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The Lake House

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The Lake House (2006)

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Reviews Counted:152

Fresh:55

Rotten:97

Average Rating:5/10

Consensus: The plot of The Lake House is a little too convoluted, and the film fails to pull off the sweeping romance it aims for.

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $52,280,027

Synopsis: Feeling that it's time for a change in her life, Dr. Kate Forster (SANDRA BULLOCK) leaves the suburban Illinois locale where she completed her residency and takes a job at a busy Chicago hospital. ... Feeling that it's time for a change in her life, Dr. Kate Forster (SANDRA BULLOCK) leaves the suburban Illinois locale where she completed her residency and takes a job at a busy Chicago hospital. One thing she is reluctant to leave behind is the uniquely beautiful house she's been renting - a spacious and artfully designed refuge with large windows that overlook a placid lake. It's a place in which she felt her true self. It is a winter morning in 2006. On her way to the city, Kate leaves a note in the mailbox for house's next tenant, asking him to forward her mail and noting that the inexplicable painted paw prints he might notice by the front door were there when she moved in. But when the next tenant arrives, he sees a much different picture. Alex Wyler (KEANU REEVES), a talented but frustrated architect working at a nearby construction site, finds the lake house badly neglected: dusty, dirty and overgrown with weeds. And no sign of paw prints anywhere. The house has special meaning for Alex. In a happier time it was built by his estranged father (CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER), a renowned architect who allowed his professional acclaim to grow at the expense of his family life. Alex feels a sense of peace here now and commits to restoring the property to its original beauty. He disregards Kate's note until, days later, while painting the weather-beaten jetty he sees a stray dog run across the fresh paint and then towards the entrance of the house, leaving paw prints exactly where she said they'd be. Baffled, Alex writes back, saying that the house had no occupant before him and wondering how she could have known about the dog; while Kate, who just left it a week ago, imagines he is playing some kind of joke on her and fires back a reply. Just for argument's sake, what day is it there? April 14, 2004. No, she says. It's April 14, 2006. The same day, two years apart. Can this be happening? As Kate and Alex continue to correspond through the lake house's mailbox they confirm that they are, incredibly, impossibly, living two years apart, and each at a time in their lives when they are struggling with past disappointments and trying to make a new start. Sharing this unusual bond, they reveal more of themselves to one another with each passing week - their secrets, their doubts and dreams, until they find themselves falling in love. Determined to bridge the distance between them at last and unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary connection, they tempt fate by arranging to meet. But, by trying to join their two separate worlds, they could risk losing each other forever. --© Warner Bros. [More]

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reeves, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Christopher Plummer

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reeves, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Christopher Plummer, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Dylan Walsh

Director: Alejandro Agresti

Director: Alejandro Agresti
Screenwriter: David Auburn
Producer: Sonny Mallhi, Dana Goldberg, Doug Davison
Composer: Rachel Portman
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Reviews for The Lake House

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
07/28/06
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock bring their respective talents to this badly fumbled attempt at a supernatural romantic comedy.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
07/20/06
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Despite the conventions, and a time travel gimmick that winds up being an utter mess, there's something worth appreciating here which makes it certainly worth a look

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
06/29/06
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A satisfyingly sarcasm-free ode to the flickering absurdity of romance

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
08/30/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Justine Elias
Justine Elias
Boston Phoenix
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: NPR.org | comment Comment
10/18/08
Bob Mondello
Bob Mondello
NPR.org

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

I can't believe that even the most rabid chick-flick masochists wouldn't gag on it.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
11/24/06
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

Maybe I'm just overly romantic or sentimental or just plain naive, but I probably liked The Lake House more than I should have.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
09/27/06
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

Time-travel films often bring up a lot of questions, and they often fall apart with thoughtful scrutiny, but that's part of the fun. However, one shouldn't be wondering that the only benefit these two have with this magical mailbox connection is that they

Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Weekly | comment Comment
08/23/06
Michael Szymanski
Michael Szymanski
Sci-Fi Weekly

A little under water, but it still floats.

Full Review Source: 3BlackChicks Review | comment Comment
08/21/06
Kamal  'The Diva' Larsuel
Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel
3BlackChicks Review

Endless implausibility, cheesy dialogue, and the inert personalities of its charisma-zapped leads conspire to doom this chilly magical mailbox love sham. Nice soundtrack, though.

Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah) | comment Comment
08/14/06
Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

Like all good romantic movies there's a beautiful house on the lake and a cuddly dog. Good dialogue, great direction, sweet cinematography and good acting -- even by Keanu.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment 1 Comment
08/02/06
Ross Anthony
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card

Phantom mail ... a postal carrier's worst nightmare ...

Full Review Source: West Valley View | comment Comment
07/27/06
Michael Clawson
Michael Clawson
West Valley View

An intriguing idea. Too bad the asteroid sized temporal paradox ruins the end of the flm.

Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | comment Comment
07/25/06
Wesley Lovell
Wesley Lovell
Oscar Guy

It refreshingly becomes less about time travel and more about the choices we make and the chances we miss.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/11/06
Collin Souter
Collin Souter
eFilmCritic.com

Reeves y Bullock no interpretan el papel de su vida, sin embargo cumplen con las expectativas del público en un producto ligero de fin de semana.

Full Review Source: Cinenganos | comment Comment
07/10/06
Luis Martinez
Luis Martinez
Cinenganos

Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves, two actors with talent I admire, launched their careers (at least as movie stars) on a runaway bus (Speed) in 1994. They appear to be throwing themselves under one here.

Full Review Source: San Antonio Express-News | comment Comment
07/10/06
Larry Ratliff
Larry Ratliff
San Antonio Express-News

Agresti has effectively skirted around hard logic with his velvety presentation.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
07/06/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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