11 movies to watch this Valentine's Day

The Hubby and I love watching movies, it's a chance for us to chill out and be together. We're rarely interrupted when we're watching a movie - mainly because LP is in bed by the time we start. We get to sit and enjoy the movie and be a couple, it's great. 

Choosing a movie on the other hand is tough, we have a huge collection and can never settle on just one because we're overwhelmed. With so much choice on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video and then all the DVDs we have, it's difficult to settle on something - which is why I've put together this short(er) list of movies I love to watch around Valentine's Day. I have yet to choose just one to watch on Valentine's Day, but I'll get there. Maybe.



1.  Moulin Rouge


This is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Not only does it tell a love story but it breaks your heart too. I know that doesn't sound like a particularly good thing for a Valentine's movie but think of it this way - your partner will want to comfort you because you're crying! 



Moulin Rouge DVD sits on a pink background surrounded by small silver hearts. In the top left of the picture is a black top hat with a pink ribbon, in the bottom left is a pink heart with an arrow through it, in the top right corner is a smiling mouth, and in the bottom right is a pair of  black round spectacles.



A passion-filled poet falls for a breathtaking courtesan in this exotic musical love story from the unique and spellbinding imagination of visionary director Baz Luhrmann. Stunning performances from stars Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor fuel this moving romantic journey set in and around a fabulously sensuous night club. Mesmerising and exuberant entertainment, the film pops with a contemporary, chart-topping soundtrack that makes Moulin Rouge an experience you won't forget.

This movie is one of my all-time favourites and makes me cry EVERY TIME. Baz Luhrmann is one of the few directors I can actually remember the name of, but that's because his movies are so unique. Of all his movies there has only been one I didn't like. The soundtrack to Moulin Rouge is brilliant, I was listening to it just a few days ago. If you like musicals you will LOVE Moulin Rouge.



2. Pretty Woman


A classic. No matter how many times I watch Pretty Woman I still laugh when the jewellery box snaps shut and I cry at the end. I'm sure every single person reading this has seen it but if you haven't watch it, watch it right now!



Pretty Woman DVD sits on a pink background surrounded by small silver hearts. In the bottom left corner is a smiling mouth with pink lips. In the top left is a speech bubble which says "Smile". In the top right corner is a pink heart with an arrow through it, and in the bottom right is an ice-lolly.



Julia Roberts stars as a streetwise, down-on-her-luck working girl, whose chance encounter with a handsome corporate mogul leads to an improbable love affair.


Nothing beats a good Cinderella-style movie and Pretty Woman is just that. 



3. About Time


Whenever you think of Valentine's movies it's all about the girl as the main character and the boy is the secondary character - but in About Time that is different. About Time is not just a movie about love, it's a movie about life. 



Sorry for the picture - we bought the digital version so we don't have the DVD!


Sometimes we wish we could change our choices, make a different choice and take another path, and in this movie Tim Lake can! 

At the age of 21, Tim is told an incredible family secret by his father: all the men in his family have the ability to relive their past. He can revisit any moment in his life to try things differently until he gets them perfectly right. He decides to use his special new gift to win the heart of the beautiful Mary, but finds that the course of true love can be hilariously difficult - even with the ability to try, try and try again.


What I love about this movie is it's about life, about growing up and finding love, about having to deal with things that happen - like family bereavement. It'll bring tears to your eyes, it'll make you laugh, and it'll make you think. Enjoy.



4. Blended


What I most love about Blended is it's not just a love story, it's about family and how two families can come together. 



Sorry for the picture - we bought the digital version so I don't have the DVD!



Recently divorced mom Lauren (Drew Barrymore) and widowed dad Jim (Adam Sandler) let their friends push them into a blind date, which goes disastrously wrong. Unsurprisingly, neither wants to see the other ever again. However, fate intervenes when both Jim and Lauren, unbeknown to each other, purchase one-half of the same vacation package at a South African resort; they and their children are forced to share the same suite and participate in a slew of family activities together.


Blended makes me laugh, there's great music, there are even kids. It's the kids that make me laugh most, and being a mum myself makes me love this movie more. The focus on family and how important it is is something I can relate to and I'm sure that's the case for any mother or father out there.

Blended is a fantastic movie with two of my favourite actors together again. 



5. Sliding Doors


The Hubby and I watched Sliding Doors a few weeks ago and it is still one of my favourites. 



Sliding Doors DVD sits on a pink background with small silver hearts near it. In the top left is a picture of a glass of lemonade, in the bottom left is a pair of pink lips. In the top right is a pink heart with an arrow through it and in the bottom right is half a watermelon slice.



Gwyneth Paltrow plays London publicist Helen, effortlessly sliding between parallel storylines that show what happens if she does or does not catch a morning train back to her apartment. Love. Romantic entanglements. Deception. Trust. Friendship. Comedy. All come into focus as the two stories shift back and forth, overlap, then surprisingly converge.


What I love about this movie is the inevitability of finding "the one". Now I know it's all fairytale-style nonsense and people will say there is no "the one", but it does feel good when someone ends up with their soulmate doesn't it? Even if you don't believe in "the one" or soulmates when someone finds love you've gotta smile.



6. The Lake House


Can you fall in love with someone you've never met? Someone you've only ever written to? That's the idea this movie explores.



The Lake House DVD sits on a pink background surrounded by small silver hearts. In the top right corner is a pink heart with an arrow through it. In the bottom right is a picture of a doughnut with pink icing and sprinkles. In the bottom left corner is a picture of a smiling mouth with pink lips. In the top left corner is a purple tie.



Dr. Kate Forster has finally found romance. Trouble is, it's a long-distance relationship. She's in downtown Chicago. He's in a remote lakeside suburb. And there's more: She's in 2006. He's in 2004.



A heart lifting story of love that transcends time. It begins when Kate moves out of her visually stunning lake house and leaves a note for the next tenant, architect Alex Wyler. They begin a correspondence and soon come to realise they are meant for each other... and that, somehow, they live two years apart. Can they ever meet? What would happen if they tried?


Imagine having a large house at the side of lake, and a private lake at that! Oh how wonderful that would be. But more than the house is the connection made between two people that have never met. The Lake House is a brilliant movie that says it's not all about how someone looks - you can fall in love with someone, even if you've only ever written to them.



7. Shakespeare in Love


Filled with drama, laughter, and love, Shakespeare in Love is a fantastic movie. It explores the ideas behind Romeo and Juliet and also hints at one of his other stories.



Shakespeare in Love DVD sits on a pink background surrounded by small silver hearts. In the bottom left corner is a picture of a glass of lemonade. In the top left is a pink heart with an arrow through it. In the top right corner is a smiling mouth with pink lips.


Shakespeare in Love is a romantic comedy for the 1990's set in the 1590's telling the witty, sexy story behind the creation of the greatest love story of them all - Romeo and Juliet. Young Will shakespeare is the up and coming playwright of the time but has been disastrously struck by the bane of the writers life - writer's block. His comedy "Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's Daugher" is not going anywhere and the playhouse is under threat of closure. What Will needs is a muse - and she appears in the form of the beautiful (and betrothed) Lady Viola.


The path of true love doesn't run smooth for Will, however - Viola is engaged to be married to the insufferable Lord Wessex at the command of Queen Elizabeth. The joys and tragedy of his own life find their way onto the page in a moving, witty and spellbinding tale. 

I do love the costumes in Shakespeare in Love, when I was a child I was obsessed with the Elizabethan era. But really it's the love story, watching the struggle to find one another and... well I won't spoil it for you - watch it!



8. Notting Hill


Can you imagine what it would be like to actually fall in love with a movie star? Well that's what this movie is all about, and the problems and issues the characters have to deal with.



Notting Hill DVD sits on a pink background surrounded by small silver hearts. In the top right corner is a pink heart with an arrow through it. In the bottom right is a picture of a glass of lemonade. In the bottom left is a smiling mouth with pink lips. In the top left corner is a speech bubble that says "Smile!"



William Thacker (Hugh Grant) is the owner of a bookshop in the heart of Notting Hill in London. One day, by a one-in-a-million chance, the worlds most famous actress, Anna Scott (Julia Roberts), comes into his shop. He watches in amazement as she leaves and he thinks he'll never see her again. But fate intervenes - and minutes later William collides with Anna on Portobello Road. So begins a tale of romance and adventure in London W11.With a little help from his chaotic flatmate Spike and his old friends, Max and Bella, William seeks the face he can't forget...


Another of my favourites Notting Hill also has two of my favourite actors of the genre - Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. William's best friend and flatmate Spike has me in stitches, I smile when William sees Anna for the first time, and I love the ending. A classic.



9. Sleepless in Seattle


Sleepless in Seattle is a classic love movie with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. When I settle down to watch Sleepless in Seattle I know I'm going to enjoy it, and yes - it makes me cry (I'm such a softie!).



Sleepless in Seattle DVD sits on a pink background surrounded by small silver hearts. In the top right corner is a smiling mouth with pink lips, in the bottom right corner is a picture of a pizza slice. In the top left corner is a pink heart with an arrow through it and in the bottom left corner is a picture of a doughnut with pink icing and purple sprinkles.


Christmas is a magical time when anything can happen. And for Annie Reen (Meg Ryan), a down-to-earth newspaper reporter, it's just about to.


Whilst driving to her fiance's house on Christmas Eve, she hears a radio broadcast that will change her life.  Eight-year-old Jonah is worried about his recently widowed father, and calls a radio station agony aunt. Persuaded onto the phone, Jonah's dad Sam (Tom Hanks) tells of his love for his dead wife and how their time together was pure magic.



Annie is so touched by his heartfelt sentiment that she becomes determined to meet him. But there are a few problems: Sam's in Seattle, Annie's in Baltimore... and Sam doesn't even know that Annie exists!

Another story about falling in love with someone you've never met - but it's a good one. I enjoy Sleepless in Seattle because of Jonah and his interfering - it's so funny and reminds me of LP. A great movie to enjoy on Valentine's Day.



10. Music & Lyrics


If you like music, particularly the style in the 1980's, you'll love Music & Lyrics. The start of the movie is brilliant and is very reminiscent of the 80's, which I guess is the point. With new twists on a classic story (boy meets girl etc) it's a fun watch.



Music and Lyrics DVD sits on a pink background surrounded by small silver hearts. In the top right corner is a pink heart with an arrow through it. In the bottom right corner is a picture of a glass of lemonade. In the bottom left corner is a smiling mouth with pink lips. In the top left corner is a speech bubble with "Smile!" in it.


First you're hot, then you're not... and then you're Alex Fletcher. So when the new sizzling tween queen on the charts asks the has-been '80s pop sensation to write her a song, he grabs for another chance at stardom. Problem: Alex can say it with music, but he sure can't say it with words. Enter Sophie Fiser, his beguiling if quirky plant lady, who has an unexpected green thumb for lyrics. Together, they grafter songwriting success - and discover that if you want to write the perfect love song, it helps to fall in love.

One thing I loved about Music & Lyrics was Alex Fletcher's signature move (look out for it if you watch), which reminded me of the dancing Prime Minister in Love Actually (again played by Hugh Grant). The music is great in this movie, I loved it so much I've downloaded the soundtrack! 



11. P.S. I Love you


P.S. I love you is another movie that will have you crying but it's also a movie that will show you the power of love. 



P.S. I love you DVD  sits on a pink background surrounded by small silver hearts. In the top right corner is a pink heart with an arrow through it. In the bottom right corner is a picture of a slice of watermelon. In the bottom left corner is a pair of pink lips. In the top left corner is a picture of a glass of lemonade.


Childhood sweethearts Holly and Gerry could finish each other's sentences. No one could imagine them apart. Until, that is, the unthinkable happens and Holly is faced with the prospector spending the rest of her life without her husband. Then, one day, a light appears at the end of the tunnel in the form of a surprise letter. Secretly, Gerry has left her a series of notes written before he died - delivered one per month - to gently guide Holly into her new life, each finishing with: P.S. I love you.

The strength of love goes beyond death. This movie is a brilliant one, I cry a lot but I think that's because I can imagine how crushed I would be losing the love of my life. I don't want to give too much away if you haven't seen this but Gerry helps Holly live her life, just like he did when he was alive. Heartbreaking, and yet an excellent movie to watch.


There you have it, my 11 suggestions of movies to watch this Valentine's Day. Now all I've got to do is get it down to 1!


Which movie will you be watching this Valentine's Day?

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