Recommendations for Valentine's Day 2006

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Date night is traditionally dinner and a movie. If your Valentine´s Day is shaping up that way and you´ve decided to avoid the big-screen crowds but still haven´t settled on which film to pop into your DVD player, here are a few thoughts from some of us at DVD Town.

Justin Cleveland
As I wrote in my review for Cameron Crowe´s "Elizabethtown," I´m a hopeless romantic. In fact, though I´m single this year--the first time in nearly a decade I´ve not had a special someone on Valentine´s Day--I´m still looking to make it special.

Much like Christmas movies can only be watched between November 28th and December 25th, there is a short period when some of the schmaltzy-est romance films can be busted out without any qualms whatsoever by anyone, male or female. Romantic comedies are, unfortunately, not on the plate because few (simply put) are worth the price of admission. In response, I´ve compiled a fun little list of less-than-traditional, recently-made love stories (or stories with a nice subplot dealing with the nature of love) to share with that special someone on Tuesday (in no particular order):

1. "Elizabethtown." Odds are you haven´t seen this quirky piece of cinema that takes a very different angle on the blossoming of a romance and the traditional pursuit and capture. What makes it so amazing is the connection that Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst´s characters share, something that I recognize in some of my best relationships.

2. "Shakespeare in Love." A tragedy though this may be, the love that is shown is given such power and magnatude. "´Tis better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all" never resounds as much, nor comes across so painfully star-crossed as in this film.

3. "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." Admittedly, this isn´t primarily a romance, but the growth of Andy into a "man" is fun to watch, and it feels as real as anything committed to screen in the past few years.

4. "Garden State." I´m late to this party, I know. I just saw this movie for the first time a couple months back and admit that I see, for the first time, what everyone else has been seeing in Nat Portman. The way she breaks through Zach Braff´s shell is masterfully played because--just as in life--that isn´t her aim. Doesn´t it always seem that you find love when you are least expecting it?

5. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." A lot of people can´t watch this movie because it hits too close to home. I think it perfectly illustrates the truth that, as with any relationship, there are ups and downs that are important to recognize and adapt to in order to make the relationship work. That pain that we feel is a tool to help us learn.

6. "Lost in Translation." Where does the line between friends and lovers get drawn? In my own experiences, I´ve found that the best lovers are also the best friends. Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson walk that line nicely, showing how amazing bonds can be built without a hint of a physical relationship.

7. "Shrek." Just how important is physical attractiveness in a relationship? This film argues that a true heart will outshine the most repulsive feature, something I tend to agree with. I picked this one over something like "Mask" simply because it´s got a talking donkey. I dare you to tell me you wouldn´t make the same choice.

8. "Ghost World." Talk about your quirky romantic tension. Steve Buscemi and Thora Birch are two really messed up people who share a connection that wouldn´t ordinarily be thought possible in modern society. Perhaps it is because neither has any true direction that they find comfort in one another.

9. "The Constant Gardener." As I wrote in my review, the somewhat uncomfortable dynamic between the film´s leads seemed extremely real. But at the end of the journey, Justin (Ralph Fiennes) sees just how much he really had. Isn´t that the way it always works out?

10. "Forrest Gump." I know this film has fallen out of vogue with the film going public in recent years, but I still love the dynamic between Forrest and Jenny. True Love overcomes all obstacles and lives on beyond the life of the principals.

Bonus Pick--"Titanic." Just to get those angry e-mailers off my back, I´ll say a positive word about this "epic." Maybe I´ve got an unhealthy obsession with star-crossed lovers, but the blossoming and demise of Leo and Kate´s relationship works. Now, if the film were an hour shorter and a pinch less melodramatic...

In retrospect, I´ve included quite a few tragic romances. It could be that I´m just attracted to the teleological aspect of the romance; I always hated the bus scene at the end of "The Graduate" because it lacked a sense of finality, that everything would end "happily ever after."

Whatever your plans are, I hope that you, too, can find the chance to explore the nature of romance and share it with a special someone in your life!

Yunda Eddie Feng
While in China, I fell in love with singer-actress Gigi Leung. In addition to collecting her music albums, I also saw as many of her movies as possible. Alas, most of her big-screen projects are awful. There is a gem in her cinema pile, though--"Turn Left, Turn Right" (Johnnie To, 2003), which is about a book translator (Leung) and a violinist (Takeshi Kaneshiro) who meet cute twice. Fate keeps the two lovebirds separate even though they live in adjoining apartments, and while the coincidences are sometimes rather forced, Gigi Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro make yearning ever-so-heartbreaking. Although the director is from Hong Kong, "Turn Left, Turn Right" is also a love ode to Taipei, Taiwan. Rarely has my birth city looked as inviting as in this movie. "Turn Left, Turn Right" is not available from a Region 1 distributor even though it was financed by Warner Bros., but you may be able to find copies of it in your local Chinatown.

On the other hand, if Valentine´s Day is a traditionally uphill battle in your life, then I suggest the following campaign: "Saving Private Ryan" (Steven Spielberg, 1998), "Black Hawk Down" (Ridley Scott, 2001), "We Were Soldiers" (Randall Wallace, 2002), "Tae Guk Gi" (Kang Jegyu, 2004).

Die-hard romantics may prefer the John Woo Lovers´ Special:
1) Eat a "Hard-Boiled" egg for breakfast.
2) Prepare to blow an entire "Paycheck" on just one day.
3) Visit the beauty parlor for a refreshing "Face/Off".
4) Your girlfriend becomes "The Killer" who wants to give you a "Bullet in the Head" because you forgot which anniversary this year is.
4) You realize that it´s a "Mission: Impossible" to convince her that it doesn´t matter how long you´ve been together as long as you´re still together; you both feel like "Windtalkers" because the other side just isn´t listening.
4) At the end of the day, remember that "Heroes Shed No Tears" and that there´s always "A Better Tomorrow".

If you are in love with death or with dead people, then I suggest the "Tim Burton Prescription" for a cure:

"The Corpse Bride" (The protagonist falls in love with a dead woman.)
"Sleepy Hollow" (The movie fetishizes death and beheadings.)
"Ed Wood" (The movie glorifies a dying actor, Bela Lugosi.)
"The Nightmare Before Christmas" (The hero is a skeleton, his dog is a ghost, and his lover is a re-animation of composite body parts.)
"Batman Returns" (Penguin´s mouth oozes bile like a dead person,
Catwoman dies repeatedly, and Batman is in love with a woman who keeps dying.)
"Edward Scissorhands" (The protagonist is re-animated from dead body parts.)
"Batman" (Nihilism.)
"Beetlejuice" (The hero is a ghoul/ghost.)
"Frankeweenie" (The protagonist re-animates his best friend.)

William David Lee
My Valentine´s Day picks for those who are tired of the conventional romance movie.

"Amelie" (dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunot)
"Badlands" (dir. Terrence Malick)
"Before Sunrise" (dir. Richard Linklater)
"The Big Sleep" (dir. Howard Hawks)
"Braindead" (dir. Peter Jackson) (Watch two zombies fall in love.)
"Chungking Express" (dir. Wong Kar-Wai)
"Die Hard" (dir. John McTiernan) (Hey, it´s a love story. Trust me.)
"Eat Drink Man Woman" (dir. Ang Lee)
"Groundhog Day" (dir. Harold Ramis)
"In the Mood for Love" (dir. Wong Kar-Wai)
"My Sassy Girl" (dir. Kwak Jae-young)
"One Wonderful Sunday" (dir. Akira Kurosawa)
"True Romance" (dir. Tony Scott)
"Two Mules for Sister Sara" (dir. Don Siegel)
"Wild at Heart" (dir. David Lynch)

James Plath
Though I´m a sensitive guy, the two-hanky film often cited as a romantic classic leaves me a bit cold. Maybe that´s because "An Affair to Remember" is too melodramatic and soapy--which is why the contemporary take on it, "Sleepless in Seattle," has a little fun at the film´s expense. And fun for me is the key. I like "Sleepless in Seattle," but thinking about this made me realize that I might not be as sensitive a guy as I thought. My double-feature list of Valentine´s Day films may have love and romance, but there´s also a healthy dose of humor, adventure, or other interesting things going on in each of them.

Screwball romance: "It Happened One Night" and "Bringing Up Baby"
Fun-while-it-lasted celebrity love: "Roman Holiday" and "Notting Hill"
Royal romance: "Coming to America" and "The Prince and Me"
Cross-dressers in love: "Some Like It Hot" and "Tootsie"
In the City of Lights: "Forget Paris" and "French Kiss"
In Ireland: "The Matchmaker" and "The Quiet Man" (John Wayne)
Nice guys finish first: "It Could Happen to You" and "Sabrina" (Bogie, baby!)
He´s a drinker: "Arthur" and "Father Goose"
She´s a free spirit: "Breakfast at Tiffany´s" and "Almost Famous"
Fish-out-of-water romance: "Splash" and "Crocodile Dundee"
Hoofer love: "Singin´ in the Rain" and "West Side Story"
Hooker love: "Pretty Woman" and "Cinderella Liberty" (the latter, the most-serious here)
Politics and love: "Dave" and "Moon Over Parador"
Love/Hate love: "The Goodbye Girl" and "Pillow Talk"
Woody Allen love: "Play it Again, Sam" and "Hannah and Her Sisters"
Diane Keaton love: "Annie Hall" and "Something´s Gotta Give"
Romantic deceptions: "Teacher´s Pet" (Doris Day) and "Overboard"
Epic love: "Gone with the Wind" and "Dr. Zhivago"
Animated romance: "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin"
Swashbuckler romance: "Captain Blood" and "The Adventures of Robin Hood"
John Wayne love: "Donovan´s Reef" and "Hatari!"
Just think about baseball: "Fever Pitch" and "Bull Durham"
Gangster love: "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Married to the Mob"
Adventurous love: "Romancing the Stone" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
Oops, wrong brother: "While You Were Sleeping" and "Moonstruck"
Lightweight Elvis formula love: "Girls! Girls! Girls!" and "Clambake"
Tell-it-like-it-is love: "When Harry Met Sally" and "What Women Want"
Historical romance: "Shakespeare in Love" and "Pride and Prejudice"
A-little-help-here romance: "Roxanne" and "I.Q."
Workplace romance: "Working Girl" and "Desk Set"
Monster love: "The Mummy" (Boris Karloff) and "Bride of Frankenstein"
Illicit love: "Dangerous Liaisons" and "Four Weddings and a Funeral"
Gay/lesbian love: "Saving Face" and "Touch of Pink"
Tough love: "The Big Easy" and "To Have and Have Not"
Wedding affairs: "Monsoon Wedding" and "My Big, Fat Greek Wedding"

John Puccio
My picks are pretty conventional for Valentine´s Day:
"City Lights" (1931)
"Pygmalion" (1938)
"Beauty and the Beast" (1946 and 1991)
"The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" (1947)
"Sabrina" (1954)
"Doctor Zhivago" (1965)
"Romeo and Juliet" (1968)
"Heaven Can Wait" (1978)
"Moonstruck" (1987)
"Only You" (1994)
"Shakespeare in Love" (1998)
"Kate & Leopold" (2001)

And some of the Wife-O-Meter´s romantic favorites:
"Cinderella" (1950)
"Bell, Book and Candle" (1958)
"Breakfast at Tiffany´s" (1961)
"A Man and a Woman" (1966)
"Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981)
"Bram Stoker´s Dracula" (1992)
"While You Were Sleeping" (1995)
"You´ve Got Mail" (1998)
"Amelie" (2001)
"My Big, Fat Greek Wedding" (2002)

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