SW picks valentine flicks
By Tatat Bunnag
Valentine’s Day is here once again! Each year, it’s an occasion when couples like to spend some sweet time together. If you haven’t had a chance to make plans for a candle-lit dinner, Valentine’s Day can also be well spend watching a romantic movie, either relaxing at home on your own or cuddling up on the couch with your sweetheart.
While there is no shortage of films about love, a really good romantic movie can be hard to find. With that in mind, Student Weekly decided to compile a short list of some of the all-time best heart-melting movies.
50 First Dates (2004)
Starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, 50 First Dates was one of the most popular romantic comedies of the decade. The film is about Henry (Sandler), a marine biologist who falls for a woman named Lucy (Barrymore). Lucy has a memory problem and can’t remember anything beyond the last 24 hours, so Henry has to ask her out for a first date over and over again.
The film was shot in Hawaii and has beautiful cinematography and vibrant colours. The combination of humour and romance in 50 First Dates is enough to melt anybody’s heart.
He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
He’s Just Not That into You is a light and entertaining film based on a best-selling novel. The film is about a group of people who are dealing with the ups and downs of love.
The film’s cast includes top Hollywood celebrities Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Conelly, Bradley Cooper and Scarlett Johansson. As the film moves through multiple stories, the characters remain well-developed and believable.
Say Anything (1989)
This teen romantic comedy was a big hit at the end of the ‘80s. It was the first film to be directed by Cameron Crowe, who went on to make his mark with movies like Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous.
Say Anything is about Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack), an ordinary guy who wants to become a kick boxer. He also has a big crush on a student named Diane (Ione Skye).
The film’s most famous scene has Lloyd standing outside of Diane’s window holding a boom box above his head, blasting out Peter Gabriel’s hit song, “In Your Eyes.”
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is romantic fantasy feature film directed by renowned French filmmaker Michel Gondry, who was previously best known for directing quirky music videos for stars like Björk, The White Stripes, Beck and Radiohead.
Eternal Sunshine is a bitter-sweet love story about a man who finds out that his girlfriend has undergone an experimental procedure to erase him from her memory. Frustrated that the woman he loves no longer recognises him, he decides to undergo the same procedure to remove his memories of her. However, he soon regrets his decision and fights to retain memories of his girlfriend in the most unlikely parts of his mind.
Eternal Sunshine is a beautiful and ultimately hopeful love story.
Groundhog Day (1993)
What would you do if you were stuck repeating the same day over and over again? That is what Bill Murray’s character has to face in this ‘90s classic.
Groundhog Day is a fantasy film about a successful but selfish weatherman in the hopeless situation of never being able to escape a single day in a small town until he does the right thing.
Groundhog Day is a great film on many levels. It works as a black comedy, a romantic love story and a spiritual journey. It’s also one of those rare films that you can happily watch over and over again.
Midnight in Paris (2011)
Midnight in Paris is one of veteran filmmaker Woody Allen’s modern classics. It’s a gentle romantic comedy set in the iconic city of Paris.
Hollywood screenwriter and aspiring novelist Gil (Owen Wilson) travels to Paris with his demanding fiancé Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her family. In Paris, Gil has a magical and life-changing experience when he is transported back in time to the bohemian era of the 1920s, where he meets great writers and artists like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Pablo Picasso.
Midnight in Paris is a great Woody Allen film that manages to be warm, funny, romantic and highly entertaining.
Vocabulary
- cuddle up (phrasal v): to sit or lie very close to somebody
vibrant (adj): very bright and strong
multiple (adj): involving many different people or things
boom box (n): a large radio and cassette player that can be carried around, especially to play loud music in public
bitter-sweet (adj): bringing pleasure mixed with sadness
ultimately (adj): in the end
black comedy (n): comedy that deals with bad situations or dark issues such as death in a funny way
bacting as a symbol of something
demanding (adj): expecting a lot of attention from others; not easily satisfied
bohemian (adj): artistic, informal and not concerned with following accepted rules of behaviour
Idiom
make your mark: to become famous and successful in a particular area
