It's easy to understand why Hollywood loves doing business with author Nicholas Sparks. His books are huge best-sellers, and several of the films adapted from his novels _ "Message in a Bottle," "The Notebook," and "Dear John" _ have achieved impressive box office grosses. The latest Sparks adaptation, "Safe Haven," will probably continue his winning streak, especially with its Valentine's Day opening pegged to lure female fans. A thriller element that has not been present in earlier Sparks movies is designed to draw reluctant male viewers to see the picture, but they won't respond with the same enthusiasm as his core audience of woozy romantics.
I couldn't count how many characters had their heads ripped, kicked, punched, chopped or eaten off in "Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2," but the sheer volume of gleefully horrific decapitations in the movie must be meant to signal something: Everyone involved with this film – from the dutiful filmmakers to the rabid fans to Stephenie Meyer, the author of the immensely successful young-adult books on which the movie is based – clearly has lost their minds.
Hollywood heartthrob Zac Efron says it was luck that propelled him to super-stardom, not his acting ability.
The date-night movies "Think Like a Man" and "The Lucky One" finally have knocked "The Hunger Games" off its No. 1 box-office perch.
Midway through "The Lucky One," the movie's pair of glowing lovers consider fate, the future, and the purpose of their lives.
As far as Christmas miracles go, it ranks somewhere between virgin birth and the Sisyphean persistence of fruitcake.
Key: F-Fiction; NF-Nonfiction; H-Hardcover; P-Paperback
Key: F-Fiction; NF-Nonfiction; H-Hardcover; P-Paperback
