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Top 10 Valentine's Day movies...
Fri, 14th Feb 2014
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Valentine’s Day is upon us once again. Whether you’re a singleton or loved up couple, you may opt to stay in for the night.

Grab some wine and some choccie, or some wine and some tissues for when you hit the lonesome line of no return, and feast your eyes on my Top 10 Valentine’s Day movies, in no particular order.

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

What would happen if we could erase the worst experiences and relationships from our memory? Kate Winslet and Jim Carey are superb in what is one of my favourite films of all time; it is a true portrait of 21st century romance, combining technology, self-improvement, longing and regret. Never has a movie had such a perfect ending. Go watch it. Now.

2. City Lights

A silent film classic, Charlie Chaplin meets a blind flower girl, falls in love, and gives her the money that restores her sight. Watching how she puts it all together is one of the most elegant and moving moments in movie history and I beg you to have a look, whether you’re into odd black and whites, or not.

3. Blue Valentine

Not everyone likes Valentine’s Day. If you’re feeling a bit bitter or resentful this, try Blue Valentine. Starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, at least you’ll get some eye candy and good acting, along with a pretty bleak look at how relationships really work.

4. Amélie

Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s candy-coated valentine to French New Wave cinema is a sweetly optimistic romance — but sneakily so, in the background, hovering its lovers into each other’s vicinity before finally sending them off into a well-deserved “happily ever after.”

5. William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet

By far my favourite Baz Luhrmann film, Rome + Juliet was an awesome mainstream adaptation of probably the most well-known love story of all time. With fantastic scenes, a bitchin’ soundtrack and of course hot, hot, hot Leo, you can’t go wrong.

6. Never Been Kissed

This classic is too adorable to turn down this Valentine’s Day. It’s hilarious, it’s cute, it’s retro. One of my favourite roles I’ve seen Drew Barrymore in, and David Arquette compliments her perfectly. With just the right amount of cheese, it lead the way for many of today’s good rom-coms.

7. Punch Drunk Love

In Punch Drunk Love you’ll get to see Adam Sandler out of his normal formula-based plotlines and he is excellent. The story begins of bleak and sad and ends with your heart feeling full and happy. And with lines like “I’m lookin’ at your face and I just wanna smash it. I just wanna fuckin’ smash it with a sledgehammer and squeeze it. You’re so pretty”, you can’t go wrong.

8. Say Anything

Say Anything... is a 1989 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe, starring a young and gorgeous John Cusak. A cute story between an underachieving jock and a school valedictorian, follow the story of these two love birds try to figure it all out before the summer’s end. Cult classic.

9. Blue Is the Warmest Color

Acclaimed French filmmaker Abdellatif Kechiche's latest, based on Julie Maroh's graphic novel, was the sensation of this year's Cannes Film Festival. Spanning several years, this film tells the story of young woman as she experiences That True Love; joy, longing and devastation.

10. Casablanca

“Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, she walks into mine.” One cannot compile a list of love stories without including Casablanca. Casablanca is a classic and one of the most revered films of all time. Starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in a love triangle in the city of Casablanca. If you haven’t actually seen it, make this Valentine’s Day the day to watch it. “Here’s looking at you, kid.”