Written by / 3/02/2013 / No comments / , , , ,

SAFE HAVEN

year: 2013 cast: Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel, Cobie Smulders rating: ** 
Bestselling author Nicolas Sparks adapts his novel into yet another “chick flick," although this particular story has already been made in 1991 as SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY. In that movie, Julia Roberts escapes the clutches of an evil husband and finds... that’s right... SAFE HAVEN in a small town, protected by a gentle, loving man providing her a brand new start.

Julianne Hough’s vulnerable, desperate and beautiful Katie winds up in a quaint picturesque town consisting of a corner store, an outdoor restaurant, a beautiful lake, and rural cabins. The store owner is a tall handsome widower with two children who lost their wife and mother to cancer a year before.

It doesn’t take that long for Katie to realize Alex is the man for her. He goes out of his way to help her get paint for a dilapidated floor, and provides a bicycle so she can get around. The only obstacle for the romance to blossom is Katie’s initial stubbornness, refusing to realize she’s the star of a movie where everything relies on that inevitable steamy connection. The truth of the matter is: she has a murky past to contend with.

Enter her evil husband: a wiry, determined and downright psychotic cop doing everything possible to find where she’s hiding. In the Julia Roberts film, the husband/antagonist was the second main character. But "Tierney" is only seen through rushed scenes and jittery flashbacks, the latter trying to sum up their bad relationship without first establishing a real one.

As a romance, this haven plays it very safe. Katie and Alex have the dull chemistry liken to the best looking high school kids brought together because… they’re the best looking kids in high school. And yet, despite the many flaws, there is a creative – and somewhat spooky and downright preposterous – twist that reevaluates the weak chemistry, or non-chemistry, of the two pretty leads leading up to a conclusion that includes foreboding fireworks, a bloody fight, and an inferno where a child's life is put in danger.
"There's not enough room in this chick flick for the both of us."
Share This Post :
Tags : , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

ROBERT BEATTY WITH TERRY MOORE IN 'POSTMARK FOR DANGER'

Title: POSTMARK FOR DANGER Year: 1955 Rating: ** Twenty years before Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, involving a first-act wher...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "The Love Generation... Vicious little creeps!" Peter Strauss, Rich Man Poor Man

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)SHARKS' TREASURE 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE BREAK 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)HIDDEN FEAR 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)NIGHT CREATURES 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)EASY LIVING 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)FRENZY 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)CHARLES BRONSON1)VIRGINIA MAYO 2)SUE LYON 3)GENE TIERNEY 4)MERRY ANDERS 5)FAYE DUNAWAY DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)JOHN CARPENTER 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

FOR HORROR MOVIE REVIEWS

Most Popular Last Year

RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE