New on DVD: 'The Lake House'

September 22, 2006 Tubegazing: 'Heroes' and 'Runaway' Page turners: The Mission Song Into it: Paul DiMeo Monitor picks DVD: 'The Lake House'

Alex (Keanu Reeves) and Kate (Sandra Bullock) are tenants of the same lake house - an enchanting, transparent glass box balancing over water on stilts - except that in a preposterous twist, the pair live two years apart: he's in 2004, she's in 2006. Using the property's mailbox to correspond, they exchange missives and fall in love. The conceit detracts some from the movie's enjoyment, as treacly romance isn't supposed to require too much thought. And it's hard not to try to sort out the impossible temporal logistics - how do Alex and Kate share the same dog, for instance? Still, Reeves and Bullock, last seen together in "Speed," are as believable as any two actors could be working with such a premise. Extras include additional scenes and outtakes. Grade: B