Did you find it really sweet or really cheesy?
I thought it was well-executed, clever idea.
I know it's a lie, I want it to be true
The rest of the ride is riding on you
-Metric
Probably the best part about the movie.
shareI loved it when I read in the book when it came out. Even in the movie it was played out great, Julianne's reaction was perfect.
But I gotta say, people and critics who are bashing the twist piss me off. It was okay when Ghost did it, but not Nick Sparks apparently. If Jo was just some random ghost chick then yeah it would be dumb, but she had a purprose. When they were talking about leaving and how Jo said some can't, etc. And then finally when Alex and his family found happiness, she was able to leave. She was essentially their guardian angel until Katie came around. Why that is so bad is beyond me. That was by far the best and most "romantic" part of the story.
"And in this moment, I swear we are infinite."
I also read the book as well and I do remember that Joanna was some kind of ghost but it was referred to until the end of the film when Erin/Katie saw her photograph proving that she was Alex's wife who died from cancer.
shareWell right. But I mean if she wasnt Alex's wife and just happened to be some ghost with no relation to any of the characters. Then it would have been dumb.
"And in this moment, I swear we are infinite."
But I gotta say, people and critics who are bashing the twist piss me off. It was okay when Ghost did it, but not Nick Sparks apparently.
I don't remember that "Ghost" had a similar ending to "Safe Haven". However, I thought the ending of "The Sixth Sense" was very similar to "Safe Haven".
By that I meant having a ghost around in a romantic film for romantic purposes.
"And in this moment, I swear we are infinite."
"I don't remember that "Ghost" had a similar ending to "Safe Haven". However, I thought the ending of "The Sixth Sense" was very similar to "Safe Haven"."
No the ending of "Safe Haven" was very similar to the ending of "The Sixth Sense". Switching those around is pretty insulting to an actually good movie.
I have to say, I thought it was kind of corny and it did feel like it was ripped straight off from M. Night Shamayalan.
shareI've never read the novel and, in fact, I had no real interest in seeing the film -- I went because my girlfriend is a fan of Nicolas Sparks' books/movies. Having said that, I think the ending is kind of dumb. People getting pissed that people are getting upset is also dumb. The film Ghost? Really? That film was setup as a ghost movie and was delivered from the beginning. This, on the other hand, is a bit of a bait and switch. 98% of the film leads you to believe its about a woman escaping from an abusive relationship. Then, at the end, she's a psychic? (Again, as someone who didn't read the book, that's what I thought) Why? Well, She has a dream where she tells her her husband is there? Then she gets the letter and realizes she's been walking and talking with a dead person? It's a twist that makes no sense in the concept that has been set up. It's out of left field. If the abusive husband issue wasn't part of it and you could look back and see the hints that she was the ghost of his wife, sure, but instead it IS a film about her husband and then, additionally, as a twist, there are ghosts. It's dumb and very slight. Insulting.
shareIt still is a movie about a woman escaping an abusive relationship.
Jo just gave Katie a nudge every now and then to help her move on as well as her family to move on.
Her friend could have been real and the same effect would have happened but this is the movies and why not add in a supernatural twist as long as it was well executed like it was here?
I'm always gonna worry about
The things that could make us cold...
-Dishwalla
Because it was NOT well executed.
Twists are supposed to make viewers say "What? Aaah, of course! Damn, why didn't I see that?"
Not gawk at the screen and shout "What the *beep* just happened?" (which I did, out loud)
That was... just no.
Say, for example, one of the characters was a ghost from the very beginning, which the viewers and possibly the main character knew all along. It's a ghost story, it's established, it's a part of the plot. Then, at the end, you reveal that one of the other characters have been a ghost all along too, which have been foreshadowed but it hasn't been obvious. You're surprised, but you also feel like you could have guessed it. The reason sixth sense has a good twist is because it was a ghost story all along. If they'd suddenly revealed that whatshisface was a zombie or a vampire, then that would've been different. And weird. Like this movie.
It could've been sweet and lovely, had it only fit the genre and plot of this movie.
So the movie wasn't a ghost story from the start? It was a beautiful romance and about letting go and making new beginnings.
Jo being a ghost that nudged her family into moving on was a lovely message.
Stepping over what now towers to the sky
With no connection...
-The Shins (Phantom Limb)
You did not get my point at all.
shareI got your point. It just wasn't applicable here.
Stepping over what now towers to the sky
With no connection...
-The Shins (Phantom Limb)
What purpose does a ghost serve in this, why couldn't the twist make sense to what we know about the world. Nothing lead us to believe ghosts exist in the world of the film, so it is poor.
HI F-ING YA
Nicholas Cage Deadfall
2013 Rankings imdb.com/list/2-zx4cThbEY/
The twist did make sense.
Jo could have easily have been real but her ghost moving this poor woman and her family together just brings everything together.
Stepping over what now towers to the sky
With no connection...
-The Shins (Phantom Limb)
Ghosts do not exist though and does not make sense knowing what we know of the world so far(Have to "evidence" of ghost in the film to make sense plot-wise, writing 101). It would have been better if she was a figment of her imagination and seeing how she was psychologically abused and she is in a new town, it makes sense and seeing how no one else sees her or communicates with her the entire film it fits. If you are a huge sparks fan, that is the only way I can see someone finding the ending moving.
HI F-ING YA
Nicholas Cage Deadfall
2013 Rankings imdb.com/list/2-zx4cThbEY/
Things not existing on real life doesn't stop writers from weaving them into fiction.
I've never read an entire Sparks novel. I just thought the ending was sweet and I don't see it any less hokey than your figment suggestion.
Stepping over what now towers to the sky
With no connection...
-The Shins (Phantom Limb)
Oh it is still hokey, but if a writer wants to add something that it has to make sense of what came before it. A twist cannot come out of left field, it must make sense in what we know of the world. Before the reveal, would you think ghosts exist in this world, if not then it is a horrible twist.
HI F-ING YA
Nicholas Cage Deadfall
2013 Rankings imdb.com/list/2-zx4cThbEY/
...Sure. Why not? It's fiction. There's nothing to suggest ghosts didn't exist either.
And her being a ghost wasn't a major plot detail for the movie needing to point out from the start that supernatural occurrences were possible.
Stepping over what now towers to the sky
With no connection...
-The Shins (Phantom Limb)
Because that is not how you write. If it is not mention, you can't assume it is true. Take a college level creative writing class and they'll explain why. It is not major, but it HAS to no if ands or buts make sense to what we know about the world. It is lazy hacky writing, any literary professor would agree.
HI F-ING YA
Nicholas Cage Deadfall
2013 Rankings imdb.com/list/2-zx4cThbEY/
I don't see it as lazy, hack writing. Jo's supernatural origins never harmed the plot since it came at the end and could easily have been real and there was some foreshadowing throughout.
It was just a sweet ending that tied everything nicely together.
And next time, don't patronize me.
Stepping over what now towers to the sky
With no connection...
-The Shins (Phantom Limb)
Question : What purpose does the twist serve to the story ? None whatsoever
shareNot much really. Jo could easily have been written as a friendly neighbor as we were led to believe but the writers nicely tied in Jo with Kate's lover's grieving family giving it a sweeter and surprising ending.
I wish you were the one
Wish you were the one that got away...
-The Civil Wars
Ditto!! (No pun intended)
shareThe reason I didn't like it is because, in order for this plot twist to work, Katie would have had to never mention her friend "Jo" to anyone. Not to her boss at work, and not to Alex. How many really good friends do you have that you never mention to your boyfriend? How did Jo never come up in any conversation Katie had with Alex? I don't buy that she never mentioned her to Alex once. Also, I know it makes you mad that people didn't like this movie but it was really awful. I went with my husband and some other couples for Valentines Day. The other couples chose the movie. I would have much rather been in the theater next to us watching "Mama". To each his own, I guess.
share[deleted]
[deleted]
I rewatched the scenes with Jo in them, looking for clues and inconsistencies. I don't remember seeing Jo carry groceries or talking to anyone else. Did I miss something? If so, can you tell me how far into the movie it was?
___
Thor Trek 2: Into the Dark World
Starring Chris Hemsworth as Thor, the father of Captain Kirk
I rewatched the scenes with Jo in them, looking for clues and inconsistencies. I don't remember seeing Jo carry groceries or talking to anyone else. Did I miss something? If so, can you tell me how far into the movie it was?
Really? I called the wife and the cop husband from very early on, and I"m usually not overly perceptive when it comes to things like that. But, there was a look she gave when they were walking home together for the first time, and Katie/Erin was showing her Lexie's drawing. Seemed obvious to me from then. Seemed out of place in the story line ( which is prob why people are bashing it), but obvious all the same.
Anyway, was an ok movie I guess, killed some time at least :)
Also when they are walking through the forest and Jo leaves Katie, she is going through some foliage and if you look closely, she kind of disappears.
share"Wonder why Jesus never allows people in heaven to talk to people
on Earth too?"
Oh, it's nice that you know how things are going in heaven!
really caught me off guard; initially I thought
it was a flaw in the movie, because why wouldnt Josh Duhamel
go after her, she was pretty enough.
Then when it turns out that Jo is the wife, it really
was a nice way to end the movie, never saw it coming
"You're watching too much Sopranos, when you give your kids their allowance in envelopes"
I liked it actually. I don't know why people are saying this ending could not have worked because you never see Jo talking to anyone else and she certainly did not carry groceries.
It's nobody's business but ours.