Hey Nicholas Sparks! Hit Me With Your Best Shot!

I have this thing where I really enjoy going to the movies alone.

This tradition has been happening since I was in university and the Park Lane theatre was just a five minute walk from my apartment on College Street. One day I just thought – hey, I’m going to go get lost in a theatre and a story by myself and it’s going to be perfect.

Turns out – it was even better. It was magical theatre bliss.

The movie theatre, is quite honestly one of my favorite places in the world. Much like I love the beach or Starbucks – there’s a certain comfort in knowing wherever you are or no matter how crazy your life is – there’s always a theatre you can get lost in.

I like to get lost in theatres on weekends. 

I mean, I’ll go any day of the week if I feel like it. To be honest, I’m at the theatre at least once or twice a week. If you stalk me on Foursquare, you know this. But every week, when the weekend rolls around, there’s a certain excitement in knowing I have a date with my favorite place.

I usually always keep the sappy and angsty flicks for my solo-dates. This past weekend’s choice?

Safe Haven

Now. I’m not going to give a full-out review Warm Bodies style – although if you haven’t read my Warm Bodies review, you probably should because you need to see that movie and all of its awesomeness – but I will say a few quick reasons why Safe Haven is not only a great chick flick, it will also be a tolerable movie date for your man.

You can even make him read this post if you like. Seriously.

Based on the Nicholas Spark’s novel of the same name, Julianne Hough plays Katie, a woman running from a secret that involves a knife, a lot of blood and a dude lying on the floor. She escapes Boston, dyes her hair blond and gets the cutest crop hair cut ever that made me tempted to book a salon appointment and do the same. I didn’t. But I was tempted.

Booking a one way ticket to freedom, Katie gets off the Greyhound bus in the small town of Southport, North Carolina where she meets widower and tousled haired hottie, Alex played by Josh Duhamel. Instantly drawn to the small town, she decides to stay and make a new life for herself. Because this is a chick flick, you can guess that she falls for Alex and just as things start to get good, her past comes back to haunt her.

Because isn’t that just life?

 that’s the look of ‘oh shit – my past just came back to haunt me’ right there

You may think this movie is predictable but it’s got a major twist that I swear you will not see coming. Unless of course you’ve read the book. I don’t read Nicholas Sparks books. I just see the movies and proceed to sob in the fetal position every time. Case and point? I refused to see The Last Song because my hatred for Miley Cyrus is off the charts but on one emotionally trying weekend, I found myself watching it for a brief period of time, getting sucked in by baby sea turtles and proceeding to regret watching over the next hour while I dry heaved tears on my living room floor while my heart was put through the blender.

Yeah. Freaking Nicholas Sparks people.

What I loved about Safe Haven, other than the fact that Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel have incredible chemistry and I’m a sucker for any movie set in small coastal fishing towns, is that the entire movie didn’t leave me breathless and sobbing (not the case for the woman sitting beside me who started crying half way through and I don’t think stopped until she got to her car) but it hit me like a ton of bricks at the end when you needed to feel all the feelings.

 Basically me in the theatre

I mean, with only ten minutes left to go, the movie had yet to make me shed a tear. Again, unlike the woman beside me. But then all of a sudden, floodgates opened and I had to sit there in credits trying to get myself together.

THAT is why Nicholas Sparks is the God of Sobfest movies.

Other winning reasons to see it? Alex’s little girl Lexie is perhaps the cutest little actress I’ve ever seen and steals the show. It will make you want to drive to Southport and spend your summer there – the scenery and small town feel was perfect and I’ve been coveting a trip to Southport since forever. It’s the Hollywood go-to filming location for anything that needs a “small coastal fishing town” backdrop.

Seriously.

And most importantly.

The ending will rip your heart out and make you feel good about love again. In case you were jaded.

Oh and why will your man love it?

While this is a total chick flick, hello it was released on Valentine’s Day, it’s also quite the mix of suspense/thriller. Katie’s past is dark and you don’t really know what’s going on until later in the movie. It’s kind of got a Criminal Minds feel to it. And there’s some good action. And of course you get Julianne Hough running around in a bikini and short-shorts. So you get to feel like Ryan Seacrest for two hours.

And there’s nothing manlier than Ryan Seacrest.

Sarcasm. Please know how to identify it.

So if you’re looking for a good flick to take in with your girlfriends or drag your boyfriend/fiance/husband to – do it. While it’s not epic like the Notebook – it’s certainly a hell of a lot better than Dear John or The Last Song.

x C x

Stay tuned! On Friday I will be posting my Oscar predictions and favorites leading up to Sunday’s live blogging of the Oscar Red Carpet and Awards show! Movie buff? You won’t want to miss it! I also look forward to hearing your thoughts and predictions! Until then! x