The Valentine's themed picspams continue...
ETA: I just got photoshop so since my image hosting site was giving me issues, I decided to just re-upload the photoshopped versions onto a different account!
So I was totally supposed to do this for the end-of-the-year challenge but stupid Bright Star screener wouldn't leak (now I kind of see why it didn't get nominated for anything) and it just felt wrong to do this picspam without Bright Star. Now I'm doing it for Valentine's Day cause the theme is romance. The only films I have not seen at this point that could be relevant here are Crazy Heart, The Last Station and A Single Man.
Just to note, not all of these "romances" are meant to be or happily-ever-after types. Obviously you'd know that if you've seen some of these movies but these were the film romances of 2009 that I personally found very engaging and drew me in emotionally. Although if anyone has seen A LOT of movies from last year, I won't actually name any so as not to spoil stuff, but it seems like a ton of movies had romances in which a person discovers that his/her lover is actually married or engaged and didn't tell them... You know which ones (some aren't included here though).
Honorable Mentions
The Proposal, Adventureland, Public Enemies, Two Lovers
(500) Days of Summer
Tom and Summer
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel
Tom: Summer, Sid stabbed Nancy, seven times with a kitchen knife, I mean we have some disagreements but I hardly think I'm Sid Vicious.
Summer: No I'm Sid.
Blah blah blah, this is not a love story. But this is one of the most honest and realistic romantic comedy couples since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It may not have been true love but Tom and Summer are a surprisingly genuine representation of Generation Y's views on romance. And look at their cute matching wardrobes!
Bright Star
John Keats and Fanny Brawne
Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish
Fanny: You know I would do anything.
John: I have a conscience.
I don't think I'll ever stop being bitter that this movie got completely ignored this awards season, especially Abbie Cornish. She totally breaks my heart in this movie. It's so painfully sweet but not in a overly melodramatic Nicholas Spark's fashion. It may be a little slow moving for some people-- it's about a poet after all, but this love affair was beautiful and tragic. Cornish and Whishaw have lovely and quiet chemistry that was perfect for this chaste and brief romance. Everything in this movie is so pretty from the cinematography to the costumes to the musical score. It even made me want to read romantic poetry and I totally hate poetry...
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Ron Weasely and Hermione Granger
Rupert Grint and Emma Watson
Ron: Hermione's got nice skin. You know, as far as skin goes.
To be honest, I haven't been really impressed by a Harry Potter movie since Prisoner of Azkaban. And also, ever since the final book came out and we got every single detail of what happened to these characters in life, it's a little hard to care about the movies. But Ron/Hermione are like my original OTP since I was about 10 or 11, before I even knew what an OTP was. Their bickering and comedic chemistry really translates well in the movies. The film portrayals aren't perfect (cause how could they match the books?) but watching these two characters slowly realize their feelings on screen makes me nostalgic.
The Messenger
Sergeant Will Montgomery and Olivia Pitterson
Ben Foster and Samantha Morton
2009 seems to be a banner year for Iraq war films. It seems like Hollywood has finally gotten a good sense of how to make them. This one ventures into some dark territory on the home front just as The Hurt Locker does in the battlefield. Will is an army sergeant who gets sent out to inform people that their loved ones are deceased. He meets Olivia when he must inform her that her husband has died and the two begin a slow romance. He helps her cope with the loss and tries to take care of her and her son, but not without complications.
Nine
Guido Contini and Luisa Contini
Daniel Day-Lewis and Marion Cotillard
Luisa Contini: Thank you.
Guido Contini: What for?
Luisa Contini: Thank you for reminding me I'm not special. You don't even see what you do to me. Even the moments I think are ours, it's just... you working to get what you want.
Marion Cotillard is certainly the MVP of 2009, in my opinion. She truly elevated both films she was in and made her characters incredibly sympathetic. As a movie, Nine was rather disappointing but any scene with Marion Cotillard's Luisa is amazing. Luisa is not just the long-suffering wife but a woman who knows her husband like no one else and whom he truly depends on even though he can't fully appreciate her until he risks losing her. My Husband Makes Movies and Take It All are both standout numbers. DDL was fun with Penelope Cruz as well, but we find out the most about his character through his relationship with his wife. Guido looks for inspiration from a variety of women in his life but the woman who really makes an impression in this film is Luisa.
Star Trek
Spock and Uhura
Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana
Uhura: What do you need?
Uhura: Tell me. Tell me.
Spock: I need everyone to continue performing admirably.
What I love about this romance is how much was conveyed through so few scenes. I'd venture that these two had maybe 10 or 15 minutes of screen time together and speak just a couple lines of dialogue to each other, yet their scenes were in my opinion the emotional core of the movie. Their chemistry in the elevator scene is off the charts and made a moment of comfort into something rather sensual (intentionally or not). Throw in a little forbidden/secret romance element and you've got a hot couple. Plus, they're so pretty.
The Time Traveler's Wife
Henry DeTamble and Claire Abshire
Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams
Clare Abshire: I wouldn't change one second of our life together.
This is another movie that, in my opinion, wasn't really that good. It's not a bad film by any means but didn't exactly capture the magic of the wonderful novel. But despite the shortcomings, the romance is still lovely and heartbreaking. Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams are both actors who have transcended less than stellar material, and they do so once again here. McAdams in particular is very moving when Claire tires of putting up with Henry's constant disappearances and tells him that he gave her no choice when he barged into her life as a little girl.
Up
Carl and Ellie Frederickson
Young Ellie: You don't talk a lot. I like you!
If you didn't at least tear up a little in the first 10 minutes of this movie, you're made of stone. Their entire life's story is told in a dialogue-free montage with one of the most memorable pieces of film music in recent years, Married Life.
Up in the Air
Ryan Bingham and Alex Goran
George Clooney and Vera Farmiga
Alex Goran: You're a break from our normal lives. You're a parenthesis.
Clooney and Farmiga's playfully witty chemistry is reminiscent of the old 30s and 40s screwball couples. They reminded me so much of Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant in His Girl Friday. It's no wonder that critics hailed this movie and pronounced that they don't make them like they used to. They're both high-flying career oriented people who value the same things and find a compatible partner in each other, yet it's obvious that something isn't quite there in that relationship.
The Young Victoria
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend
Prince Albert: Then you had better master the rules of the game until you play it better than they can.
Princess Victoria: You don't recommend I find a husband to play it for me?
Prince Albert: I should find one to play it with you, not for you.
This film occasionally falls into the fluffy period romance trap but this biopic about Victoria's early years is all about Blunt and Friend's natural rapport together. Their portrayals of Victoria and Albert are charismatic and endearing, and their romance is sweet and easy to root for. It's especially interesting to see a film about a powerful female monarch who also had a loving marriage and a big family. And more importantly, a husband who isn't intimidated by headstrong and important wife.
Please don't repost or hotlink!
I just did a 2009 themed picspam and did not include any Inglourious Basterds! That took a lot of will power. Someone give me a gold star. Oh and if you need a good date movie for Sunday but don't want to see Dear John or Valentine's Day (the reviews are harsh), here are some recs in picspam form. I'm in a very Valentine's-y mood.
Past Picspams:
My Favorite Films of 2009 HERE
Guilty Pleasures HERE
Best of the Franchise HERE
Top 15 Films of the Decade HERE
Memorable Dresses in Film HERE
Inglourious Basterds: The Dresses of Operation Kino HERE
Inglourious Basterds: Christoph Waltz as Col. Landa HERE
Les Parapluies de Cherbourg HERE
Cruel Intentions vs. Dangerous Liaisons Comparison HERE
Romance in Period Films HERE
Glee vs. Popular Comparison HERE
Best Costume Design 2009 HERE
Musicals of the 50s and 60s HERE
Top 5 Prettiest Actress of the 1930s HERE
5 Films that pushed the Hays Code HERE
5 Romantic Movies for V-Day HERE