Dear John

Lasse Hallstr√∂m directed Chocolat and The Cider House Rules, two of the most beloved (by my grandmother) and reviled Best Picture nominees of the past decade. He wrecked the adaptation of one of my favorite novel’s, Annie Proulx’s Pulitzer Prize winner, The Shipping News with wacky casting and woolly sentimentality. He also directed one of the truly great movies of the ’90’s What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Either Hallstr√∂m has a predilection for cozy group-hug material, or studio execs have him pigeon-holed as the new Herb Ross. Either way, I fear Nicholas Sparks will only encourage his worst instincts. The synopsis gives me an allergic tickle in my sinuses too: “A romantic drama about a soldier who falls for a conservative college student while he’s home on leave.” On the other hand: Channing Tatum.