Movie and a Mani: Safe Haven

Hey lovies it's movie time!  The film I chose to review this week is Safe Haven and here's a  shot from the film.  Remember this Nicholas Sparks book/film that came out a bit ago.  Well it wasn't a movie theater-must for me, but I did have it on my to-watch list because it has Miss Julianne in it.


Cast
So, as I've already mentioned- this film stars Julianne Hough(Dancing With the Stars, Footloose, and Rock of Ages).  Julianne was amazing on DWTS and one of my all time favorite professionals to be featured on that show, but I didn't really care for her in Rock of Ages or Footloose sadly.  I do feel she redeemed herself a little bit in this film.  It had a lot more emotional content than Rock of Ages(obviously) and it seemed pretty clear that she's been working on her craft since Footloose.  This film also stars Josh Duhamel(Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, Transformers, and the tv series Las Vegas).  Major hunk here, but not known for the wealth of emotional content in his acting thus far.  While he was not altogether disappointing as the lead male of this romantic suspense film, he was not altogether rewarding for the viewer either.  Both of the stars seemed to just scrape the surface of what a person going through their ordeals would exhibit, however they were both enjoyable to look at that's for sure ;)  They were joined by a supporting cast including Cobie Smulders(How I Met Your Mother) and David Lyons(itsy bitsy cameo on Eat Pray Love).  The two child actors were darling and, I felt, a great asset to the film.

Overview
Katie(Hough) flees from a violent scene, barely depicted in the beginning of the film.  We only know she is frightened and changes her appearance to quickly board a bus out of town.  She is chased by a policeman desperate to catch her before she flees out of his jurisdiction.  She makes it to a sweet little ocean side town where she finds a job, a place to call home, and starts to rebuild her life anew.  She begins to make a few friends, but we watch as the policeman also continues to search for her.  As the film goes on a romance develops between Katie and a young widower Alex(Duhamel) but we know the impending conflict that is coming when the policeman finally finds Katie and confronts her for what she has done.

Manicure
The look I came up with for today's post was inspired by a color featured in the film that symbolizes Katie's desire and efforts to find a happy, sunny life even after her personal tragedy that has darkened her world.  I included some lace detailing because she is so sweet and trying to find this simplistic happiness in a small town.  This manicure felt like a delicate heart attempting to become stronger.

I used Pure Ice Showstopper as the sunny yellow base cream and white acrylic paint for the detailing.

Additional Review
"I thought this film portrayed a sweet love story and it was fun-to-watch Julianne Hough for the first time in a movie.  Her acting did not impress me and for a suspense movie it was not suspenseful enough.  I give this film a rating of 2 1/2 out of 5 stars.  I don't think I'd watch this film again." - The Hat Lady

Conclusion
So- it must be said that I didn't go into this viewing with high expectations.  If you understand that first off, perhaps you will better understand my not shredding this film to pieces.  There were redeeming qualities of the film.  First- the scenery was gorgeous and the sets were picturesque and really made me want to visit a place like she finds to start again in the film.  Second- hey had great eye candy for the viewer to look at.  Nothing wrong with getting to watch two absolutely beautiful people on screen for a little while.  Third- the child actors, especially the little lady Mimi Kirkland, were darling and sweet.  Fourth- I liked the twist at the end.  Leave it to Nicholas Sparks to do that to us.  Besides those four things, most of the rest was negatives, sad to say.  The movie started out fast-paced but until the last 20 minutes of the film, the rest did not follow suit.  I know it's a romance/suspense, but when I almost give up on the film halfway through because it feels like absolutely nothing of interest has happened...that's not such a good sign.  That's pretty much all you need to know about this movie.  If you're a hard core Julianne Hough or Josh Duhamel fan, watch the movie and just be prepared to have to force yourself through the slow parts.  If you don't particularly care for either of these actors, I'd say skip it, which really is a shame cuz I love Julianne.  There are more exciting suspense/romance films.  Go watch some classics- North By Northwest or Rebecca!  If you haven't seen these movies yet....well just go pick them up instead of Safe Haven :)  Sorry lovely Julianne.  You did look bangin' in this film and we still know you're talented.

Song of the Day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2ID5dfC9SE Let me know what you thought of this film if you saw it or decide to see it.  Love to you! Over and out