HOLLYWOOD -- On a good day, Keanu Reeves can be charming, insightful and surprisingly lucid.

On a bad day, he's evasive, distant and uncooperative.

Boy, was Keanu having a bad day at a recent Los Angeles press conference for The Lake House, a romantic fantasy that reunites him with his Speed costar Sandra Bullock.

He seem totally baffled when a journalist asked if he believed in romantic destinty. He kept repeating the words as if it were a sin to pair them. ("Romantic-destiny. Romantic-destiny. Hmmmm.")

It was either a veiled attempt to mock the journalist, or a warning to others to steer clear of any personal questions.

Metaphysics may be a tricky subject for a press conference, but asking Keanu to name his favourite romantic movie seemed innocent and obvious.

No such luck. This one stumped him even more than the old romantic-destiny debate.

He seemed searching for an answer, when Bullock chimed in asking him to name his favourite romantic novel instead, assuring the press Keanu is a voracious reader. Bullock's revelation raised a few eyebrows in the room.

The lovers in The Lake House are separated by time, but communicate through the letters they leave in a magic mailbox.

Again an obvious question. Does Keanu like writing and receiving letters?

It was a bit like pulling teeth, but eventually he conceded: "I type my letters on a real typewriter. I like to write quasi poetically. I enjoy the sensation of sitting down and taking the time to write."

This answer taxed Keanu so thoroughly he slipped off his chair and remained lying on the floor, while Bullock explained how important writing and receiving letters are to her as opposed to e-mail.

Keanu then popped up to explain he "doesn't own a computer. My friends do. I sometimes use one of theirs, but I don't have one of my own."

Reeves says he didn't pursue a project that would reunite him with Bullock, but says they've remained friends since they made Speed together 12 years ago.

"We've had drinks and dinner together a few times. We just left the chance to work together up to the fates."

The only time Keanu got animated during the press conference was when someone asked him if he was going to do a sequel to his 2005 sci-fi movie Constantine.

"The sequel is kind of in the air right now.

"Maybe it will happen. I'd like to do it, but the producers don't seem to want to."

Oh.