valentine’s day | the m0vie blog

170. Before Sunset – “Two Guys Die Alone 2020” (#236)

Posted on February 20, 2020 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guest Jay Coyle, The 250 is a fortnightly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users.

This time, a Valentine’s treat. Richard Linklater’s Before Sunset.

Finishing up his book tour in Paris, Jessie crosses paths once again with Celine. With a little over an hour before Jessie has to catch a flight back to the United States, the pair take a stroll through Paris. As they do, the nine years since their last encounter fades away, allowing them to reminisce about what might have been and consider what might yet be.

At time of recording, it was ranked the 236th best movie of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: Before Sunrise, before sunset, celine, film, imdb, jay coyle, jesse, mvoie, podcast, Richard Linklater, romance, The 250, two guys die alone, valentine's day | Leave a comment »

117. Before Sunrise – “Two Guys Die Alone 2019” (#204)

Posted on February 9, 2019 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, The 250 is a fortnightly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users.

This time, a Valentine’s treat. Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise.

An arguing couple on a train unexpectedly bring two much younger people into contact; Jessie is a seemingly cynical American who has found himself bumming around Europe while waiting for a flight home while Celine is a student returning to Paris. On a whim, the two young people decide to spend one magical night together, knowing that it may well be the only time that they ever spend together.

At time of recording, it was ranked the 204th best movie of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: attraction, austria, Before Sunrise, ethan hawke, Julie Delpy, love, Richard Linklater, romance, sex, Travel, valentine's day, vienna | Leave a comment »

65. Smultronstället (Wild Strawberries) – “Two Guys Die Alone 2018” (#152)

Posted on February 10, 2018 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, The 250 is a fortnightly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users.

This time, a Valentine’s treat. Ingmar Bergman’s Wild Strawberries.

Professor Isak Borg embarks upon a road trip to receive an honourary doctorate from his university, but soon discovers that the fourteen hour car journey represents a trip into his past, reflecting on life lived and love lost as he comes to terms with his decisions and his relationships.

At time of recording, it was ranked the 152nd best movie of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: Emotion, film, ingmar bergman, isolation, loneliness, love, Movie, regret, road movie, Smultronstället, Sweden, valentine's day | Leave a comment »

18. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – “Two Guys Die Alone 2017” (#85)

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, The 250 is a fortnightly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users.

This time, a Valentine’s treat. Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

An exploration of memory and loss, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind imagines a world in which people can pay to have traumatic and heartbreaking memories scrubbed from their minds. The film follows Joel as he elects to undergo the procedure to erase his relationship with Clementine, but at the last minute he suffers buyer’s remorse.

At time of recording, it was ranked the 85th best movie of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, film, The 250, valentine's day | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: This Means War

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Darren

It’s hard to find anything redeeming in McG’s This Means War, a romantic comedy that attempts to court the male demographic with promises of car chases and explosions and action sequences. However, the movie has some rather unpleasant undertones as it devolves into a competition between two male friends to see who can effectively trick a beautiful young woman into falling in love with them. Interestingly, the movie is primarily about these two guys and their relationship, with the (supposed) object of their affection serving as a glorified prop.

War and pieces...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Charlie, chris pine, film, Heinrich, hollywood, mcg, Movie, non-review review, Reese Witherspoon, review, Romantic comedy film, This Means War, This Means War (movie), This Means War 9film), Til Schweiger, tom hardy, USA PATRIOT Act, valentine's day | 4 Comments »

Is the Romantic Comedy Dead & Gone…

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Darren

I’m a romantic at heart. I really am. Underneath my cold, cynical exterior beats the heart of a poet. A bad poet, no doubt, but a poet nonetheless. Which is why I find it somewhat disingenuous when my mother or my aunt feel the need to attack me for not appreciating or understanding films like My Sister’s Keeper or The Ugly Truth. It’s easy to joke that “ha, I’m a dude and dudes don’t understand the romantic or emotional drama movies!” and so on, but I think that belies the problem. And the problem is that I don’t like too many romantic comedies because… well, they aren’t good movies (or, to qualify, I don’t believe they are good movies). Read on to hear my reasoning.

The only gold standard in the traditional romantic comedy is Matthew McConaughey's fake tan...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 27 dresses, film, Movies, romance, romantic comedies, the ugly truth, valentine's day | 8 Comments »

How Studios Put Together Valentine’s Day…

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Darren

News broke last week that Julia Roberts received $500,000 a minute for her screentime in this year’s romantic ensemble comedy Valentine’s Day. Yes, for six minutes of screentime, she got $3m (which really doesn’t seem that impressive without the zeroes – so $3,000,000). However, that wasn’t the most interesting part of the coverage of the movie – well, at least for me. A bit of commentary revealed how Hollywood can attract so many big names under one matinee sign (which is, undoubtedly, a key part of the movie’s success).

Here's to you, Mrs. Roberts(on)...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: budget, ensemble, film, garry marshall, jamie foxx, julia roberts, Movies, romantic comedy, valentine's day | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Ugly Truth

Posted on February 13, 2010 by Darren

Who says sexism is dead? To look at the bulk of the romantic comedy genre, you wouldn’t know it. The subtext of any given mainstream big budget romantic comedy is that guys are stupid and unaware dinosaurs, while women are just the tiniest bit uptight and are neurotic in a mild and endearing manner. The Ugly Truth probably isn’t the worst offender – I felt much worse coming out of 27 Dresses, to be honest – but it is the most recent one I’ve seen.