The Reel Easy Review

Valentine’s Day film recommendations!

     So the holiday of romance is around the corner and I’m sure a few of you like me enjoy curling up with your respective partners to watch a good movie, so here are a few of my recommendations to ummmmm whet your appetite .... too much? .... thought so.

     Look I know many people like to sit down and watch a good classic, your Notebooks, Richard Curtis shortlist, Pretty Woman, John Cusack or Patrick Swayze catalogues, Casablanca, Brief Encounter or one of my favourites Bridget Jones. BUT I’d like to give you some alternatives in case you’re a bit bored of those although then again quite frankly, you may not give a damn. 

      Now unfortunately the new releases at the cinema haven’t really gone for romance this year unless you count animated sequels like 'Lego Movie 2' and 'How to Train Your Dragon 3', so I’d advise an evening in.

      Some of the more serious romantic films that I can recommend that you may not have thought of are: 

Silver Linings Playbook: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Laurence and Robert De Niro.

Two people who suffer from mental health

difficulties find and help each other in this 

touching romantic drama. 

Her: Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson

A lonely man seeks companionship with a new

operating system that learns how to be human and

more through the love found between this

unlikely couple. 

Brokeback Mountain: Heath Leger, Jake Gyllenhaal and Ann Hatheway.

In a time and location where society violently rejects homosexuality these two men battle with their emotions to find peace with each other on the side of a mountain.When returning home they must chose between their old lives or their new 'forbidden' love. 

 The Big Sick: Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan

A stand up comic falls in love with a grad student whobecomes ill and falls into a deep coma. Kumail tries to balance the two clashing cultures of his traditional Muslim upbringing and his girlfriends distraught western parents. 

Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind: Jim Carey and Kate Winslet.

Two heartbroken ex lovers go through a dramatic

procedure to erase all memories of their failed 

relationship.  

     Granted these are all old movies you’ve probably watched before but they are all favourites of mine and get a solid 9/10 or higher in my book, so I think they are worth a re-watch.

If you’re in a more lighthearted mood I recommend: 

Man Up: Simon Pegg and Lake Bell 

A misconstrued blind date gets out of hand when 

Lake Bel decides to go along with it. After Simon 

Pegg finds out it was all a lie can he 'Man Up' 

and continue their endearing relationship. 

What If: Zoe Kazan and Daniel Radcliffe. 

When the whole world seems to be in the

perfect relationship Dan finds himself in the

'friend zone' and unrequitedly in love with Zoe.

Can he find his way out of the deep friendship

he has fallen into.  

Love, Rosie: Lily Collins and Sam Claflin. 

 Two life long friends that have a unspoken love and connection navigate their way through misunderstandings and missed opportunities. After drifting apart they find their way back to each other, but has their relationship changed?

Crazy, Stupid, Love: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Julianne Moore.

When Steve finds out his wife is cheating on him he goes on a soul searching quest to find out what he has lost within himself so he can reunite with his estranged wife. He meets ladies man Ryan Gosling who is willing to help him find his lost mojo. 

Warm Bodies: Teresa Palmer and Nicholas Hoult.

 Simply put, can you find love after death? Nicholas Hoult tries to answer this deep and slightly comical question when he falls in love with Teresa Palmer.  

       There are some random ones in there and I know some people won’t agree that all of these are good films but I enjoyed them all immensely. 

      Right here goes putting my new movie critic reputation on the line with my top movie recommendation for this Valentines which is a bit of a curve ball but bare with me here because you’re in for a treat....

      Story time, one evening my girlfriend and I were too tired to choose a film so we picked the next film that came up on Now Tv. This just so happened ‘Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates’ starring Zac Efron, Adam Devine, Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Price .... again stay with me. Now I know what you’re thinking. 1, that’s really not a catchy title at all and 2, that’s a very hit and miss cast, but trust me everyone this movie is a hit. But let’s get real, I’m not pretending you’ll be blown away by it or it’s the next ‘10 Things I hate about you’ (classic) but my girlfriend and I didn’t stop laughing all the way through. The four actors worked so well together to create such great comedy moments with a stand out hilarious performance by Anna Kendrick (with a horse) and the film does exactly what it says on the tin (aka reread film title). It was so good that Niamh and have tried on many occasions to reenact this miraculous finding by sticking on other random Rom-Coms we’ve not heard of but to no avail. So if you watch it and hate it you may hold me accountable for ruining your Valentines Day but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. 

So there you have it, my recommendations for this years love fest and I hope you enjoy it.

I've been Christopher Whitmore, thanks for reading.