Dear John: PG-13: sensuality, violence; 1:42; $ $ $ ½ (out of $5)

Just in time for Valentine’s Day — well, if you wait a week or so — comes “Dear John,” a film that says a lot in its title. Hey, take it from someone who shares a moniker, but unfortunately not much else, with likably shy, friendly and courageous John Tyree (Channing Tatum), no guy wants to see “Dear” in front of what is our very common first name.

That it happens to this soldier after a whirlwind, letter-writing romance with seemingly, sweet, lovely and well-off Savannah Lynn Curtis (Amanda Seyfried) becomes as much a surprise as the engagingly grand performances from the two young leads.

Of course, there are reasons for everything, particularly in dreamy stories based on the novels of Nicholas Sparks. This one, adapted by screenwriter Jamie Linden (“We Are Marshall”), plays on screen as swell as anything from Sparks since “The Notebook.”

Sure, the chemistry between the exceedingly camera-friendly Seyfried and Tatum seems as special as what took place between “Notebook” heart-throbs Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling, but “John” does have director Lasse Hallstrom to tone down the anticipated goo factor. In fact, when it comes to moving moments, the movie’s drop-dead strongest scene takes place in a hospital corridor, when John reads a letter to his dad (the fabulous Richard Jenkins), a man with his own motivation for being so emotionally detached.

What ensues won’t be given away here, nor will a few other unexpected plot wrinkles that help raise “Dear John” above so many more ordinary releases at this time of year.

Read more by John M. Urbancich at http://jmuvies.blogspot.com/