Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves reunite for the first time since their hellish 1994 bus ride, Speed, in The Lake House, a time-travelling romance that succeeds in spite of its loopy, illogical premise and drizzles of emotional syrup. The film is a remake of a South Korean romance called Siworae (Il Mare), which revolves around two strangers who fall in love across space and time.

Impossible physics don't trouble screenwriter David Auburn he simply avoids any attempts at a rational explanation, including making sense of the presence of the same dog in parallel timelines. Director Alejandro Agresti relies heavily on the natural charm and likeability of his leads two actors who are frequently much better than their material especially since their star-crossed characters must be kept apart for almost the entire film.

On a fresh winter's morning, doctor Kate Forster (Bullock) moves out of her beautiful lakeside property to take up her residency at a busy Chicago hospital. She leaves behind a note for the next tenant in the mailbox, welcoming them to the house and apologising for the paw prints by the front door. New resident Alex Wyler (Reeves), a brilliant architect estranged from his domineering father Simon (Christopher Plummer), ignores the note: the lake house has been unoccupied for years and there are no paw prints.

A few days later, when a stray dog runs through paint leaving behind the paw prints just as Kate said, Alex is astounded and he leaves a bemused reply in the same mailbox. Kate collects his letter and is convinced that she is the victim of a prank.

The strangers exchange a series of missives, until they stumble upon a jaw-dropping fact: Kate is living in 2006 while Alex is alive and well in 2004. Somehow, they are living exactly two years apart, separated by some strange kink in time. With the lake house's mailbox as their only connection, Alex and Kate struggle to make sense of the astonishing disparity. Friendship, forged through their correspondence, gradually blossoms into romance and Kate and Alex look for some way to bridge present and past, so that they can look forward to a blissful future together. However, events in Alex's reality have a ripple effect for Kate.

Once you ignore the obvious holes in the premise, and the occasional abandonment of commonsense for the sake of keeping Alex and Kate apart that little bit longer, The Lake House is quite a charming affair. Admittedly, some of the dialogue verges on the florid and the twist is signposted far too early, but Agresti's film casts a spell.

Bullock tempers her usual perkiness with an air of sadness and desperation while Reeves brings steeliness to his prodigal son, including a moving breakdown scene complete with real tears. The denouement is a little hurried but since the rest of the film plays fast and loose with time, why should the closing minutes be any different?

Having failed to truly break into Hollywood like Jackie Chan, martial arts superstar Jet Li returns to China for the action-packed turn-of-the-century historical drama about a man searching for his identity and peace of mind. Fearless recounts the true story of legendary fighter Huo Yuanjia, who established the Jingwu Sports Federation in 1910, and consequently united the people at a time of massive political and social upheaval, when anti-western sentiment coursed through China's veins.

Director Ronny Yu plays to his leading man's strengths, orchestrating dazzling fight sequences, choreographed by the maestro, Yuen Wo Wing, who has brought his genius to bear on King Fu Hustle, The Matrix trilogy and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

For visceral thrills and bone-crunching action, Fearless does not disappoint, including a pivotal showdown involving Yuanjia and four challengers, who are masters of different weapons and fighting styles. Occasionally, the film tries too hard to create the most outrageous fighting displays. A spectacular bout on raised wooden platforms is marred by an excessive use of wires, which seem jarringly out of place next to the astonishingly fluid gymnastics of Li and his co-stars.

From an early age, Huo Yuanjia (Jet Li) yearns to follow in the footsteps of his father (Collin Chou), an expert fighter killed during a public duel. So he trains diligently, honing his martial arts skills in the ring against various opponents. Fame and adulation slowly corrupt Yuanjia. He is blinded by arrogance, to the detriment of relationships with his family and with good friend Nong Jinsun (Dong Yong). When Yuanjia's loved ones are slain in revenge for the killing of a rival master, Yuanjia flees Tianjin for the provinces. There, he meets Grandma Sun and her beautiful, blind granddaughter Moon (Betty Sun), who farm the rice fields. The gentle pace of country life has a profound effect on Huo. He finally learns to appreciate the importance of the simple pleasures in life.

While Fearless has physical prowess in abundance, it is somewhat lacking in soul. Li has never been the most expressive of performers and when he's not defying gravity, the actor fails to convey the maelstrom of emotions that drive his fighting machine to seek redemption.