of place around the other mothers at a local playground.

Brad Adamson is a former college football player who's married to Kathy, a documentary filmmaker, with a young son named Aaron. Brad is depressed and frustrated, as his wife is the breadwinner and he is a stay-at-home father who has failed the bar exam twice. Each day he leaves home with the pretense of going to the library to study, but spends the time watching skateboarders at the nearby park. He joins a policeman's touch football team at the urging of a friend, Larry Hedges, a disgraced former police officer.

Sarah and Brad meet on the school playground, where Sarah suggests they hug to shock the watching mothers nearby. Brad kisses her, and it quickly becomes apparent that the two are attracted to each other. Over the course of several visits to the local pool, Sarah and Brad get to know each other while their children also bond, which soon leads to an affair.

Meanwhile, Ronald "Ronnie" James McGorvey, who has served a prison sentence for indecent exposure to a minor, has moved back into the neighborhood to live with his mother. Larry launches a hate campaign against Ronnie, handing out posters, vandalizing his house, harassing and almost assaulting the man and his mother. Ronnie's mother tries to help by setting him up on a date, which ends badly with him masturbating in his date's car outside a children's playground.

Brad and Sarah finally see each other at a football game, where he asks her to run away with him; the two agree to meet up at a local park the next night. After the game a drunken Larry goes to McGorvey's house and further harasses him, using a megaphone to wake the entire neighborhood. When Mrs. McGorvey tries to stop him, Larry pushes her down. She has a heart attack and later dies in the hospital. Ronnie is devastated at losing the one person who loved him.

That evening Sarah packs a bag and takes Lucy to the playground to wait for Brad. On the way to the playground, Brad is again transfixed by the young skateboarders, who dare him to try one jump on a short stair rail. Brad can't resist and ends up injuring himself. Sarah is unexpectedly met at the playground by Ronnie instead and tries to comfort him, leaving Lucy to wander off by herself. This frightens Sarah into realizing that leaving Richard would be a terrible mistake. Once she finds Lucy, Sarah tearfully embraces her daughter and goes home. Brad is taken to the hospital and asks the police officer on the scene to call his wife.

Larry comes to the park to find Ronnie and apologize for harassing him. Noticing blood dripping off Ronnie, he is horrified to discover that Ronnie has castrated himself. Panicked, Larry picks Ronnie up and takes him to the hospital. They arrive just as Kathy meets Brad's ambulance at the emergency room doors. The film ends with an image of a remorseful Sarah sleeping alongside Lucy in their home.

L² Scored: 8/10

L² Comment:

From the novel of Tom Perrotta, director Todd Field simply created a marvelous film. Love the simpleness of this movie, the romance, the chemistry between a married man and a married woman. Both of them unable to get enough satisfaction from each partner, therefore, they are getting it from each of them they meet.

The film spice up by adding in a pedophile scenes/story acted by Jackie Earle Haley. And the final "self- castrate" part is definitely not a scene that you will enjoy. But overall this is a good film and Kate Winslet was nominated in a lots of awards for the best actress category :)