By Adann-Kennn Alexxandar
VDT View — ‘Dear John,’ please stop ...
“Dear John” (Romantic Drama: 1 hour, 48 minutes); Starring: Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, and Richard Jenkins; Director: Lasse Hallström; Rated: PG-13 (Sexuality, violence and some strong language)
Movie Review: Hallström (“Chocolat,” 2000) directs this poorly acted and mediocre-penned screenplay based on Nicholas Sparks’ novel about John Tyree (Tatum), a U.S. Army soldier, and Savannah Curtis (Seyfried), a young woman in college. The two become lovers in just two week, just as Tyree prepares to head overseas for duty, and Curtis heads to college. Separated by great distances, they send love letters to each other. Tyree and Curtis discover love survives, even across great distances.
While watching this romantic drama, the NBC sitcom entitled “Dear John” comes to mind. The opening credits for this show had a catchy tune. “Dear John. Dear John. By the time you read these lines I'll be gone.” This thought is present because of this movie’s ironic title. The phrase “Dear John” is typically associated with a ‘Dear John letter.’ Yet this film tries to negate that notion with a trite love story. Still, “Dear John” is riddled with problems and separation is evident.
Tatum and Seyfried have as much chemistry as President Obama and the Tea Party crowd. Their relationship feels as awkward as the actors look onscreen.
Tatum, although handsomely masculine, appears weak here as an actor. Romantic dramas are not his best leading roles. For him, these roles appear unauthentic. Seyfried has some of the dopiest lines to date. In one scene, she haphazardly tells Tatum’s Tyree, “You started a fire. How primal.” She says this as if she has never seen fire.
The problem with both these actors is their inability to succeed at being convincing in leading roles. Neither actor has the chops for leading roles, although Tatum plays the depressing sufferer adequately. In addition, he plays military types far too often; the notables are “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” (2009) and “Stop-Loss” (2008). Seyfried appears bland, as she does in most roles.
“Dear John” is an overly sentimental drama that is unmoving and uninspiring. This heaping slop is for younger audiences who are still overly idealistic about relationships and believe movies portray such relationships as genuine, reasonable actions.
Grade: D- (My Love anti-letter: Dear John, You break my heart ...)
“From Paris with Love” (Action/Comedy: 1 hour, 33 minutes); Starring: John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Kasia Smutniak; Director: Pierre Morel; Rated: R (Strong profanity, violence, drug usage, and sexuality)
Movie Review: Lately, Luc Besson (“The Fifth Element,” 1997) has become a prolific writer for action films. The problem is while these films are mostly energetic action films that entertain, the plots are not plausible, and have only a slim chance of possibility.
“From Paris with Love” is entertaining but too much — it is over the top and then some. This notion exists because of a wild and crazy guy, John Travolta, who plays a U.S. operative in Paris. John Travolta is Charlie Wax, a bald-headed, earring-wearing senior agent who makes up his own unconventional rules. Wax is paired with James Reece (Rhys Meyers), a novice agent hoping for a promotion and better duty assignments. The two must help find the international crooks responsible for the death of a high-ranking U.S. government official’s daughter.
Believability is barely there with this action comedy, but this photoplay manages some solid laughs, although crude and apolitically correct. Travolta is good at playing this type of character — the one role he manages to perfect while lacking elsewhere. Travolta slings profanity like no other.
Yet “From Paris” is silly. Travolta and Rhys Meyers continually participate in childish antics. They curse, they kill, and they argue, a repetitive process. They are supposedly intelligence operatives.
Grade: C (From Valdosta with discontent)
