Romance and utter geekdom — a combination powerful enough to make the world go round. This Valentine's Day, celebrate with films that bring together hints of romance, science fiction, and a pinch of magical realism that are perfect for ye olde Netflix and chill. Go ahead and press play . . . with a side of candy hearts, of course.
Here's one of my favorites. In this near-future romantic-comedy of sorts, an implantation device counts down until the moment where you meet "the one." One problem, though: leading lady Oona, well, her timer is blank. Is there anyone out there for her? What is technology doing to our relationships, anyway? All of this, a good time, and an appearance from Gossip Girl fave Aaron Rose — so everything you're asking for, basically.
Apocalypse movies always get me; so do brief appearances from Adam Brody (you'll always be Seth Cohen in my heart, boo). In this surprisingly touching film, Steve Carell plays a guy who is pretty apathetic about the world ending in three weeks time. That is, of course, until he meets Keira Knightley's Penny. Road trips, reunions with old friends, and intimacy ensue. I basically bawled for the last 10 minutes (in the comfort of my own home!).
Oh, you wanted time jumping? And parallel universes? Check and check. Comet is an ambitious, inventive film that follows certified hotties Justin Long and Emmy Rossum and their six-year relationship — across universes where Long's hair wildly varies and Rossum's doesn't, really. It's tortuous and full of feels and inventive and ambitious to boot.
Amélie is a super good-looking movie where whimsy is practically a main character. It follows — you guessed it — a young woman named Amélie who lives mostly in her own imagination. That is, until she meets a boy and basically gives him a scavenger hunt to find her, love her, and kiss her at the tips of her cheekbones. I swoon.
At first sight, this one looks like a traditional romantic dramedy, but just wait for it. In a last effort to save their marriage, and on their therapist's advice, Ethan and Sophie retreat to a secluded estate for the weekend. But nothing is really what it seems. I'm talking there are actual doppelgängers and actual mistaken identities. A little bit of love, a little bit of sci-fi, a pretty good time.
Allow me a moment of honesty — I love, love Zoe Kazan and everything she writes and/or stars in (hello, Ruby Sparks!). This one is a supernatural romance with a near-magical meet cute. Kazan plays an unsatisfied housewife who develops a psychic connection with a (hot) ex-con. Their minds meet, they fall in love, he breaks her out of a mental institution, and the rest is history.
OK, seriously? A beautiful scientist played by Eva Green and a beautiful chef played by Ewan McGregor fall deeply in love to a swirling score of violins while, all around them, an epidemic starts robbing everyone of their senses, one by one. Things go accordingly, although, spoiler alert: everyone stays beautiful throughout the movie.
Oh my gosh, you guys, this one is a classic for a reason. Usually, I don't leave it to films to answer big questions, such as what might have been? But this one gets it right. It's another of those rom-coms featuring parallel universes, and in one universe, Gwyneth Paltrow gets stuck with an ill-fitting brown wig; in the other, she has highlights and is also super fab! Also there's the man whom she's always loved versus the man she's just met. There are also hijinks and shenanigans, so you know this one's a keeper.
Seriously, I have a soft spot in my heart for movies from the late '90s and early aughts. Serendipity is more magic than sci-fi, but I digress; two young Manhattanites who very clearly belong together, played by John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, leave their pairing up to fate and oh, boy, let me tell you: fate has quite the sense of humor. Come for the banter, stay for Beckinsale's several-years-later hair.
If you know anything about Wes Anderson, you know this film is his most precise — peak Anderson, if I might. Two preteen lovebirds run away together after fostering a secret relationship through letter writing and binocular stalking. It's sweet!
I can tell you one thing for sure: One Day specializes in every single feel. Jumping in time across 18 years, it follows Jim Sturgess and a bespectacled Anne Hathaway from friendship to romance and beyond. There are car accidents! Cocaine-fueled hard partying! Babies and ex-wives! And a pretty good dosing of romance, if I do say so myself. Seriously, this movie has it all.
I think sibling love is very important, and I'd argue that Melancholia is really a journey about two sisters, played by Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg, who could never actually be sisters in real life. The world is, once again, ending (when isn't it, at this point?) but depression plays a huge part, too. Seeing these two very different siblings come together at the end of the world is a totally legit portrayal of love.
