What's the Most Romantic Movie Based on a Book?

In my extremely humble opinion, it's The Notebook based on the Nicholas Sparks novel. For Valentine's Day what could be better than snuggling up with a great romantic movie? (Okay, besides that!) I doubt I can get my husband to sit through it but since I own the most romantic movie of all time, maybe I'll just pop it in before he comes home. The chemistry of Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as Noah and Allie really is impossible to beat. I'm betting that I'm not the only one who remembers the couple accepting their Best Kiss plaque on some award show (Kids Choice?) a few years back. The pair recreated their big movie kiss - the passion-drenched, rain-soaked kiss depicted on the book and DVD cover. They ran across the stage toward each other, meeting at the podium where McAdams threw herself into Ryan's arms, and he pulled her in and held her there, while he kissed her deeply.  Pretty steamy stuff! 

The story of Noah and Allie is impossibly romantic, even ridiculously so, but what begins as summer love between two young people from very different worlds becomes a story of loyalty and love so deep, it can't help but move you.

That's my choice for 

The Most Romantic Movie Based on a Book. 

What's yours?

Be sure to vote for Best Picture in my Oscar poll. Thanks!

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks:First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday

Since the screen adaptation of Nicholas Spark's Safe Haven comes out pretty soon - yeah, it's Valentine's Day natch, I thought I'd share the opening to the book for First Paragraph - Teaser Tuesday hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea.  And for Teaser Tuesday at Should Be Reading

I haven't bought the book yet and unless the opening paragraph and the free sample on my Nook

convince me otherwise, I probably won't. I'm not usually much of a Sparks fan but since the screen adaptation starring Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough does come out on February 14th, I have loads of time to read the book first if you think I should. 

Let's take a look and maybe you can give me some advice ...

As Katie wound her way among the tables, a breeze from the Atlantic rippled through her hair. Carrying three plates in her left hand and another in her right, she wore jeans and a T-shirt that read Ivan's: Try Our Fish Just for the Halibut! She brought the plates to four men wearing polo shirts; the one closest to her caught her eye and smiled. Though he tried to act as though he was just a friendly guy, she knew he was watching her as she walked away. Melody had mentioned the men had come from Wilmington and were scouting locations for a movie. 

 Well?  Should I keep reading the free sample on my Nook?  

Should I buy it?  Borrow it?  Or Forget it?

Watch the Safe Haven trailer

P.S.  Don't Forget to Vote in my Best Picture Movie Poll in the upper right corner! Thanks.

Hey Girl, The Lucky One is no Notebook ...

Hey Girl! The Lucky One is no  The Notebook so don't let me catch you sneaking into a matinee on your lunch hour!

Poor, poor Zac Ephron. It looks like the critics mostly hate his movie The Lucky One, based on the novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. Yep, that Nicholas Sparks. The guy who wrote The Notebook that is pretty universally loved by all.

Most of that is due to the gorgeous Gosling and the major league chemistry between Gosling and Rachel McAdams. They were at that falling in, newly in love, can't keep my eyes or hands off of you stage. That stuff oozes out onto the screen and it's electrifying. And honestly I think another element in the magic of the sheer unbelievable but enticing romanticsm of The Notebook is that it's a period picture.  It is so much easier to let ourselves believe and be swept away by the sweet and soulful Noah of the 1940's time period than it is the black jockey brief wearing Logan the marine of 2012. Oh, they just don't make men like they used to! But let's be real, if Noah built Allie a house today, we'd probably call him a pathetic loser and a stalker. But done safely in the 50's? Sigh, he's a keeper. I would certainly keep him.

Just for fun, here's what the critics had to say about The Lucky One. If despite all these reviews, you choose to go and plunk your bucks down anyway, don't say you weren't warned. On the other hand, Roger Ebert didn't hate it?! So it can't be all bad. If you do go and you are brave enough to admit it, I'd love to hear what you have to say about it.

 Peter Travers in The Rolling Stone:
The Lucky One is the latest Sparks assault.

Todd McCarthy in The Hollywood Reporter:
Maybe you can't fool all the people all the time, but novelist Nicholas Sparks sure has a lot of them hoodwinked with his run of drearily predictable stories of love and fate

The New York Post
Lucky strikes out
But despite his promise in smaller movies like “Me and Orson Welles,” here he’s all flat affect, taking bottled-up angst to an extreme where you never actually see it. He’s perfectly likable but never riveting, dropping the ball on the chance to portray the complicated psychology of a war veteran.


Owen Glieberman at Entertainment Weekly:
When Efron stares, however, there's no undercurrent, no sensual mischief. He's just a lox — sweet, handsome, and a little dull.

Ann Hornaday in The Washington Post
In 2004, "The Notebook" - from another Sparks novel - became a bona fide sleeper hit, catapulting the relatively unknown Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling to newfound stardom. "The Lucky One" tries hard to re-bottle that lightning, to no avail. Some bolts are best delivered out of the blue.

Roger Ebert at RogerEbert.com
"The Lucky One" is at its heart a romance novel, elevated however by Nicholas Sparks' persuasive storytelling. Readers don't read his books because they're true, but because they ought to be true. You can easily imagine how many ways this story would probably go wrong in real life, but who wants to see a movie where a Marine leans over to pick up a photo and is blown up? And a mom trying to raise her son and feed lots of hungry dogs while her abusive ex-husband gets drunk and hangs around? That kind of stuff is too close to life.

  

More Nicholas Sparks books being made into movies...

Just how many books has Nicholas Sparks written?! Eighteen. And how many of those have been adapted for the screen? Seven. So forgive me for thinking that it's Nicholas Sparks who is truly The Lucky One. Yes, you are Mr. Sparks, yes you are. The latest adaption of a Spark's novel, The Lucky One, due out April 20th, is about a Marine who finds a photograph of a beautiful woman in the dirt in Iraq, and then back home, sets out to find her.  The film stars Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling and Blythe Danner and if you've seen the trailer you know it looks tres romantic and more than a little steamy. I will be honest and admit I haven't read the book yet, I will probably try to get to it before it hits the multiplex. Have you read it? What do you think of Zac as Logan? In the book he is supposed to be old enough to be on his third tour of Iraq when the story starts...I bet the movie will change that. Will it be another The Notebook? I just don't see how it could be. I think it will join the ranks of his other sweet and somewhat sappy stories; Nights in Rodanthe, A Walk to Remember, Message in a Bottle, and Dear John. Not terrible but not The Notebook. Sparks fans may note I didn't even mention The Last Song - that was the one that starred Myley Cyrus.  No I didn't! Hah! Moving on...

If not, The Lucky One, perhaps Safe Haven will reach The Notebook's heights? I read recently at AroundtheNetworks.com that the 8th adaptation of Spark's work is in the works. The highly respected Lasse Hallstrom is going to direct and Keira Knightly is in negotiations for the lead role of Katie in Safe Haven! The book came out last August and I haven't read it either but here's the quick lowdown from the publisher.

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family.

This one sounds good to me and I am a Keira Knightly fan so I'll be watching for progress reports as production gets underway. Has anyone read this yet? What do you think of the potential casting of Keira?