Safe Haven (2013)

Good concept, poorly executed.

Excellent but underrated film

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

First off, I didn't read the book. I wish I had, but now I certainly will after having just watched the film. It is a bit choppy. You can definitely tell that there are key elements missing from the script which obviously had to be cut down from the book. I hate that. This film reminded of Sleeping with the Enemy in A LOT of ways, but in the case of this film there were a few pleasant and rather touching surprises. I was not expecting such a smart little twist! Of course like most films there was a lot of smh moments like when the little girl was asked about Katie by the police man and she did good by lying, but never thought to mention it to Katie or her Dad!?!? Even when her Dad immediately came in after he asked. lol It's ridiculous things like that that really make me frustrated with movies. The whole husband thing was hard to believe as well. Not enough back story and how was he running around chasing her seemingly unwounded right after she stabbed him!? There's more ridiculousness, but I don't recall the specifics. I tried to just let it slide for the sake of enjoyment. It's still a wonderful film. I just wish they would have worked harder on the kinks and gave us more. This story deserved better, but I still HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

In his review of the film Safe Haven posted on RogerEbert.com (which you can access on IMDb), who knew that a flummoxed Richard Roeper not only likes to play film critic but also ghostbuster? If you don't choose to read his review, Mr. Roeper was "flummoxed" (his word) that the reveal at the end of Safe Haven involved a ghost interacting with a character. He called it: "Bat. Bleep. Crazy."So here's a news flash for Mr. Roeper: Sometimes in films ghosts interact with people. They're not documentaries, they're movies, and sometimes in movies ghosts are characters too. No one takes them literally. No one was "flummoxed" when Kevin Costner was having a catch with his deceased dad in Field of Dreams. The ending of Safe Haven was a touching tribute from a deceased wife who wanted her husband to find love; no less touching than the real life wife who wanted the same for her husband and made that her final act on this earth. Her open letter appeared in the March 3, 2017 edition of the New York Times, entitled "You May Want To Marry My Husband." She died ten days later.Richard Roeper is entitled to his opinions, even stupid ones, but we should all be flummoxed that a website dedicated to the incomparable Roger Ebert actually publishes them.

I viewed the beautifully filmed movie last night at a friend's home with five other guys. None of them threw even one tomato at the TV. But many of us frequently correctly guessed events throughout the file, including when: the leads would wear revealing and/or no outfits; their first kiss; the BAD GUY would find her and when he would show up. But I incorrectly thought the dark-haired, beach town neighbor lady was a lesbian. We all enjoyed the light weight, date type movie. But I would never pay to watch it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this as I do most Nicholas Sparks adaptions. You basically know what your going to get going in so you can't complain too much. There's star crossed romance, a small North Carolina town, a body off water (usually including a boat ride, a rain storm or at least some kissing in the rain), a demented ex-boyfriend or husband, a kid and/or an older grandma or uncle type person. (Red West in this case) -I remember him from 'Roadhouse', he hasn't aged at all.This story was more of a drama/thriller than most of Sparks' straight out romances and reminded me very much of that Julia Roberts movie 'Sleeping with the Enemy'. The story follows a woman on the run who starts a new life in a small (North Carolina) town and reluctantly falls for a widowed father. It's suspenseful, full of twists and turns, some mystery and a big twist at the end -which after reading the book I'd been curious if they'd even include in the movie because its so random.I enjoyed both Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel, their romance and chemistry was good, not great or epic (The Notebook) but nice, believable.I also really enjoyed David Lyons, who takes on the tasty role of the bad guy here. He's the kind of character you love to hate and it was intriguing watching him slowly unravel into an alcoholic haze in his hunt for Katie.And (despite myself) I liked the ending with the letter "to her." Now that was a real Nicholas Sparks moment. 6/16/15