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    Movies Are My Life

    The 10 most romantic movies: Flicks that will seduce any lover for Valentine's Day

    Joe Leydon
    Feb 8, 2013 | 7:04 am

    If you want something cinematic to share with your sweetie on Valentine’s Day, now’s the time to start seeking stuff that’s easily accessible for rental, purchase or downstreaming at various online and brick-and-mortar outlets. Here are 10 suggestions:

    Dark Victory (1939)

    THE STARS: Bette Davis, George Brent

    THE PITCH: Party-hearty socialite (Davis) falls for her dedicated doctor (Brent), then nobly send him off to a medical conference before she succumbs to Old Movie Disease.

    THE VERDICT: Often mocked — most famously, in a classic Carol Burnett Show sketch — but rarely equaled, this is the definitive romantic tearjerker, with Davis demonstrating what being a gloriously larger-than-life movie icon is all about. To be sure, it’s a little unsettling to see a future U.S. President (Ronald Reagan) providing comic relief as the heroine’s boozy best friend.

    But never mind: This is a textbook example of the glossy Hollywood product that rolled off Dream Factory assembly lines during the heyday of the studio era.

    An Affair to Remember (1957)

    THE STARS: Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr

    THE PITCH: When a notorious playboy (Grant) falls in love with a beautiful fellow passenger (Kerr) during an ocean-liner cruise, they agree to meet six months later atop the Empire State Building. But when she doesn’t show up, he assumes the worst. He shouldn’t.

    THE VERDICT: The late Nora Ephron loved this movie so much, she wrote and directed her own enduringly delightful Sleepless in Seattle more or less as a feature-length valentine to it. That might seem excessive, but only if you’ve never been caught under the original flick’s well-nigh irresistible spell.

    Casablanca (1942)

    THE STARS: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman

    THE PITCH: Cynical Rick Blaine (Bogart) turns out to be a soft-hearted romantic — and, even more amazingly, a selflessly gallant idealist — after his long-lost love (Bergman) drifts into his Casablanca gin-joint on the arm of her freedom-fighting husband (Paul Henreid).

    THE VERDICT: Casablanca belongs to that very special subgenre of love stories, the male-centric weepie. Indeed, it is the gold standard for all movies in which a lovestruck fellow does the right thing — i.e., gives up the woman he loves — for the greater good. Hint to guys: Slip this one into the VCR player, and then let her see you furtively wipe away a tear at the end.

    Trust me: That’ll be more effective than dousing yourself with gallons of Axe body wash.

    Dr. Zhivago (1965)

    THE STARS: Omar Sharif, Julie Christie

    THE PITCH: Two star-crossed lovers (Sharif, Christie) are repeatedly separated during the Russian Revolution and its aftermath. But whenever they’re together, there’s magic in the air.

    THE VERDICT: Director David Lean’s intimate epic achieves a potent emotional impact with a captivating love story set against a tumultuous historical backdrop. But what really seals the deal is the lush musical score by Maurice Jarre — especially his “Laura’s Theme,” the perfect soundtrack for warm embraces and lingering kisses even after the movie ends.

    When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

    THE STARS: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan

    THE PITCH: Two wisecracking New Yorkers (Crystal, Ryan) evolve from hostile antagonists into close confidants over a period of years — but are reluctant to admit that they just might be each other’s best chance for happily-ever-aftering.

    THE VERDICT: The “how to fake an organism” bit is so memorably, howlingly funny that many people forget how sharply observed and wisely insightful this movie is during its less broadly comical scenes. If you’re ready to tell a buddy that you want to be more than friends, this is the movie you want to show that special person.

    Love, Actually (2003)

    THE STARS: Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson (and many, many more)

    THE PITCH: An seriocomic crazy-quilt of sporadically overlapping love stories in and around London (and elsewhere) during an eventful Christmas season, with colorful characters ranging from a recently widowed stepfather (Neeson) who offers romantic advice to his lovestruck 11-year-old stepson to a newly elected, Tony Blairish prime minister (Grant) who’s conveniently unattached as he moves into No. 10 Downing Street.

    THE VERDICT: Screenwriter Richard Curtis (Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral) makes a smashing directorial debut with a hugely enjoyable comedy-drama that strikes a delicate balance between silliness and seriousness, sentiment and sardonic wit, even as it warns that not every love story ends in a lovely fashion.

    High Fidelity (2000)

    THE STARS: John Cusack, Jack Black

    THE PITCH: A blithely unambitious thirtysomething (Cusack) who runs a retro record store with a rowdy buddy (Black) hits the playback button to review his past affairs, hoping to find a way to reconnect with his estranged girlfriend (Iben Hjejle).

    THE VERDICT: The top five reasons why High Fidelity belongs on this list: (1) Cusack's fresh, fearless and ferociously funny lead performance; (2) a trenchantly witty and acutely insightful script co-written by Cusack; (3) surprising faithfulness to first-rate source material, an acclaimed novel by British author Nick Hornby; (4) cunningly graceful direction by Stephen Frears, who smoothly maneuvers through mood swings and tempo variegations without ever making a wrong move or sounding a false note; and (5) it’s got a great beat, and you can make out to it.

    The Notebook (2004)

    THE STARS: Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams

    THE PITCH: An elderly man (James Garner) tells a fellow nursing-home resident (Gena Rowlands) the story — a very personal story — of two young lovers (Gosling, McAdams) who overcome obstacles in the 1940s to be together.

    THE VERDICT: More ubiquitous on pay-TV and basic-cable during the past decade than Michael Caine and Gene Hackman were in multiplexes during the 1970s, this deeply affecting and highly addictive drama about the enduing power of love is The Borg of contemporary romantic classics: Resistance is futile.

    Weekend (2011)

    THE STARS: Tom Cullen, Chris New

    THE PITCH: After meeting cute and bedding down during a wild night in Nottingham, England, a lifeguard and an art-gallery employee warily consider whether their one-night stand will develop into something more substantial. And by the way: They’re gay.

    THE VERDICT: Will Russell (Cullen), an amiable introvert, and Glenn (New), a freewheeling libertine, be able to forge something like a commitment during the few days before Glenn’s extended trip to the United States? Not the most original of plot set-ups, I’ll grant you.

    But writer-director Andrew Haigh and his well-cast lead players work a kind of quiet magic, and transform the familiar into something urgent and compelling.

    Vertigo (1958)

    THE STARS: James Stewart, Kim Novak

    THE PITCH: After tragically losing the woman he loves, a former police detective (Stewart) tries to make lightning strike twice when he fortuitously meets her lookalike (Novak). Nothing good comes of this.

    THE VERDICT: Arguably the most perverse love story Alfred Hitchcock ever directed — yes, even kinkier than Notorious — this mesmerizingly disquieting drama is ideal Valentine’s Day entertainment for lovers who are heavily into domination, submission and roleplaying. No, seriously: This is, at heart, a study of sadomasochistic symbiosis, with the ex-cop single-mindedly struggling to re-create a “perfect” relationship, and the lookalike reluctantly agreeing to be stripped of all identity to please the man she loves.

    In The Notebook, James Garner tells a fellow nursing home resident (Gena Rowlands) the story — a very personal story — of two young lovers: Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams (pictured).

    The Notebook, Ryan Gossling, Rachel McAdams
      
    Photo courtesy of Drafthouse.com
    In The Notebook, James Garner tells a fellow nursing home resident (Gena Rowlands) the story — a very personal story — of two young lovers: Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams (pictured).
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    Movie Review

    28 Years Later revives zombie franchise for new generation

    Alex Bentley
    Jun 20, 2025 | 5:00 pm
    Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams in 28 Years Later
    Photo by Miya Mizuno
    Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams in 28 Years Later.

    The 2000s brought two of the best zombie movies ever made in 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. Both films, despite being made by different filmmakers, featured intense action with fast-moving zombies, harrowing sequences, and real emotional connections with their main characters. Now the original director and writer — Danny Boyle and Alex Garland — have returned with the first of a possible three sequels, 28 Years Later.

    The rage virus from the first two films that turns humans into insatiable monsters has successfully been contained to the United Kingdom, and one group of survivors has managed to band together on a small island off the coast of England. We’re introduced to the group through Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), his wife, Isla (Jodie Comer), and his son, Spike (Alfie Williams).

    Isla is sick with an unknown illness, while Jamie is set to take the 12-year-old Spike on his first trip to the mainland to hunt zombies. That trip not only gives Spike an education as to the different types of feral zombies that now populate England, but also a clue that other people have survived there. When he discovers that one of them may be a doctor, he makes plans to take his mother there in hopes of finding a cure for whatever ails her.

    While the first two films were notable for their brisk pace that kept the potency of the stories high, Boyle and Garland almost go in the opposite direction for much of this film. The first 90 minutes are relatively slow, with only a couple of sequences that raise the blood pressure. The final half hour or so go a long way toward filling that void, so it’s clear that the filmmakers were biding their time for the story to come in the sequel. A bit more balance in this film would have served them well, though.

    What they do show involves some weird, wild stuff that is objectively upsetting, even for fans of the genre. The zombies have evolved in strange ways, giving them a variety of body shapes and abilities to suit the environment in which they live. These storytelling choices may thrill some and have others scratching their heads. Another human character living on his own (played by Ralph Fiennes), appears to have gone the way of Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, with a revelation that is bone-chilling.

    Boyle, who’s directed everything from Trainspotting to Slumdog Millionaire, doesn’t have a signature style, and he makes some choices in this film that test your patience. He occasionally employs an odd technique in which the film stutters, for a lack of better term. It’s a bit jarring, especially since it doesn’t seem to improve the storytelling. He also inserts scenes from older films involving medieval warfare that emulate the bow-and-arrow weaponry used by characters in this film, but the exact connection he’s trying to make is unclear.

    The young Williams has a lot put on his shoulders in the film, and he proves to be up to the task of carrying the story. He isn’t precocious or annoying, instead reacting almost exactly like you’d expect a boy of his age to do when faced with extreme situations. Taylor-Johnson and Comer are good complements for him, drawing him out with their polar opposite characters. Fiennes makes a huge impression in the final act of the film, while Jack O’Connell makes a very brief appearance, teasing a bigger role to come.

    It’s difficult to fully judge 28 Years Later because it’s designed to only give you part of the story; part 2, The Bone Temple, is due in 2026, while a third film will follow if the first two do well. This film has its moments and winds up on the positive side of the ledger, but it’s also a frustrating experience that could have used a more stand-alone story.

    ---

    28 Years Later is now playing in theaters.

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