Dear John

Based on the syrupy novel by Nicholas Sparks, the plot of Dear John is suspiciously similar to that of The Notebook, Sparks' earlier, better-known novel.  Both stories involve young men raised by single fathers who win the affection of a girl by performing a daring physical feat (in The Notebook, he climbs up a ferris wheel; in Dear John, he dives off a pier to retrieve her purse), and then after a tumultuous, whirlwind courtship find themselves separated for years on end by war (in The Notebook, WWII; in Dear John, Iraq) and various other complications (in The Notebook, she marries another man; in Dear John, she marries another man).  At times, it feels as though Sparks simply dusted off his Notebook manuscript, changed the names, locations, and time period, then re-submitted it to his publisher.

As the title hints, a large portion of the film is devoted to the writing, mailing, and reading of letters.  While letter-writing can make for an interesting device in a novel, it is a difficult thing to represent onscreen.  Director Lasse Halstrom (The Cider House Rules) attempts to solve this problem by including lengthy montage sequences set to acoustic soft rock in which the characters are seen scribbling away at their notepads, then heard in voice-over reading the words that they are writing.  Every so often, they'll take a break from writing to stare contemplatively at the sunset.  The film takes place over a seven year time span, and the two exchange many, many letters.

The opening courtship section is entertaining enough, but when the two become separated and the letter-writing begins, the story quickly loses steam and the film plods to its finish.  Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried are appealing as the two leads, but they aren't given much to work with.  He spends most of the movie quietly brooding (which, it should be noted, he is very good at; at times, his performance recalls that of Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain), while her character is almost entirely defined by her commitment to charitable causes and her enthusiasm for working with autistic children.  Teenage girls and hand-writing experts will probably find it entrancing though.


From Paris With Love

It didn't seem like it was possible, but John Travolta's performance as the goateed psychopath in From Paris With Love is even hammier than his earlier performance as the goateed psychopath in The Taking of Pelham 123.  Still, it's a significant improvement over his work in Old Dogs.  The film is directed by Pierre Morel (Taken), who once again demonstrates his usual flair for kinetic action set pieces.

Frozen

A low budget horror film about a group of friends stranded on a ski hill.  Comparisons to Open Water - the low budget horror film from a few years ago about scuba divers stranded in shark-infested waters - seem all but inevitable.