Moviegoers were left love struck by Lasse Hallström’s “Safe Haven” which opened in theaters on Valentine’s Day.

Moviegoers were left love struck by Lasse Hallström’s “Safe Haven” which opened in theaters on Valentine’s Day. The romantic drama, starring Josh Duhamel, Julianne Hough, Cobie Smulders, and David Lyons is based on a love novel written by Nicholas Sparks and Dana Stevens. In its opening weekend “Safe Haven” grossed a whopping $30,259,000, coming in third place at the box office.

The movie takes place when Erin/Katie (Hough) has obviously run away from some trouble where she escapes to North Carolina. With Officer Tierney (Lyons) on her tail, she dyes her hair, and changes her name to Katie in an attempt to start a new life. As she grows accustomed with the new location, she finds a cabin in the woods and a friendly neighbor named Jo (Smulders) who become quite close.

As Katie gets settled in, she comes across a “hunky” local store manager named Alex (Duhamel) who seems very fond of her and her interaction with his daughter. As their relationship starts reach new heights, Alex is slapped in the face with Katie’s’ secrets, torn between his love for her and reality.

At the same time, Katie is playing cat and mouse with Officer Tierney, as he seems to be closing in on her. As the climax heightens, characters are challenged with reality and things they think are real may just be a figment of their imaginations.

“Safe Haven” is a great love story. Sparks is the writer of novels, like “Dear John,” and the infamous, “The Notebook,” but after a while it becomes predictable and cliché, with a horrific ending. Don’t get me wrong, the romance between Duhamel and Hough was quite steamy, but I must say, the ending was pretty cold.

This movie deserves a B.

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• Ashley Jacobs, Contributor