Safe Haven (2013) Review:

Relationships between people are always a constant experience of development and attention to detail. It requires two people to make the relationship happen and actively work at maintaining the strong bond. Unfortunately, not all relationships end well. Whether it is due to a lack effort from both or one side, simple ignorance to what’s causing friction or worse, destructive behavior. Most however do find their partner that will do what they can to be the best version of themselves, for themselves and their partner. No couple should take each other for granted but make the most of their time together as time is not exact in life. One never knows what could happen in the coming future. This is one of the main points made in this film adapted from a Nicholas Sparks novel.

Written by Dana Stevens (City of Angels (1998) and later Fatherhood (2021)), and Gage Lansky in their only credit, took Sparks’ novel and made into a watchable romance film with some typical clichés. The story is about Alex (Josh Duhamel), a widower with two kids Lexi (Mimi Kirkland) and Josh (Noah Lomax) who are living life as best they can. Things are going as normal when a random woman Katie (Julianne Hough) enters the frame. Things start picking up as Katie begins involving herself with Alex’s family. However, Katie isn’t disclosing much about her past. Meanwhile, detective Tierney (David Lyons) is trying to get a hold of Katie. The film was directed by Lasse Hallström, who in his early days directed a lot of ABBA music videos. But he also directed another Nicholas Sparks film called Dear John (2010).

Overall the writing suffices in its narrative. Over time audiences will begin to understand exactly what it is that Katie is trying to keep from resurfacing but like most things, it comes back to bite them. As for Alex, it’s understandable what someone like him would be going through to an extent. Being a one parent family is not easy even though there will always been existing units. However, the story doesn’t go much into what could help Alex grow. Katie arbitrarily does this for plot reasons. Both main characters and the children characters are likeable in their own way but much of what has been seen in other romance films is repeated here too. It’s cliché but not unwatchable thanks to the acting. One thing that doesn’t make sense though is the conflict of interest a certain character is a part of.

When this is revealed it begs the question how the situation even happened the way it did. The other aspect to the film that may come across cliché or perhaps even in the wrong genre is the injection of some spiritualistic themes. Some may even take it as faith based which typically does not resonate with many viewers. If viewers can let these callouts slide, then it may be more entertaining for some than others. Aside from this movie, Julianne Hough is probably best known from Footloose (2011) and Rock of Ages (2012). She still acts but it doesn’t seem as prominently. Josh Duhamel is best known from Michael Bay’s Transformers (2007) series. David Lyons is a more of a TV actor. Mimi Kirkland would later play Rachel in the Walking Dead series and Noah Lomax had a role in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015).

There’s even appearances from Red West playing Alex’s uncle and Cobie Smulders, playing Katie’s new neighbor. Smulders is also known for playing Agent Maria Hill from Marvel’s movie lineup. The cinematography was decently shot. Handled by Terry Stacey, the shots taking in the sandy coast of the Carolina’s is a nice view. Really not much of any one scene has CGI in it so there’s not much to mention there. Stacey also worked on Dear John (2010). Lastly, composing the score was Deborah Lurie. Throughout the film score, Lurie creates a theme for Alex and Katie, incorporating southern instruments with piano mixed in. There is an album available as well which is nice. Lurie also composed for 9 (2009), Dear John (2010) and Footloose (2011). Lots of overlap.

This is by no means a standout film of excellence. There is one big plot hole in the story and in can feel a bit generic. But the actors have good chemistry and the overall message is an important takeaway along with good camerawork and music.

Points Earned -->6:10

Innocent Steps (2005) Review:

Unless one truly is a well-rounded person or likes all kinds of film genres, some may not be aware that movies involving dance is actually a thing. Although if anyone has seen a musical, play or live performance one could easily realize this. There are however stories that revolve around dance but do not involve the actors or characters breaking out into song either. No matter what though, dance is an undeclared love language in some cultures because it truly can bring people together. Now to those even more unfamiliar to the international market, dance can obviously cross over into other countries. South Korea is no different. For every Step Up (2006), there will be other movies that are in the same genre. Of course the film would have its own cultural twist on it though.

The story is about Na Young-sae (Keon-hyeong Park), a renowned dancer and teacher who almost made it to the finals if he wasn’t sabotaged by his opponent Jung Hyun-soo (Chang Yun) at the last moment. This ended up leaving Young-sae with a bum leg and out of commission. Trying to help, his manager Ma Sang-doo (Park Won-Sang) finds Jang Chae-rin (Moon Geun-young) a Korean raised in China. However, it turns out she does not know how to dance and it’s up to Young-sae to teach her for them to both make the rematch against his rival. Written by Gye-ok and Young-hoon Park, the narrative is a wholesome one about redemption and learning from failure with the support from others. Gye-ok Park has had experience working in Korean film before and Young-hoon Park who also directed this feature has also worked in other films with stars like Lee Byung-hun.

Overall the writing is decent. It contains a blend of romance, drama and even small amounts of comedic moments from the main cast and even side characters. Moon Geun-young who rose to fame after My Little Bride (2004) a year before still has her youthful characteristics here. Her character is more mature though and displays those moments accurately. Keon-hyeong Park shows how troubled his character is after his fall from grace and then being paired up with someone with less experience than him. Together both show likeable chemistry and have their tender moments. Park Won-Sang as Young-sae’s manager performs fine. The character itself though is a bit abusive. One would almost think the same for Chang Yun as Jung Hyun-soo although it is never shown. Yun as Hyun-soo plays quite a confident character and will stop at nothing to succeed.

The part of the writing that is less clear are some of the questionable decisions various side characters make. Perhaps this goes back to Korean culture during the 2000s? Not sure but some of it is weird in the sense that it would be seen as uncalled for. That or the fact that after some individuals’ action to another, the two still remain friendly. It’s a little bizarre considering how out of hand some situations become. Since this is a film involving dance, this component can’t be left out. The choreography for the dancing sequences are well executed and performed by the actors. When it comes to nailing down moves and rhythm, one must imagine how much practice that takes to get it right. Pretty much nothing to point out as a flaw there.

For cinematography, the camerawork was handled by Jong-yun Kim. For what the film shows, the scenes are well lit and capture the right actions to be seen. What’s interesting is seeing how Young-sae began in his apartment, only to see how Chae-rin brings his world to life in several ways. One aspect maybe that could’ve been done better was the CGI which is minimally used to begin with. As for the music in the film, Man-sik Choi composed the score which there does seem to be an album available. For whatever’s heard, the score does bring out the right emotions for the scenes filmed. Much of the instruments heard among the tracks are performed on piano The one song though that seems to be popular is “1000 Years” by Kang Eunsu, which was the main song for the two main characters. It is memorable in its own way.

The simple digital elements to the feature along with some out of touch character decisions are just small flaws within this dance romance film. The actors are likeable, the music is easy listening and the dancing is mesmerizing.

Points Earned --> 7:10