The Best of Me(2014)/Accidental Love(2015)

2 James Marden flicks I've seen the same day(8 February 2016)

It's the Lunar New Year and you would think I would watch something Asian, but no.  I watched two James Marden movies and I must say that I am convinced that the guy is a chameleon.

I've seen the first one by "accident".  I was channel surfing because I was stumped then I saw that THE BEST OF ME(2014) was playing on Star Movies.  I wanted to watch this the year it was released, but I was too busy.  When I was freer, it was not playing anymore. :-( 

I was not fortunate to read the novel by Nicholas Sparks, but since I knew it was something from him, I tried to guess who was going to die.  Later I learned through Wikipedia that there's an alternate ending for those people who hate tragedies.

It's an "ideal" ending, but even if it's sad, I think the original ending is still better.  

The story is very moving and worth every minute(probably every second) of my time.

Amanda (Michelle Monaghan) and Dawson (James Marsden) were once high-school sweethearts. They have a bittersweet reunion when they return to their hometown for the funeral of a mutual, beloved friend. Seeing each other again after 20 years apart reignites the love they've never forgotten, but Amanda and Dawson soon discover that the forces that drove them apart when they were younger pose even more threats today. Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks.- WWW

Initial release: October 15, 2014 (United Kingdom)
Director: Michael Hoffman
Running time: 1h 58m
Music composed by: Aaron Zigman
Screenplay: Michael Hoffman, J. Mills Goodloe, Will Fetters

Starring(from Wikipedia---spoiler alert for those who would click it)::

• James Marsden as Dawson Cole (they are both good actors, if not great, but they just don't look alike)

• Luke Bracey as young Dawson

• Michelle Monaghan as Amanda Collier (same opinion...they are both beautiful, but they look very different...It's hard to imagine Liana Liberato turn into someone like Michelle Monaghan)

• Liana Liberato as young Amanda

• Sebastian Arcelus as Frank Reynolds
• Gerald McRaney as Tuck Hostetler
• Sean Bridgers as Tommy Cole
• Rob Mello as Ted Cole
• Hunter Burke as Abee Cole
• Jon Tenney as Harvey Collier^[9]
• Caroline Goodall as Evelyn
• Ian Nelson as Jared
• Schuyler Fisk as Older April
• Robby Rasmussen as Bobby Cole / Aaron Cole
• Julia Lashae as Clara

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This is a poster for Accidental Love. The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the film, Millennium Entertainment, the publisher of the film or the graphic artist.

My rule is: If you have nothing good to say about something, don't say anything.  Ergo, since I'm writing about this second movie, there must be an iota of goodness in the movie.  I must say that I did not like the movie, but I like the actors(An All-Star cast). Jake Gyllenhaal looked like a dork here, but I guess it's because James Marsden was supposed to look better than him as claimed by the scouts.  

The movie is silly, really, but I did laugh at some parts.  

I got this from Wikipedia:  Accidental Love is a 2015 American comedy film directed by David O. Russell (under a pseudonym) and written by Russell, Kristin Gore, Dave Jeser, and Matt Silverstein, from the novel Sammy's Hill by Gore. The film stars Jessica Biel, Jake Gyllenhaal, Catherine Keener, James Marsden, Tracy Morgan and James Brolin.

The story is about Alice(Biel), a small-town waitress who is accidentally shot in the head by a nail gun. Her lack of health insurance renders her unable to have the nail removed, leading to mood swings and hypersexual behavior as a result of brain damage. Alice then heads to Washington, DC to campaign for those with bizarre injuries, with the support of an unprincipled Congressman.