Showing posts with label Romantic Movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romantic Movies. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Recent Movie




 
I don’t do a lot of these ‘cause I don’t go to the movies very often, only about once or twice a year.  It’s not so much the price of the movie that keeps me from seeing more –it’s the cost of the pop and popcorn.  One simply can not go to a movie without getting them and when the charge more for the popcorn than they do for the movie – POPCORN for pete’s sake – well, I boycott the movies unless it’s a special occasion or a movie I can’t wait to come out on DVD (notice I don’t say Neflix – I’ve no idea how that works really)
Such was the case yesterday, my day off from working the weekend,  when I went to see The Longest Ride – it was both.  A neighbor took me as a long delayed birthday present and – hello – Scott Eastwood.
 
So about this
 I may be old but I’m surely not dead.  Scott Eastwood – hello – (sorry – I just can’t type his name without the hello added to it)plays the role of Luke Collins a cowboy and bull rider.  He suffered a deadly injury and shouldn’t be bull riding anymore but he’s a stubborn one and is mounting a comeback on the bull riding circuit.  He meets Sophia Danko an art student at the local college when she and a bunch of her sorority sisters head to the local rodeo even though initially she doesn’t really want to go.  Their eyes meet when he’s bucked off a bull and his hat is knocked off and she hands it to him and he tells her to keep it.  They meet up again at the local watering hole and can we say – SPARKS FLY.  Heck, even I thought her gorgeous and sweet and wished we could hang together.  The only thing keeping me from developing a deeper girl crush was hello- Scott Eastwood.  Sophia is reluctant to get involved though as she has her life planned out and that means she is leaving the college in a couple of months to take an internship in New York City and any potential relationship would be so hard to maintain.  But she does agree to go out with him and can I just say that EVERY GIRL should have that kind of first date.  Talk about romantic.  And when this really hot cowboy – hello – Scott Eastwood –
is walking across this university campus – well, my heart went pitty pat.
There is such a real connection but again – timing sucks.  They are on their home from the date and it’s pouring rain when Luke spies something on the side of the road and discovers there was an accident.  Ira Levinson, played brilliantly by Alan Alda is rescued by Luke and Sophia but he also wants a box saved.  When he gets to the hospital, Sophia wants to stay to make sure he’s OK (see – girl crush).  When he wakes she shows him the box of letters she’s saved but he’s too old and his sight too bad to read them so she begins reading them and thus begins a series of flashbacks of a young Ira and his love Ruth and their story set in the 1940’s.  The actors who played a young Ira and a young Ruth were perfectly cast, especially I think Oona Chaplin who played Ruth.   It was sweet and tender and sad and it really added a lot to the movie.  I didn’t realize it going it, but this is actually a two story movie, half of it between Luke and Sophia and who they can overcome their difficulties and half between Ira and Ruth and overcoming their difficulties.  It’s sad in places, real sad in a couple, but it does have a very good happy ending.  A coworker had seen it and recommended it to me.  I asked her if it had a happy ending – not how it ended or that I wouldn’t see it if it didn’t –just that if it wasn’t a happy ending I needed to brace myself.  And myself didn’t need bracing so that’s a good thing for the romance lover in me.  The love scenes in this movie *sigh* well – I have a mood calendar at my desk that I change every day depending on how I’m feeling when I come into work.  Today I chose Addled and showed my coworker who recommended the movie.  Even though she’s just newly married, she got it – heh, heh, heh.
This is another Nicolas Sparks movie.  I’ve never read his books – and don’t intend to start, but I’ve seen some of his movies and they can be quite wonderful.  I liked the Notebook, have Safe Harbor downloaded in my Ipad though I haven’t watched it yet and LOOVVEDD The Lucky One – very romantic and who doesn’t find Zac Ephron easy on the eyes – though not as easy as- hello- Scott Eastwood.
I think part of my fascination with Scott is he‘s the son of Clint Eastwood and my oh my did I have a crush on him when I was just a young thing and he played Rowdy Yates, the strong silent type cowboy on Rawhide.  Combined with the awesomeness of the theme song, it was a great show for its time and helped lead me to my lifelong love of Westerns.  And after a brief sojourn into other genres, I’m back with the westerns.  Back in the days of Rawhide, believe it or not you young’uns, TV was black and white so we didn’t get to see the piercing blue eyes of the Eastwood men, but oh my stars were they on full display in The Longest Ride (and let’s not even get started on the PERFECT chest with PERFECT manly chest hair.)
For me, this was the PERFECT romance movie and I’ll be getting a copy as soon as I can when it comes out.  I think it’s almost finished it’s run with all the summer movies coming out, but if not, I urge the romantic in everyone to check this movie out.  It gets a very, very well deserved and hearty thumbs up from me.
 


And one more for the road – hello- Scott Eastwood.
 

 
 


 
 
 
'til later

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Thought for the day




I have a lot of apps on my IPad now. I love many of the apps. One of my favourites is IMDb where one of the many features is upcoming movies for quite a few months in advance. I love watching movie trailers and this one really caught my eye!



Does it look like a romance book based movie or what?? The thing is, it's based on a book by Nicholas Sparks and I don't consider him a romance writer. A writer of romantic stories yes, but I'm still, many years later, still trying to get over the ending of Message in a Bottle. And I haven't seen the movie (even though both stars are from the city I call home) or read the book, The Notebook since I'm not sure, but I think they die in it too.

So although this one, The Lucky One looks very good, I dunno if I'll go see it or not. I'll have to hear how it ends first. If it's a typical Nicholas Sparks ending - not a chance!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

I'm just not feelin' them


This being Valentine's Day, I saw a list of the 10 Most Romantic Movies and as a confirmed Romance Reader, I gotta say I disagree with just about every one that was chosen!!

10. The Age of Innocence (1993)
Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer) have a serious problem: they’re deeply in love, but family loyalty and fear of social ostracism stand in the way of their union. Martin Scorsese directs this adaptation of Edith Wharton’s novel about love in 19th century New York society. It’s a genuine heartbreaker.
They didn't end up together - what's romantic about that???
If we are talking DDL movies, Last of the Mohicans was ever so much better when it came to a romance movie.

9. When Harry Met Sally
When Harry Met Sally is Annie Hall in reverse. Rather than meet, fall in love, and break up, Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) are friends first and then realize they’re in love. Their New Year’s Eve reconciliation is pure fantasy—and what’s a celebration of love without a little glamour?
Billy Crystal is just not my idea of a romantic type hero

8. Say Anything (1989)
No film has captured the awkward wonder of first love as well as Say Anything. Neither smarmy nor clever—even stars John Cusack and Ione Skye are average-looking by Hollywood standards—it’s an earnest look at teenagers in love for the very first time. Dig up the old boom box.
I've never even heard of this one!!

7. Annie Hall (1977)
This tribute to a relationship that turned into a friendship is Woody Allen’s funniest and most heartfelt film. Diane Keaton plays Annie, the one who got away. Allen plays her boyfriend, Alvy Singer, a serial monogamist and hopelessly idealistic misanthrope.
Woody Allen *shudder* 'nough said

6. Remains of the Day (1973)
You wouldn’t think that an entirely unconsummated love affair between an English butler (Anthony Hopkins) and a housekeeper (Emma Thompson) would be so compelling. The surprise: it’s riveting. Remains of the Day is what happens when you find love but don’t have the courage to act on it.
I'm not saying no to this one - as I haven't seen it

5. Moonstruck (1987)
Moonstruck is a true romantic comedy: it’s funny and tender. Directed by Norman Jewison, Moonstruck sees Cher and Nicolas Cage play two eccentric lovelorn Italian Americans. He’s an opera-loving baker, she’s a widowed bookkeeper engaged to his brother. It’s an unlikely chemistry, but it works.
Nicolas Cage gives me headaches

4. Atonement (2007)
War and romance go together like peanut butter and jelly—that is if you like tears and bombs with your PB&J. This 2007 film, starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy as young lovers separated by deception and the tides of history will break your heart.
Without giving TMI - I'm pretty sure one of the lovers in this movie dies. When that happens, it's crossed off my romantic movie to see list

3. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
If you have a few hours to spare—basically half a day—then Doctor Zhivago is the flick for you. Based on Boris Pasternak’s novel of the same name, the epic romance, directed by David Lean, takes place in the lead-up to and aftermath of the Russian Revolution. Omar Sharif and Julie Christie play doomed lovers Yuri and Lara. It doesn’t end well. But you’ll love it all the more.
See my answer to 4

2. Gone with the Wind (1939)
There’s nothing more satisfying than a love story gone wrong—or in the case of spoiled Southern belle Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) and dashing rogue Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) a love story that never went quite right. Set that affair within the tumult of the American Civil War, and you’ve got what’s popularly known as Hollywood magic, baby.
A blockbuster - no question - a great movie for it's time - again no question - but I don't really see is as romantic as Scarlett rejects Rhett throughout the whole story in favour of Ashley and then when she finally 'sees the light' Rhett takes off!


1. Casablanca (1942)
Casablanca is about love with a capital “L.” It’s not a casual-affair rom-com; this is the big league. Featuring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman as star-crossed lovers torn apart by WWII—saving the world from Nazism will get in the way of a good thing sometimes—it’s an unforgettable love story with a powerful ending. Kleenex is mandatory.
Now this is where I make a terrible confession. I've never seen this movie. But I do know that Rick and Ilsa don't end up together - though they will always have Paris.

So - out of this list of the Top Ten Romantic Movies, at least five of the couples don't end up together for one reason or another. Being a Romance Reader who demands the HEA, this list just doesn't cut it for me!!

Now because I'm still pretty much brain dead and can't think of any at the moment, who has a Romantic Movie where they DO end up together at the end??