Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Rick Bakas Nicholas Sparks hit paydirt when The Notebook came out. Everything coalesced perfectly with the story and actors who portrayed the characters in the movie. The Notebook elevated Sparks to another level as a writer.Since then, Sparks has tried to recapture the magic of The Notebook by remixing the story and trying to retell it over and over with different twists at the end. That's one reason I've lost respect for Nicholas Sparks as a writer. He's basically rehashing the same ideas in different order.The Best of Me is basically a 90-minute Super Bowl ad for Budweiser. The product placement is so intentionally that it's actually distracting. There must have been 10 different scenes with Bud placed 'just so' in order for the viewing audience to see the label.James Marsden (Dawson) was great in The Notebook, and he's great in this movie. He and Michelle Monaghan are really the only thing that makes this movie bearable. Their character development was solid, but the rest of the characters including Tuck, their elderly BFF who for some reason was friends with both characters, and Monaghan's on-screen husband was weak.As a side note, the younger actor who played Dawson and James Marsden look NOTHING like each other. It was pretty distracting to follow the story with two guys playing the same character who didn't even 'kind of' look the same.We never really know why Dawson's dad is such a jerk. They look nothing like each other, and Dawson's dad looks to be about the same age. They hate each other through forced tension that eventually leads to an unbelievable climax at the end where Dawson gets shot by his dad from about 100 yards away for no good reason. I don't know why any dad would do what is portrayed in this movie.I supposed the need to have something dramatic was the impetus for the scene where Dawson had to die some terrible death, but it just wasn't believable. Perhaps Sparks couldn't gone and pulled some other scene from The Notebook and rehashed that instead.Finally, the lighting and cinematography of this film was off. It was too bright and fuzzy in a number of the scenes that made it look more like a dream sequence than what was supposed to be happening.From here on out, just watch The Notebook instead of Sparks rehashing and remixing The Notebook into something less than spectacular.

juneebuggy You know what to expect before going into this: a star-crossed romance for lovers from different worlds, kisses in the rain, flashbacks, moonlight swims, fateful separations and the tragic death of at least one leading character.The scenery along the way is beautiful though and I enjoyed both the leads James Marsden & Michelle Monaghan but the story is pretty bland and I would say this in one of the weaker Nicholas sparks adaptions.It follows Amanda and Dawson, soul mates who met as teens, joining them decades later after they are torn apart by circumstances beyond their control. They of course have never forgotten each other and get a second chance when the passing of an old friend sees them "willed" back to his house to fulfill his final wishes. As they get reacquainted we flashback to them as teens, which was strangely done . It was meant to be 1993 but for some reason the director had it in his head to make it appear like the 1950's, with flouncy poodle skirts, drive ins and just a general feel. Honestly I won't remember this in about weeks time.

Lili I have to say i LOVE movies by Nicholas Sparks and this movie was no exception. This film made me tear up a fair few times, it was a beautiful storyline with so much feeling. The connection between Dawson and Amanda is amazing. the end of the story was very touching. i slightly saw it coming about 10 minutes before hand but was very beautiful. Although if you tend to cry at a movie get a box of tissues ready because you will definitely need them.9/10 would recommend!

Mihai Toma When a man and a woman meet as a result of a very close one's testament, their life flashes back before them, bringing memories of what amazing love story they had and how it could all have ended so abruptly. The emphasis is put on the past events, combining them with pieces of the present, elucidating till the end how it happened and what went so wrong.It's a dramatic plot, with many sad and hard situations being put on the main characters, putting their immense love into jeopardy. The present events reunite the two past lovers, awaking feeling which were thought lost forever, from twenty years ago when it all happened. It's an interesting course of events which keep you eager to find out what was the cause of the breakup and how it can end up. Unfortunately, the producers decided to create it as dramatic as possible, making a certain part of the past have a huge impact also on the present, thus bringing an unnecessary sad finale. After all they have been through in the past, it shouldn't have ended in such a manner which sort of proves the opposite of what the movie was trying to say.It's one of those movies which deserve a much better ending, one that can bring a light of hope and happiness to a much troubled couple which only wanted to be together till the end of time.