Movie Review: Lionsgate's #TheChoice

---

The Choice
Director: Ross Katz
Writers: Bryan Sipe (screenplay), Nicholas Sparks (Novel)
Starring: Benjamin Walker, Teresa Palmer, Maggie Grace, Alexandra Daddario
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual content and some thematic issues
Official Sites: Site | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | IMDb
Hashtag: #TheChoice

Travis and Gabby first meet as neighbors in a small coastal town and wind up in a relationship that is tested by life's most defining events.

---

I had the opportunity to watch “The Choice” at the Grove. I was rushing due to traffic but times had been printed wrong and the movie started at 7:30. Phew! We were able to sign in with a really polite staff and get our seats earlier than expected.

Now the movie… [Spoilers ahead]

I had been on board with Nicholas Sparks with his earlier work: A Walk To Remember, The Notebook and Message In A Bottle. I stopped watching, somewhere around 2008, as his films started feeling the same. Nevertheless, “The Choice” does fall into the arc pattern that Nicholas Sparks is so known for but it somehow feels fresh. Teresa Palmer and Benjamin Walker make a heartfelt duo, pleasantly surprised with the latter as I’m used to seeing him in drama films. But the films starts light and with lots of humor as Gabby and Travis show us their relationship 7 years prior to the choice and it is pleasant to see them falling in love. In the third act, by the accident, you know where this movie is going but the director still plays a bit with angles in different shots during different scenes to keep the element of surprise: will he end it? Would he disconnect his wife? Travis wishes he could breathe for his wife and blames himself for not being on time, as this would’ve changed the outcome. This is the lesson that he intends to give since the beginning of the movie: every choice you make in life changes everything. He chooses to wait, to not disconnect his wife, while he tries to look for a way to show how much he loves her: give her the moon and the stars just as he promised by recreating a childhood memory of hers by their spot.

Even if the script was a bit predictable, I found myself enjoying “The Choice”. Benjamin Walker and Teresa Palmer are a refreshing duo that keeps your interest and the director managed to present us a lovely love story. This is not your usual tearjerker, and mostly due to the subtle way that Travis’s playful personality lightens the emotional moments during the scenes, but it does manage to emote a feeling of hope for the two characters.

---

Nicholas Sparks' The Choice Gets Final Movie Poster!

---

The Choice final movie poster has arrived!!! 

Let Your Heart Decide 

Neighbors Gabby Holland [Teresa Palmer] and Travis Shaw [Benjamin Walker] find themselves at odds when their differing personalities clash. But as their romantic feelings begin to grow, they soon realize that every path leads to a series of choices that will determine their future together. From the mind of New York Time's Bestseller Nicholas Sparks comes a love story that defies all odds and asks the question - how far would you go for the one you love?

Make the choice and fall in love when THE CHOICE opens in a theater near you on FEBRUARY 5, 2016! 

---

THE CHOICE

In Theaters February 5, 2016 

When feisty medical student Gabby Holland moves in next door to perennial ladies' man Travis Shaw, it sends them both on a romantic journey neither ever dreamed possible. Travis has always believed a serious relationship with a woman would cramp his easygoing lifestyle, while Gabby is all set to settle down her long-term boyfriend-until an irresistible attraction between the unlikely couple upends both of their well-planned lives. After a whirlwind courtship, Gabby and Travis wed and build a family together, making every decision hand-in-hand until one of them is forced to make the most important choice of their life alone. A poignant and life-affirming celebration of love, marriage and family that explores the most heart-wrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?

Lionsgate presents a Nicholas Sparks / Safran Company / POW! production.

Cast: Benjamin Walker, Teresa Palmer, Maggie Grace, Alexandra Daddario, Tom Welling, Brett Rice, and Tom Wilkinson

Directed by: Ross Katz

Produced By: Nicholas Sparks, Peter Safran, Theresa Park

Release Date: February 5, 2016

 #TheChoice

Official Site | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

You can read the story before it hits theaters:

original cover 9/24/07 | movie tie-in (12/22/15)

Trailer Thursday: Christmas Wishes by Annie Lang + Taken 3's 12 Skills of Christmas

Christmas Wishes

Author: Annie Lang

Publication Date: November 8th 2014

Publisher: Annie Things Possible Publications

Christmastime is a season of magic...when little ones dream and wishes sometimes come true! Share your wishes with whimsical Holiday Angels and Snow Angel characters on your creative projects or remind others of the blessings of the season through Annie’s Nativity scene images. You’ll find dozens of mix and match themed designs created from Annie’s Holiday Angels, Pixies, Snow Angels and Nativity character collection of images. Simply trace the design and then transfer the image onto your project surface to make outstanding personalized items with professional results every time.

This publication features 40 full size pages of linework images of Annie's Stocking Footed Angels, Holiday Pixies, Snow Day Angels and Nativity themed character themed artwork that you can mix and match to meet your project needs. Whether you'd like to build a magical cloud or nativity scene or simply need individual patterns to create fun ornaments, cards, wall murals, countdown calendars or holiday quilt squares, you're sure to find everything the perfect design among this spectacular gathering of designs! Designs can be colored with paint, color pencils, inks, markers, chalks, etc. Publication includes traceable black and white linework designs along with a color sample of each image you can use as a coloring guide.

---

Taken 3

Release Date: January 9th 2015

Director: Oliver Megaton

Writers: Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen

Main Cast: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Famke Janssen, and Maggie Grace. Also starring Dogray Scott, Sam Spruell, Leland Orser

Liam Neeson returns as ex-covert operative Bryan Mills, whose reconciliation with his ex-wife is tragically cut short when she is brutally murdered. Consumed with rage, and framed for the crime, he goes on the run to evade the relentless pursuit of the CIA, FBI and the police. For one last time, Mills must use his “particular set of skills,” to track down the real killers, exact his unique brand of justice, and protect the only thing that matters to him now – his daughter.