Dear John

Okay first off ,let me start by apologizing, my Internet went down so I'm behind on my blogging so there will be a lot of post on here in a row.

You know what your getting into the minute you purchase a ticket to a movie based on a Nicholas Sparks book. Usually there is a "Great love" story, some drama of a predictable kind, and then some tragedy. This formula has been seen in other Nicholas Sparks' films such as "Night's in Rodanthe", "The Notebook", and my favorite "A Walk to Remember", they are predictable to have the sweet and the sour. Look at "the Notebook", such a "great love" and then you find out that Ally has Alzheimer's, a main character always finds there end, in the other stories, its cancer or been killed in a flood. Now, these movies don't always completely follow their books counterpart, and I was surprised to see that a formula was broken in "Dear John."
In "Dear John" the story flowed and was easy to follow. Channing Tatum did a wonderful job as the soldier away at war, who has a rocky home life. His performance though was shadowed by two things, first the wrong placement of Amanda Seyfried, and the awesomeness of Richard Jenkins.
So the reason I went besides the gorgeous Channing Tatum is I am actually a huge fan of Amanda Seyfried. I loved her in "Mama Mia", but sometimes some actors don't fit the rolls they are given well, and for me that was what happened. Her portrayal of the wholesome, do good Savannah, was just wrong. Her and Tatum had chemistry which is key in a Sparks' movie, but just the other moments in the film were awkward. It looked like she was trying to act to much in it, it was not effortless, so I was a little disappointed there. Her words were stuck in her mouth half the time and she just didn't show the emotion that you would think was needed, whether in love, or talking about Autistic children. Plus in through out the movie she has a relationship with Henry Thomas' character ,you may know him as Elliot for "E.T"., and in those scenes the awkwardness rose. He seems to old for her in general, but they had no flow, again I chalk that up to Seyfried looking like she was trying to hard.
As a surprise though, I was again floored by the performance of Richard Jenkins as Mr. Tyree in this film! If you don't know who he is, get to know him cause he is an amazing actor who does exactly what an actor should do in a movie. He works together to bring out the best of the actors around him and himself. you would be amazed at how often you will see him in films, some of my favorite performances were in "The Visitor", "Shall We Dance", and "The Indian in the Cupboard" In this movie he play Tatum's father, a man with Autism, who since a bonding moment with his son has been obsessed with collecting coin. His mannerisms, the way he talks, and when he has a break down about going to a dinner are all things to watch.
Overall i would say that this movie was slow moving with moments of interest. Not my favorite of the Nicholas Sparks movies, but hey with Jenkins, and Tatum performances I would maybe wait for dvd..but that just this ingénues input. I would give this movie and 5 out of 10 with hopes for "Last Song"