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Movies / On DVD / The Lake House
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.

Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for some language and a disturbing image

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:23-06-2006

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; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Bullock holds her half of the movie up well, proving that she can do subdued just as well as sunny.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
07/01/06
Matthew Leyland
Matthew Leyland
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Just when we think we've come to terms with its brand of poorly-plotted silliness it ups the ante once more.

Full Review Source: FilmFocus | comment Comment
07/01/06
Joe Utichi
Joe Utichi
FilmFocus

The Lake House demands a serious suspension of disbelief, but if you accept it as a romantic bit of nonsense, it has its pleasures.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Anna Smith
Anna Smith
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The last time Bullock and Reeves were together on screen the result was Speed. This should have been entitled Stop.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
06/24/06
Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode
Observer [UK]

A movie that's trying with all its might to be an earnest, poignant relationship drama, yet it fails at each and every turn thanks to zero chemistry between its leads and the complete absence of a coherent plot.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
06/24/06
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

A compelling idea delicately handled and neatly played, especially by Bullock. It just lacks the emotional directness to turn the good into the great.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
06/24/06
Ian Freer
Ian Freer
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If you're not sucked in by the romance of the story, there's a chance you'll find it laughably awful, thanks to poorly written lines and Keanu's delivery of the world's least convincing sneeze.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment 1 Comment
06/24/06
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Reunites the stars of Speed for a film that's beautifully shot but about as unspeedy as humanly possible.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
06/21/06
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

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
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
07/28/06
Sydney Morning Herald
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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