romance Tagged Articles at Cinematical

We love it when our heroes fall for the suspicious types: the wolves in sheep's clothing, the dangerous femme fatales. It happens often in film noir and a heckuva lot in comics, and provides some of the best last-act twists and turns as our hearts palpitate along with those of our protagonists... up until the bitter end. Can't that evil love interest turn out to have a heart of gold, so we can all have a happily ever after? Sometimes, yes. Most of the time, no.

What is it about these doomed romances that we love so much? Perhaps it's the futility of it all; you can't have your cake and eat it when you're a superhero or a (wo)man on a mission to right wrongs, even if you'd rather be kissing that beguiling bad guy than fighting them, arresting them, or foiling their evil plans. Turning down a chance at love is the ultimate sacrifice for a hero or heroine to make -- it proves their commitment to the side of good. Hence, loving a villain makes a hero even more heroic. How tragic!

In what will surely spur controversy, I've whittled my favorite villain-hero romances down to the seven best pairings in cinema. No, Phantom of the Opera didn't make it. That would have been too easy. Instead, find odd couples, would-be perfect pairs, star-crossed lovers, and yes, the world's most legendary bromance after the jump.

It's funny, but I've been watching Kevin Smith movies for a long time now, but it was only as I was reading through Total Film's list of the Best & Worst: Kevin Smith, that I realized something that I never really thought all that much about before -- and what was my big epiphany? Well, I finally discovered that Smith's films in the end are just rom-coms with poop jokes. Smith may have been considered a foul-mouthed stoner for most of his career, but now that I've looked beyond his shtick, I've finally come to the conclusion that the guy is a big old softy. Which got me thinking: Is there such a thing as romance for boys?

Now if you're the observant type, you've probably noticed I'm not a dude, so what do I know, right? But I've been told time and again that I'm not the 'average girl' (whatever that means) when it comes to my movie tastes, so I'm going to put that theory to the test, and get in touch with my masculine side to create a list of romantic movies for men.

After the jump; My 5 picks for boy-friendly romance...

There's a script to be written, hopefully by someone with talent, in which a character from the real world gets dropped into a romantic comedy. Sort of like Enchanted in reverse, or the middle part of The Last Action Hero -- a reg'lar Joe or Josephine suddenly finds themselves having to survive in the Rom-Com Universe, forced to adapt their normal-human skills and behavior to an alternate reality where almost nothing is like they know it.

Take The Proposal, for example. Ryan Reynolds' executive-assistant character makes a coffee run for his boss -- but there's no coffee in the cups! Seriously, you can tell from the way he's juggling them in one hand that, as in most movies and TV shows, they're completely empty. Unless, of course, normal physics don't apply in Rom-Com World, which is a distinct possibility. Naturally, when he gets the coffee all the way back to the office, the first thing that happens is that he slams into a co-worker, and coffee cascades from the now-full cups all over his shirt.

See, this is one way that it would be hard to live in a romantic comedy. For starters, when I buy coffee, the cup's almost always full of coffee. I like that. And if I was constantly running into people and spilling my magical drink all over myself, I'd need to keep multiple changes of clothes in my car and at my office. I imagine that people in rom-coms must have overnight bags stashed all over the place, given how often they spill stuff, fall down, and have messy things flung at them. It would be hard on the wardrobe.

A few days ago I enjoyed a very conventional comedy called Run Fatboy Run. The film succeeds (to a B-minus degree, anyway) thanks almost exclusively to the contributions of actors like Simon Pegg, Dylan Moran, and Hank Azaria. When you have talented people lugging familiar material around, the result can sometimes be unexpectedly amusing. Such is most definitely the case with Nick Stoller's Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a semi-romantic comedy that covers some of the same ground as The Break-Up and The Heartbreak Kid but does one thing differently: It delivers a lot of laughs.

Produced by the recently very prolific Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad), Forgetting Sarah Marshall stars one of the producer's regulars (Jason Segel, who also penned the screenplay) as a TV music composer who is madly in love with his "hot actress" girlfriend. (Her name is Sarah Marshall, obviously.) But when Sarah dumps Peter for a preening British rock star, the sensitive slob of a guy goes into an emotional tailspin. At the advice of his well-meaning stepbrother, Peter decides to take a solo trip down to Hawaii. And ... you guessed it: Sarah and new posh new boyfriend Aldous are already vacationing there! Ack, how comically uncomfortable!

Apart from Fatal Attraction, which took the theme of adultery to the next level and then some, Unfaithful ranks right up there as one of those films that's just impossible to watch for anyone that's in a loving relationship ... if only because it simply freaks you out from start to finish, and leaves you with the need to strap a camera on your significant other so you can document their every move. Warner Bros. certainly liked the chemistry (or lack thereof) between Unfaithful stars Richard Gere and Diane Lane, as they've brought them onboard to star in an adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks romance novel, Nights in Rodanthe.

This time, however, Gere gets a chance to play the other man. Story follows a doctor (Gere) who's traveling to meet up with his estranged son, when he stops at a North Carolina inn and hooks up with a woman (Lane) who's contemplating the future of her unhappy marriage. Ah, I think we know where this one is heading ... And talk about a guy who knows how to romance the written word, Sparks' novels are responsible for a host of other book-to-screen adaptations, including The Notebook, Message in a Bottle and A Walk to Remember. Makes you wonder how he plans to spend his Valentine's Day, huh?

Watching The Break-Up take in a respectable $38.1 million this past weekend -- thus proving that audiences love to watch a solid relationship self-destruct right before their eyes -- I found myself pondering the ingredients that make up the perfect movie couple.

Like in real-life relationships, on-screen chemistry is probably the most important ingredient in a successful movie couple. In just an hour and a half, you're expected to feel for these people, connect with them and relate to their situation. While it's always great to see a happy ending, some of the more memorable movie couples parted ways at the end. Rick and Ilsa did so in Casablanca. Rhett Butler frankly didn't give a damn about Scarlett O'Hara, and told her so in Gone With the Wind. Alvy Singer and Annie Hall couldn't find their way to a happy relationship if they were provided a road map and directions. These couples stick with us because they were real -- another important ingredient. If, at any point throughout a film, you are able to see yourself inside one of the characters, it immediately draws an emotional side of you in. A side that, ultimately, finds you examining your own relationship.

So, I ask you: In your opinion, what ingredients are needed for the perfect movie couple? Oh, and how about telling us your favorites of all time.

Mon Dieu! It appears that the French are losing their taste for homegrown films - just as demand for them outside of the country is growing. According to the AFP, France rode the international success of films such as March of the Penguins to the tune of $453M this year, representing a 50 percent increase in foreign audience appreciation. At the same time, domestic consumption of French flicks dropped over 14 percent. Penguins itself accounts for over $70M in box office sales internationally, with over 16 million people having seen the story about Emperor penguins doing it all for the nookie. In France, however, the penguins only tempted 1.2 million people to waddle their butts into theater seats.

So, what have YOU done for French cinema lately? What's the last French flick you watched? I went through a phase several years back where I attempted to bone up on some classics of French cinema, getting addicted to Truffault along the way. But I have to admit I've been a Parisian slacker as of late. And "slacker" is generous: the last French flick I can remember watching is Amelie. Before that, it was Romance, which probably deserves an award for being the world's most depressing porn flick. (Um, not that I have tons of expertise in that area...)