It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Pefrect for a slow, quiet winter evening.It could've been a lovely Christmas movie, one of the best actually, but the final result is just another St. Valentine's one. St. Valentine's Day is an artificially made up holiday for me anyways and I personally do not celebrate it. If you love someone you love them and show it to them year round, every single day, not just on holidays.Now imagine - pristine snow, the lake house, a chimney, smoke going out of the chimney, qietly and peacefully falling snow, a Christmas tree inside or outside the house, 2 people on something soft and warm in front of the fireplace, cuddling , 2 glasses of wine, cooking together, looking into the eyes of each other, candles on top of the fireplace and/or around the house, Christmas lights around the windows and/or around the house, (eventually having a bath together), dancing slowly, a bit of kissing, ... did I say looking into the eyes of each other?... oh, yeah!.... that's a romantic setting for me.All actors' performances were pretty good. The guy who played Keanu's brother was really cute too and could've had a bit more significance/presence in the movie. There could've been some development between Mona and Shawn ; they seem cuite cute together. Good acting, all of therm, at least in my opinion. The slow dance together (Keanu and Sandra B.) was quite sensual. I really liked it; so warm and moving. Really romantic.A movie with a great potential, not realized.

"The Lake House" is almost a perfect romance, drawing upon one of the classics of literature in Jane Austen's novel "Persuasion." Austen was writing about "second chances" that are rare and unusual in life. Her story of Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth is one of two decent people who get another chance to set things right. So, too, "The Lake House" brings together two strangers passing in the night, who are separated only by two years in time.The interesting conceit of the film is that Alex Wyler is an architect living in 2004 and Kate Forster is a doctor living in 2006. Sometimes the film blunders in making this far-fetched fantasy scenario even remotely plausible. For example, it is never clear how the dog named Jack gets transferred from Alex to Kate. Or, why Alex fails to show up at the appointed time at the restaurant? Or, when Kate separates from her husband? Or, why Kate did not remember the identity of a man she treated following an auto accident in Chicago? Etc., etc. Still, the lapses are redeemed by the clever concept, the beautiful photography, and the excellent performances.Bullock is great as Dr. Kate Forster, and Reeves is acceptable as the taciturn architect. The couple's long-distance relationship occurs primarily through exchanging letters in a "magic" mail box outside the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired lake house. Christopher Plummer is good as the crusty old Wright wannabe, who was the designer of the house.The architect's son, Alex, puts in succinctly when he states that his father designed a house, not a home. It is up to Alex to set things right by connecting with Kate in order for the couple to bring warmth to airy lake house.The film included good location work in Chicago, effective camera angles, and, above all, work with lighting. There is a good discussion of the aesthetics of architecture between Alex and his father. The dad made the point that light is different in buildings designed depended on the locale. Part of the magic of this film was bringing a breathtaking cinematography to the locations in Chicago and the marvelous lake house nearby.And, now, with a perfect atmospheric arrangement, we are ready for your close-up, Alex Wyler and Kate Forster!

There are many movies about impossible loves but the reasons for the impossibility can vary. One of the rarest is used in this film: each element of the couple lives in a different temporal reality, despite both are living in the same place. Its a challenging resource, which can easily fall in the danger of becoming implausible. Unfortunately, this has indeed happened here. If we start thinking hard about the movie, the magic of love disappears and we see clearly the fragility of the premises on which the whole story is based. Its really far-fetched.The strong point of the film is the excellent chemistry of the two main actors, Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. They are both very strong in romantic roles, and the way their characters value letters as form of contact brings a note of nostalgic romanticism that is very elegant. Its their performance, ultimately, that makes the film something we want to see again, because everything else is painful.

What can I say? I avoid films like this. In my experience, romance is a pipe dream and there's no point wasting time on silly movies about pipe dreams. I watched it after flipping through On Demand films and finding nothing else even mildly interesting. It was a "desperation" selection. That I liked (no, loved) this movie so much leaves me speechless. There's no reason why I should have. After all, it's a completely implausible sappy love story. Two people separated in time, falling in love through letters left in a magic mailbox ... I should have run from the room screaming. Instead, I've seen the film four times. The only reason I can give is that the performances by Reeves and Bullock transcend the schlocky material and touch me. Their on screen chemistry (yes, they do have a few scenes together despite their characters living in different times) turns what should have been a laughably bad film into one with real heart at its center.