The Lucky One

I watched this movie on Memorial Day, and was reminded all over again that freedom isn't free. So if you are a past or present member of any branch of the US Armed Forces, or if your loved one has paid the ultimate sacrifice with their life, fighting for our freedom, please accept my heartfelt thanks.

I LOVED this movie. Everyone did an excellent job with their character – especially with Logan. So much feeling and emotion in his expression and actions, even when no words were needed. I felt like I could see into his very soul. I saw a young man who still can hardly grasp the fact that he has survived 3 tours of war in the middle east, when many of his comrades didn't come home. You can sense the depth of emotion and turmoil, and can easily understand why it was often hard to just find words to express himself. You can see the military training and discipline, the steel resolve to control his reactions, even when harassed by the town bully/ex-husband. There's also loyalty, concern for others, tenderness, selflessness, willingness to work hard – he's the man of every woman's dream!

It's easy to see that Beth is a survivor of an extremely abusive marriage. Even though she's now divorced, she's still not free from the abusive and controlling ex-husband. She's very careful in how she responds or endures his abusive threats, in order to keep him from going into a greater rage… and I cheered for her when she finally found the courage to speak up and take control of her own destiny.

Keith, the ex-husband, is easy to despise, for his hateful, snarly, manipulating character… and yet in the end we saw a little glimpse of good in his soul as well… a little glimpse of what he might have been if he'd only been willing to humble himself and get help much earlier.

I loved the happy ending, I loved the story, and I very much appreciated that the producers kept it clean. I can't wait for the DVD – this is a keeper!!

Zac and Blythe carried this movie, unfortunately I don't think that Taylor should have been cast as the main she looks a lot older than Zac and I think there are loads of better actresses that would have made this movie a lot better. Taylor looks like she's in her late 30's and she over acts which is annoying. It would have been a 10 otherwise.

In Iraq, the marine Sergeant Logan (Zac Efron) finds the photo of a young woman with the message "Keep Safe X" on the back in the debris of a construction and he keeps it in his pocket. His action saves his life from a mortar fire and he believes that the girl is his guard angel that protects him.

When he returns to Colorado, he has difficulties to adjust to the civilian life with his sister's family and he decides to seek out the woman. Logan researches the landscape and finds that the place is Hamden, in Louisiana, and he walks with his dog Zeus to Hamden.

He discovers that the woman is Beth Green (Taylor Schilling), who is the owner of the Green Kennels with her grandmother Ellie (Blythe Danner). When Logan meets Beth, he is unable to tell the reason why he had traveled to Hamden. She assumes that he wants a job that she had advertised and Ellis gives the job to Logan. Soon Logan befriends Beth's son Ben (Riley Thomas Stewart) and becomes close to the family. But her former husband, Sheriff Keith Clayton (Jay R. Ferguson) does not want to make Logan's life easy.

"The Lucky One" is a sweet and dramatic romance, with pleasant characters. The director Scott Hicks explores the beautiful landscapes with a wonderful cinematography. The plot is very simple and predictable, but the chemistry among Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, Blythe Danner and the boy Riley Thomas Stewart makes the film worth. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Um Homem de Sorte" ("A Lucky Man")

This movie contains eye-candy (Zac Efron) and stunning scenery. It's almost like the director is counting on that to rescue a very weak script. This movie spent over and hour and a half trying to make us "feel" the angst of the main characters but instead I kept wanting to slap them into having some sense. I kept thinking that the actors needed more lines and less music to tell the story. It was melodramatic and entirely predictable. I do not recommend this movie in the theaters unless you have money and time to throw away.

I must add that I was impressed with Zac Efron's acting and also the boy in the movie. I was surprised that Blythe Danner lent her talent to such a weak vehicle but I'm sure there aren't many options for older actresses in this day.

Whenever there is a new adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel is released, there's always a mass amount of haters and so be it because some of them are extremely cheesy and bad, however I think that the hate towards The Lucky One is unwarranted, I personally thought it was a very enjoyable romantic drama. The Lucky One is quite different to other Sparks movies, I found the storyline to be a lot more serious and mature than normal, and the story being told from the male perspective is also a nice change.

The acting from Zac Efron is top form, as he gets older his roles get better and his acting improves with each movie, Taylor Schilling is also nice, if not being a little too old for Efron, but she brings some niceness to the character, and Blythe Danner is a bit of a scene stealer in her small role.

Yes parts of this film are a little cliché, particularly towards the end, but it's no biggie, the lack of chemistry between the two leads is a bit annoying at first but soon it changes and gets better, even though Taylor Schilling is nice in the role I do think that she is miscast, I think Abbie Cornish may have suited the role a little more. But even still the few flaws that this movie does have doesn't distract from the overall niceness of the film.

Zefron is all man now and he is definitely an actor to watch. Fans of the book will love it, Zac fans will love it too, generally a nice romance to enjoy with friends.