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David Loughery Archives - ShowBizCafe.com

David Loughery Archives - ShowBizCafe.com

Mack Chico

By

2009/08/04 at 12:00am

Obsessed

08.4.2009 | By |

Rating: 1.5

Rated: PG-13 for sexual material including some suggestive dialogue, some violence and thematic content.
Release Date: 2009-04-24
Starring: David Loughery
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.areyouobsessed.com/

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Tenemos al héroe y al villano de la película. El héroe y el villano pelean, se matan a golpes, el villano busca la muerte del héroe y el héroe busca salvar su vida. Se encuentran en un precipicio, un piso alto, o cualquier diferencia de altura que permita lo siguiente, que en un movimiento el villano termine pendiendo de un hilo, a punto de caer y morir. El héroe se apiada de él y le extiende la mano. El villano aprovecha su mano, y luego lo traiciona, poniendo al héroe al borde de la muerte. ¿Les suena esta escena? No hace falta que contesten.

 

Por ahí esta escena podía causar algo de impacto en 1989, cuando Batman le extiende el brazo al Guasón, y éste da vuelta la escena, poniendo en riesgo la vida del encapotado. Pasaron veinte años, y esta escena todavía puede figurar en un guión. No solo figurar, sino ser el punto principal del clímax de un thriller. Pero para llegar a ello, Obsesionada pasa por todos los clichés de cualquier thriller. Si el personaje de la blonda Ali Larter fuera la amante de Derek, el papel interpretado por Idris Elba, estaríamos ante una remake no declarada de Atracción fatal, con la única diferencia de contar con protagonistas negros y amante rubia. Pero no, aunque no sabemos hasta qué punto el hecho de que ese dato determinara que no es una copia fiel de aquel thriller es una ventaja para la película.

 

Por un lado, si Derek efectivamente le hubiese sido infiel a su mujer, hubiese afectado la credibilidad del guión, a fin de cuentas, teniendo a Beyoncé en tu casa, ¿para que buscarías algo afuera? Por otro lado, la falta de ambigüedad de Derek por momentos se vuelve irritante. No solo parece un hombre perfecto, laboralmente exitoso, apuesto, y con una familia perfecta, sino que en ningún momento actúa de manera mínimamente cuestionable, por ende, todo lo que sucede en la película reposa en Lisa, el personaje de Ali Larter. Ahora bien, ¿qué thriller se puede construir con una mujer obsesionada con un hombre que en ningún momento da pie o hace algo (por más ingenuo que sea) para generar semejante obsesión? Sin duda, un thriller forzado al máximo, carente de todo sustento, con dos personajes “maquetas” (el de Idris Elba y el de Beyoncé), y una contrafigura construida de manera sumamente gratuita, tan gratuita como buena parte de las situaciones que se suceden.

 

Cierta intriga está correctamente desarrollada, y la pelea entre Sharon (Beyoncé) y Lisa es indudablemente entretenida, pese a ser excesivamente obvia, y desembocar en la radicalmente previsible acción que se narra al inicio de esta crítica. Dos cosas concretas: El interés principal de esta película reposa indudablemente en la bella Beyoncé, y algo de la publicidad en torno a este film sugería cierto dejo de erotismo. Hay que decir que Beyoncé está muy bien en su papel (es, lejos, lo mejor de la película), y que el erotismo, lo único que le podría haber insuflado un poco de sangre al film, falta completamente a la cita. El resto, de lo convencional a lo decididamente mediocre.

Mack Chico

By

2009/01/27 at 12:00am

Lakeview Terrace

01.27.2009 | By |

Rating: 2.5

Rated: PG-13 for intense thematic material, violence, sexuality, language and some drug references.
Release Date: 2008-09-19
Starring: David Loughery, Howard Korder
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/lakeviewterrace/

 Go to our film page

Lakeview Terrace is the latest thriller from Neil LaBute. LaBute began his filmmaking career with the scathing In the Company of Men, but his previous effort was the deservedly reviled remake of The Wicker Man. While Lakeview Terrace isn’t as horrendous as The Wicker Man, it’s nowhere close to the level LaBute attained with his debut. The first two-thirds of Lakeview Terrace offer a little more subtlety and complexity than the seemingly straightforward premise would afford, but the climax is loud, dumb, generic, and over-the-top. Those hoping for something more interesting will be disappointed by the level to which the filmmaker stoops to get an unearned visceral rush. In pandering to Hollywood standards about how stories like this should unfold, LaBute has lost his edge.

The story goes like this: 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.

The film’s last fifteen minutes are so over-the-top that they’re almost impossible to take seriously and Abel’s motivation during a critical sequence near the conclusion is difficult to fathom. It’s the kind of thing that results from a screenwriter not knowing how to end a movie. Considering that the screenwriter in question is David Loughery, the man who was in part responsible for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising. Meanwhile, Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington are okay as the couple in the crossfire but, in comparison to Jackson, they’re boring. That’s the problem with sharing the screen with a man who’s a force of nature.

There are times when Lakeview Terrace seems to be striving for something more interesting than the basic “cop from hell” movie, but any pretensions it may have of escaping this orbit come crashing down as the script veers more and more into generic territory. Going in, you might think you know how it’s going to end, and you’d probably be right. If LaBute sews some doubts along the way, it’s a testament to the way the first half of the film is constructed. It’s too bad the movie’s moderately intriguing qualities are buried under the final half-hour’s avalanche of predictability.

Mack Chico

By

2008/09/19 at 12:00am

Lakeview Terrace

09.19.2008 | By |

Rated: PG-13 for intense thematic material, violence, sexuality, language and some drug references.
Release Date: 2008-09-19
Starring: David Loughery, Howard Korder
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/lakeviewterrace/

Go to our film page

Lakeview Terrace

Lakeview Terrace is the latest thriller from Neil LaBute. LaBute began his filmmaking career with the scathing In the Company of Men, but his previous effort was the deservedly reviled remake of The Wicker Man. While Lakeview Terrace isn’t as horrendous as The Wicker Man, it’s nowhere close to the level LaBute attained with his debut. The first two-thirds of Lakeview Terrace offer a little more subtlety and complexity than the seemingly straightforward premise would afford, but the climax is loud, dumb, generic, and over-the-top. Those hoping for something more interesting will be disappointed by the level to which the filmmaker stoops to get an unearned visceral rush. In pandering to Hollywood standards about how stories like this should unfold, LaBute has lost his edge.

The story goes like this: 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.

The film’s last fifteen minutes are so over-the-top that they’re almost impossible to take seriously and Abel’s motivation during a critical sequence near the conclusion is difficult to fathom. It’s the kind of thing that results from a screenwriter not knowing how to end a movie. Considering that the screenwriter in question is David Loughery, the man who was in part responsible for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising. Meanwhile, Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington are okay as the couple in the crossfire but, in comparison to Jackson, they’re boring. That’s the problem with sharing the screen with a man who’s a force of nature.

There are times when Lakeview Terrace seems to be striving for something more interesting than the basic “cop from hell” movie, but any pretensions it may have of escaping this orbit come crashing down as the script veers more and more into generic territory. Going in, you might think you know how it’s going to end, and you’d probably be right. If LaBute sews some doubts along the way, it’s a testament to the way the first half of the film is constructed. It’s too bad the movie’s moderately intriguing qualities are buried under the final half-hour’s avalanche of predictability.

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