Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and some couples want to go out for a nice dinner and some just want to sit at home and chill enjoying each other's company. For the people that want to stay home, we have the perfect thing for you. Here are the best movies you can watch that represent love and all the good and bad things that come associated with it. So get some popcorn ready, sit on that couch, and get the TV ready.
Movie #1: La La Land
For everyone about to tell me this has a sad ending, I know. But I mentioned that I would represent love in all its forms, good and bad and this is one of my favorite movies to show love. The story of what could've been as opposed to what actually happened really digs a nail into our shoulders showing us the idea of the right person, and wrong time. I feel like some of us when we're young, get used to the idea of happy endings in the film and TV industry and that's just not how it works. There are all types of love displayed in real life and this movie although starts off happy like most relationships end up with the leads breaking up. It's a beautiful film with amazing cinematography that jerks us from fantasy to reality in the best way. The movie follows Mia, played by Emma Stone, a struggling actress living with three other girls in Los Angeles, the premier place to get scouted for a career in the arts. In the beginning scene, we see n absolutely beautiful shot of the 105 eastbound freeway transitioning to the 110 and a very upbeat motivating musical ensemble number that leaves us with high energy and excited to see what the rest of the movie brings us. Emma's character is definitely on the young, wide-eyed, determined side of I'm gonna make it big, and we see that when she's on the freeway practicing her audition for a movie. In the same scene, we see her love interest Sebastian, played by Ryan Gosling, rewinding a jazz tape and listening to it over and over, practicing the hand motions for the piano, which can only tell us he plays the piano, obviously. The premise of the story is them meeting, dating, loving, and supporting each other, and then the conflict of the film arises, where they have different views on what they want to do in life and they realize at the end sometimes if you love something, you have to let it go. Both of them realized they had to pursue their dreams but they broke off on good terms, which is something that is so important in relationships. Being mature about things not going the way you might've wanted them to. This movie overall has all the aspects you'd want in a movie while being realistic about how relationships work.
Movie #2: 500 Days of Summer
by: Andrew VanHaaster
Before going into this review, I must say that this movie really brought a tear or two out of me! Not only because of the heartbreak the main character goes through, but also because of the message of the film.
The film follows Tom, one who hopelessly believes that True love exists, who dates Summer, a beautiful girl with opposing beliefs. Despite these beliefs and her explicitly saying that she is not interested in love or anything incredibly serious, Tom practically becomes infatuated with her, leaving him destroyed the moment they break up and so on. For the entirety of the film, Tom reflects on their relationship and what exactly went wrong, and whether or not there was something different he could have done.
What is so beautifully done about this film is that it accurately depicts a common issue within our generation's idea of love: expectations versus reality. We see this through many scenes with Tom, such as prior stated above, or even the clever use of split screening. There are many instances where the viewer sees a side-by-side of Tom’s expectations of Summer and how summer truly is, nailing the idea of how many people love the idea of a person rather than the actual person themselves.
I know this is definitely a depressing topic to talk about on what is supposed to be a happy holiday, but I do think that the importance of being aware, especially of something this important, is beneficial to our generation, and can greatly benefit us moving forward!
Movie #3: Deadpool
by: Morgan Beale
It’s time to finally say what Deadpool is: a Valentine’s Day movie. As a coincidence, Deadpool was released the weekend of Valentine’s Day in 2016; therefore it is indeed a V-Day movie with lots of action, violence, blood, and love. So if you get tired of watching sappy romantic movies, Deadpool is the movie for you. Just don’t let the little ones see it, as it’s Rated R.
While better known as a Marvel movie, Deadpool is truly a movie that is driven by love. Follow Wade Wilson who meets Vanessa (not our friend Vanessa) and they fall in love. Things are going great for them, and they appear to have everlasting love until Wade finds out that he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Not wanting to have the love of his life watch him die, he meets up with a man who promises him that he can cure his cancer. That is on the condition that Wade subjects himself to countless cruel experiments where he has a near-death experience, only to become the beloved next-to-immortal mercenary who is better known as Deadpool. Now Deadpool has two main goals—kill the man who was supposed to cure him and reunite with Vanessa.
I’m a huge Marvel fan and Deadpool is one of my favorite characters. Fun fact about Deadpool—he and I share the same MBTI type (ENTP). That aside, what I enjoy about Deadpool is that it’s a movie about being a hero for the one you love. It also helps that the soundtrack is pretty fire; IT’S GOT CARELESS WHISPER BY GEORGE MICHAEL FOR FLYING FUCK’S SAKE. That makes it the pinnacle of romantic films for those who hate traditional romance films.
To put it into Deadpool’s words, “You don’t need to be a superhero to get the girl. The right girl will bring out the hero in you.”
Watch Deadpool on Disney+ by yourself, with your loved one(s, I see you polyamorous peeps), your friends, or whoever.
P.S. I think I found the perfect V-Day date idea with my partner, as I still haven’t come up with any yet. ;)
Movie #4: Her
by: James Hull
As someone who isn't a huge movie watcher, I have a pretty limited reference point for my knowledge and experience with The Cinematic Art Form. That being said I feel that “Her”, a science fiction romantic drama starring Juaquine Phenoix is as close to an objectively perfect movie as you can get. The basic premise of the film is that a writer named Theodore falls in love with the operating system installed on his computer named Samantha. Throughout this premise, the story progresses gradually and addresses themes of grief, perspective, and most importantly of course love. The idea of taking an average relationship that deviates by subtracting the inherent physicality that comes with it allows for the focus to be on the ideas and thoughts that connect two people. Theodore and Samantha connect with each other through music, writing, and spending time existing with each other divorced from the perspective that Samantha would have if she were human. These perspectives the movie takes that I've seen in small chunks here and there in other movies are opened up and ruminated on while evert scene of both emotional highs and lows allows the viewer to sit within the scene. This is also aided by the phenomenal soundtrack by Arcade Fire and Owen Pallett, which contrasts the pastel visuals that even when using warm colors create a cold feeling of the movie set by being warm and using raw and undeniable human flushes to the soundscape of the film. When bringing up “Her” a common jab in response is “Isn't that the movie where the sad man fucks his Elexa?” To that, I say yes and it's the most heartfelt movie I've ever seen.
Movie #5: Five Feet Apart
by: Vanessa Polk
Hi guys! I’m Vanessa, a digital illustrator and blog writer for ITK! Although I’m not a big movie nerd, Five Feet Apart is probably one of my favorite films. Starring Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richerson, Five Feet Apart paints a unique love story. Will and Stella, young patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic disorder that leaves the patient more vulnerable to infections, try to have a romantic relationship despite being forced by medical professionals to stay at least six feet apart.
One of my favorite things about Five Feet Apart is the chemistry and dynamic between Will and Stella. These two individuals are such polar opposites it really does prove the aphorism, “opposites attract.” Will and Stella cope with their CF in radically different ways. Stella is pretty much the goody-two-shoes of regiments, popping pills in an orderly fashion to keep up with her condition. Her hospital room is neatly organized and spotless. She also films herself frequently and vlogs her CF journey on the Internet to increase CF awareness. On the other hand, Will essentially refuses to follow any regiment. His room is messy and cluttered, shows no willingness to go through with treatment. Will’s lifestyle frustrates Stella and devotes herself to getting him back on track with his regiment. Will unenthusiastically obliges, on the condition that Stella is a model for one of Will’s drawings.
A key component of this story is that Will and Stella must stay at least six feet apart from each other. Any closer than that, and the two risk contracting their own diseases (contamination), which could potentially be lethal. As the watcher, it was heartwrenching and frustrating to know that despite these two being unequivocally in love with each other, they cannot share a single embrace.
As to not spoil the movie, the only thing I will say is that in the end, Will made the tough decision to leave the hospital. Stella, surviving a lung transplant and adopting this new perception of the importance of human touch, tells her online audience: “We need that touch from the one we love almost as much as we need air to breathe. So if you’re able. Touch him, touch her. Life’s too short to waste a second.”
Although sad and heartwrenching, Five Feet Apart is a tear-jerking, heartstring-tugging film that concretes the importance of touch from the one you love. It’s taught me that I shouldn’t hesitate a single second to tell that one person I love them. In short, watch this film if you want to share a tender and sweet tear-y moment with your significant other or best friends! <3
I would like to shout out my amazing team for being down to work with me on this, they are absolutely amazing. There is definitely something in the air this year, so whether or not you have something planned with a significant other or friend, watch these movies, I guarantee you'll enjoy watching them. Thank you all so much for reading and Happy Valentine's Day!
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