Remind me to stay away from Lakeview Terrace

In Lakeview Terrace, a young couple (Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) has just moved into their California dream home when they become the target of their next-door neighbor, who disapproves of their interracial relationship. 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.

Imagine you’ve finally moved into your dream home. Quiet street, beautiful yards, everyone minds their own business. And, to sweeten the pot, you learn that your next door neighbor is a cop. Great news, right?

Chris (Wilson) and Lisa (Washington) Mattson have just bought their first home. Chris works for a large supermarket chain while Lisa designs fashions. Together they make a great couple. To everyone it seems but their new neighbor, Abel Turner, a 20 year veteran of the Los Angeles police department. Turner lost his wife three years ago and is now doing his best to raise his young son and daughter. He makes sure the pray, make their beds, use good grammar and won’t allow his boy to wear a Kobe Bryant jersey (he’s more partial to Shaq). He also takes pristine care of his garden when he’s not fixing his classic cars. A busy man indeed. Abel doesn’t like the new neighbors. Whether it’s because they’re young and happy or the fact Chris is white and Lisa is black, Abel isn’t keen on becoming the Welcome Wagon.

There are some actors that are a pleasure to watch work and Jackson is certainly one of them. Even when he’s chasing snakes on a plane he has an intensity that jumps off the screen. That intensity is on display here by the barrel full. In fact, Jackson’s performance is really the only reason to see “Lakeview Terrace.” The plot, what little there is, is spelled out in the first 20 minutes of the film…SAM DOESN’T LIKE YOU! Chris and Lisa suffer through all of Abel’s games because they’re afraid of some kind of “cop retribution.” While Wilson and Washington are talented performers, they’re really not given anything to do to stand out. And I don’t know how much the LAPD pays it’s officers, but I don’t think it’s enough to by a beautiful house in the hills (located on Lakeview CIRCLE – guess no one told the producers) , complete with several classic autos. Maybe he’s got a good investment adviser. A predictable film in MANY ways I'm giving this one a 3 on my "Go See" scale.

A new song for Nick And Norah

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is a comedy about two people thrust together for one hilarious, sleepless night of adventure in a world of mix tapes, late-night living, and, live, loud music. Nick (Michael Cera) frequents New York's indie rock scene nursing a broken heart and a vague ability to play the bass. Norah (Kat Dennings) is questioning pretty much all of her assumptions about the world. Though they have nothing in common except for their taste in music, their chance encounter leads to an all-night quest to find a legendary band's secret show and ends up becoming the first date in a romance that could change both their lives.

Nick, a high school student, is the lovelorn bass player for an electo-punk band whose other members are all gay. He is in no mood to perform at the group's gig this evening, as he has been dumped by Tris (Alexis Dziena), a horrid Mean Girl who shouldn't have been dating a sensitive soul like Nick to begin with. The dumping actually took place weeks ago, but Nick is still reeling, particularly in the sense of "reeling" that means "making mix CDs urging Tris to reconsider." Those mix CDs, unbeknownst to him, have earned him the admiration of Norah (Kat Dennings), a semi-friend of Tris' who appreciates Nick's ultra-hip musical tastes far better than the plastic Tris does. Norah and Nick wind up meeting at Nick's show (held at the type of sweaty, second-tier venue familiar to indie-rock fans), and though he is still brooding over Tris, he and Norah find plenty of common ground when it comes to music. And best of all: underground sensations Where's Fluffy? are performing a secret show somewhere in the five boroughs tonight, and Nick and Norah simply MUST find out where. But first a more pressing concern requires their attention: Norah's slutty blonde friend Caroline (Ary Graynor, very funny) is drunk beyond her ability to function and needs to be driven home. Nick's bandmates (Aaron Yoo and Rafi Gavron), eager to see Nick get over the wretched Tris, agree to give Caroline a lift in their van so that Nick and Norah can be alone in Nick's Yugo. Complications arise: Caroline wanders off; Tris is still lurking in the periphery (now jealous, of course, that her ex is with someone else), and the Where's Fluffy? show is starting to look like a wild goose chase. The film is effortlessly funny, sweet, and real in a way that few teen comedies are. It's one of those films where everything takes place over the course of one magical night in New York (a city where, if the movies are to be believed, such magical nights are commonplace). Michael Cera has emerged as the prince of awkwardness, a dorky, non-threatening hero of unrequited teen love. The day may come when audiences grow tired of seeing Cera play this type of kid -- this wry, worried, deadpan teenager who pines for a girl -- but that day has not yet arrived. Cera is consistently funny in his usual fashion, and Kat Dennings a terrific partner, both romantically and comedically. I'm not surprised that the film captures young love in the big city as well as it does. As dawn approaches, the movie -- which has been energetically witty, even madcap, up to this point -- grows quiet and tender, winding down naturally, the way an exciting and exhausting night always does. It's a nice, smooth finale for a very satisfying movie. A Love filled 4 on my "Go See" scale.

these Women take a modern turn

In The Women, Mary Haines seems to have it all--a beautiful country home, a rich financier husband, an adorable 11-year-old daughter and a part-time career creating designs for her father's venerable clothing company. Her best friend, Sylvie Fowler, leads another enviable life--as a happily single editor of a prominent fashion magazine, a possessor of a huge closet of designer clothes and a revered arbiter of taste and style poised on New York's cutting edge. But when Mary's husband enters into an affair with Crystal Allen, a sultry "spritzer girl" lurking behind the Saks Fifth Avenue perfume counter, all hell breaks loose. Mary and Sylvie's relationship is tested to the breaking point while their tight-knit circle of friends, including mega-mommy Edie Cohen and author Alex Fisher, all start to question their own friendships and romantic relationships as well.

"The Women" was originally a play on Broadway in the mid 30's. It was then turned into a movie in 1939. I myself have not seen the original Broadway production or the original movie adaptation, so I cannot speak for those. Some might call it a chick flick, but The Women is obviously science fiction.It takes place in a surreal parallel universe unoccupied by men except as unseen participants in cell-phone conversations. With one charming exception, not a single masculine entity appears in this film, which stuffs every scene — every party, restaurant, fashion show, store — with sleek 21st-century exemplars of upper-crust New York metropolitan womanhood.

The original starred Norma Shearer as the suffering Mary and Joan Crawford as her rival, that floozy Crystal Allen. Shearer was stoic; Crawford was a snake with painted eyebrows. The swankest performance (or my favorite, in any case) was Rosalind Russell's as Sylvia, Mary's gossipy gal pal, here played by Annette Bening with delicious savoir faire but a bit less zip. Rounding out the foursome of friends: Jada Pinkett Smith as Alex, the no-nonsense lesbian (that wasn't in the original); Debra Messing as Edie, the ever-breeding earth-mother; and, last but not least, Ryan's Mary, a suburban supermom trying to juggle motherhood, spousehood, charity work and an unrewarding job with her father's clothing business.

We first learn of Mary's marital troubles from a blabbermouthed manicurist (Debi Mazar), who spills to Sylvie, who spills to Edie, who then together spill to Alex, who persuades them, finally, to spill to Mary. But by then Mary already knows, because the same manicurist inadvertently spilled to her ages ago. Ryan's Mary is a far more independent creature than Shearer's — who faced the loss of her husband as a loss of income and status — but she has the undeniable, irrepressible warmth and decency that the part demands. And there's a scene in the kitchen, with Ryan and a pair of housekeepers (including Cloris Leachman), that does things with a stick of butter I never imagined possible.

Fourteen years in the making, The Women marks a serviceable directorial debut for English, an Emmy-winning TV writer and producer who created Murphy Brown. She goes light on the cattiness, heavy on sisterhood and seems determined to bolster everyone's self-esteem. This movie was fun and Just hearing that Jada Pinkett-Smith would be playing a lesbian was enough for me. A womanly 4 on my "Go See" scale.

Gervais made me want to live in his Ghost Town

Movie trailers for Ghost Town hype a funny, character-driven story starring Ricky Gervais and Greg Kinnear. Happily, there’s no disappointment in the film, as Ghost Town is not only very funny but quite likeable as well.

Gervais plays Bertram Pincus, a dentist who likes his career because he doesn’t have to listen to anyone talk. When he undergoes a routine colonoscopy and is given anesthesia, Bertram doesn’t wake up – for a while. And when he does, he thinks things are status quo. Bertram soon discovers that isn't true; in fact, he "sees dead people." But the situations are funny. Strange people bombard him with requests to do odd things. For example, one woman wants him to tell her daughter where she left a good-bye note. Bertram doesn’t understand what’s going on until Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear) explains that he and the others are all ghosts who can’t pass on because they all have one last task to finish involving a loved one. Because Bertram can see and hear them while others cannot, it’s his help they need. Although Gervais is barley known to non-TV fans, his dry-humor is well recognized in his native England and as the Golden Globe-winning creator and star of the original The Office and HBO’s Extras. He’s a natural against the loveable and laughable Kinnear, whose character was run down by a bus during his prime. Living in a filet-mignon world and married to one wonderful woman, Frank had just purchased another place for his mistress. He feels guilty over the grief he’s caused his widow, Gwen (Tea Leoni), and wants Bertram to help him apologize and get rid of her new boyfriend Richard (Billy Campbell). One amusing scenario after another unfolds, all featuring Gervais, who can make an ordinary situation seem hilarious. Bertram’s gag reflex, triggered by a dog’s bad breath, is funny every time it happens. Kinnear makes easy work of this role, mimicking the goofy character he in played in the Oscar-winning Little Miss Sunshine. Tea Leoni presents a likeable character here, one far more interesting than her role in last year’s You Kill Me. It’s perfect casting that makes this thoroughly entertaining film work so well. A hefty 4 on my "Go See" scale.

The Family That Preys opens many eyes

Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard star as the matriarchs of two very different families being torn apart by greed and scandal in the contemporary drama Tyler Perry's The Family that Preys. The sixth feature film by Perry chronicles the inner workings of two families—one upper-crust and the other working class—that become inextricably linked by scandal. Wealthy socialite Charlotte Cartwright (Kathy Bates) and her dear friend Alice Pratt (Alfre Woodard), a working class woman of high ideals, have enjoyed a lasting friendship throughout many years. Suddenly, their lives become mired in turmoil as their adult children’s extramarital affairs, unethical business practices and a dark paternity secret threaten to derail family fortunes and unravel the lives of all involved. Alice’s self-centered newlywed daughter Andrea (Sanaa Lathan) is betraying her trusting husband Chris (Rockmond Dunbar) by engaging in a torrid affair with her boss and mother’s best friend’s son William (Cole Hauser). While cheating on his wife Jillian (Kadee Strickland) with a string of ongoing dalliances with his mistress Andrea, William’s true focus is to replace the COO of his mother’s lucrative construction corporation. Meanwhile, Alice’s other daughter Pam (Taraji Henson), a kind but no nonsense woman married to a hard working construction worker (Tyler Perry), tries to steer the family in a more positive direction. While paternity secrets, marital infidelity, greed and unsavory business dealings threaten to derail both families, Charlotte and Alice decide to take a breather from it all by making a cross-country road trip in which they rediscover themselves and possibly find a way to save their families from ruin in Tyler Perry's The Family that Preys.

For too long Tyler Perry has been one of the best kept secrets of the entertainment industry. His movies consistently open up as either number one or number two and go on to earn a substantial profit. The subject matter of his films is generally simple and the delivery is totally entertaining from start to finish.The dialogue is sharp and dramatic when it needs to be, and glib and funny when that suits the story. He has created characters with whom the audience can identify and the story boils down to a simple good versus evil morality tale.The acting, especially that of Woodard and Bates, is excellent. All of the supporting roles add into the mix to make a compelling family drama. There are no weak points and wonder of wonders no slow points. The film moves quickly from one aspect of the story to the next but never feels rushed. You get a chance to learn these characters and to understand them. “Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys” is the kind of movie people ask for every day. It has good values, strong performances, and a strong script. A definite must see. This gets a 4 on my "Go See" scale.

Righteous(ly) Kill this load of crap

Academy Award winners Robert De Niro and Al Pacino star as a pair of veteran New York City police detectives on the trail of a vigilante serial killer in the adrenaline fueled psychological thriller Righteous Kill. The cast also features hip-hop superstar Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. After 30 years as partners in the pressure cooker environment of the NYPD, highly decorated Detectives David Fisk and Thomas Cowan should be ready for retirement, but aren’t. Before they can hang up their badges, they are called in to investigate the murder of a notorious pimp, which appears to have ties to a case they solved years before. Like the original murder, the victim is a suspected criminal whose body is found accompanied by a four line poem justifying the killing. When additional crimes take place, it becomes clear the detectives are looking for a serial killer, one who targets criminals that have fallen through the cracks of the judicial system. His mission is to do what the cops can’t do on their own—take the culprits off the streets for good. The similarities between the recent killings and their earlier case raise a nagging question: Did they put the wrong man behind bars?

De Niro and Pacino can’t be denied. They are great actors. But that doesn’t mean all you have to do is put them in a film together and be done. Avnet is not Martin Scorsese, just look at his previous work which included Fried Green Tomatoes. The immediate confession of De Niro sets the motions in place, and everything that follows seems obvious. In fact, I could have used less “story” and more banter between the two. We’ve been hanging on every word De Niro and Pacino have said over the years, but with the focus on odd and again, obvious twists and turns there wasn’t enough time to sit back and watch two of the greatest film actors of all time. Righteous Kill dismisses most of the wit for macho bluster and a surprise you can see coming down the turnpike. While there's no point in commenting that De Niro and Pacino are playing calcified versions of their once-great selves, at least Pacino is more reserved than usual — a welcome change. But between the film's police-procedural minutiae and trite thematic concerns (the weight of Catholic guilt, the thin moral line between cop and crook), Righteous Kill isn't so much bad as it is played out. No wonder the film's faded stars seem to fit right in. This one just wasn't worth it. I felt like i was sitting through 88 Minutes all over again. A definite 2 on my "Go See" scale

Don't Burn, This deserves multiple readings!

The Coen Brothers return triumphant with Burn After Reading, a film that’s as different from their Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men (2007) as possible. Where No Country was serious (with Coen-esque bouts of bitter humor), Burn After Reading at least appears to be a very frivolous affair (with Coen-esque bouts of grisliness). But as Brad Pitt’s character says during the course of the film, “appearances can be deceptive.” At bottom, I think Burn is anything but frivolous. It’s just so much unwholesome fun that it seems that way.

Burn After Reading is about infidelity … blackmail … exercise … and being in over your head, I think. It’s a tough call, but the key is that every actor embraces their character, especially Pitt. He steals the show and after a killer twist I was scared the movie would derail. But then everyone else starts to become fun and more importantly, funny. Just like the Coen’s No Country for Old Men, I don’t think Burn After Reading has an important message to tell, but the craftsmanship which goes into these films can’t be denied. Malkovich plus Pitt is perfection. In fact, I wish the film could have focused on just the two of them. It would have seemed like the opposite cat and mouse game that Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin shared. When Osborne and Chad meet in Osborne’s car, with Chad trying to look tough after riding his bike to a blackmail, Burn After Reading is at it’s funniest. In the end, nearly everything that happens in Burn After Reading results from Linda Litzke’s media-fed desire for a body makeover—perhaps simultaneously the most ridiculous premise, yet strangely appropriate one to our age imaginable. In the world of the Coens’ darkly funny film, we’re all going to hell and the only possible response is to sit back and be amused by the sheer absurdity of the ride. It may just be the perfect film for our time. Definitely see this movie. If you love the Coen brothers and dark comedies you WON'T be disappointed! A strong 5 on my "Go See" Scale.