Ten Movies for a V-day Evening

- Dead Again - A neo-noir film from 1991 starring Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Andy Garcia, Derek Jacobi (oh god, I love that man!), and cameos from Miriam Margolyes, Campbell Scott, and Robin Williams. I remember seeing this when it first came out and really loving it. I watched it again recently and it's still a solid film.

(photo kidnapped from imdb)

- Enough Said - Nicole Holofcener is one of those writer/directors that can really capture every day people and show the joy and beauty of that. Of just being a regular person with an un-extraordinary job and a hum-drum life but still be interesting and alive. I absolutely adored this film and thought that it showcased the great talent of the two leads who were completely believable and wonderful as a couple experiencing love the second time around.

(photo kidnapped from moviebuzzers)

- The Giant Mechanical Man - An Indy romance that was inventive and unique and one that I have watched several times and it's always a treat. Jenna Fisher and Chris Messina were too cute together. (WARNING: there's a dream sequence where teeth fall out. Please feel free to skip this, as I have done. Yuck.)

(photo kidnapped from theseasonofplumandcobblestone - hey, that's me!)

- Edie and Thea: A Very Long Engagement - I had first seen this documentary in November of 2011 and have watched it a few times since and am always in awe of the love these two ladies shared.

(photo kidnapped from theseasonofplumandcobblestone)

- Romantics Anonymous - A French-Belgian love story about two painfully shy and awkward people that manage to find love and romance. Clearly chocolate is involved, and it's in French. I mean, does it get any more romantic than that?

(photo kidnapped from theseasonofplumandcobblestone)

- Rear Window - A classic Hitchcock film with two remarkable actors who effortless move from one moment to the next allowing the audience to become so absorbed that you have to remind yourself that you are watching a film with actors and not another character in the film looking into their windows and observing them. I have often put this film on and watched it numerous times in a row. I have loved it since childhood and it never, ever gets boring. (This is selected as a V-day movie because of the argument scene between Jeff and Lisa and how realistic it was and of just how much she was willing to push to get him to want to stay with her for good. To see that they may be so opposite but that doesn't mean they can't belong together.)

(photo kidnapped from gifer)

- Cloudburst - I stumbled onto this film in December of  2014 and I am telling you I was howling with laughter at some of the scenes. The casting of Olympia Dukakis and Brenda Fricker was spot on and I was so charmed by it.

(photo kidnapped from traileraddict)

- Weekend (2011) - In August of 2016 I watched this film and gave my mini-take on it in this post: This movie was excellent. I loved that it showed a realistic romance and the conversations that the fellas had in bed the morning after they'd met and hooked up was so authentic that I kinda forgot it was a film and that I wasn't peering through a keyhole. Tom Cullen and Chris New's acting were superb and I was so glad I picked this up at the library. Definitely a good movie about a one night stand that becomes something more.

(photo kidnapped from pinterest)

- Il Postino - Xavier and I saw this on St. Patty's Day in 1996 at the UA Theatre in Washington Township (please note that it was a matinee and cost me four bucks!!!) and I would see it two more in the theatre after that. I watched it again last week and it hasn't lost an ounce of it's originality and beauty. Massimo Troisi was so good and I had no idea that he had written the screenplay. The music by Luis Bacalov is outstanding. Just such a great movie.

(photo kidnapped from pastposters)

- Romancing the Stone - This film is just pure 1980s FUN! Not to be missed.

(photo kidnapped from themindreels)

How about we make this a top ten and a half post rather than just a top ten and include the following bonus:

- Julie and Julia - I truly wish that they had made a film called Paul and Julia because all of the moments between Stanley Tucci and Meryl Streep in Julie and Julia were gold. They showed the kind of love affair that sweeps you away and makes you smile and either hold your lover close or long to have that kind of passion with someone. Oh, it was so good. I advise fast forwarding the Julie bits and focus only on Julia (which is a damn shame because I really like Chris Messina and Amy Adams. Just not in this film).

(photo kidnapped from pinterest)

(Note that I try not to divulge what the films are about - this is done on purpose so that if someone is reading this, they will feel compelled to find out more and maybe give the movie a look.)