Our ultimate expectations of a romance film are hypocritical. On one hand, we expect a grounded film: real people in real relationships with real feelings doing not necessarily sane but at least rational things in the name of love. On the other hand, we relish in fairytale depictions of love and the idea that true [...]

“Four Weddings and a Funeral” had some pretty amazing competition for Best Picture at the 1995 Academy Awards: Robert Redford’s “Quiz Show,” Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction,” “The Shawshank Redemption” and the winner, “Forrest Gump.” To say the least, this little British comedy was way out of its league. As unorthodox and interesting of a romantic [...]

“Chocolat” sounds like a gooey foreign love story, but it’s actually a fable with classic story archetypes and a hint of magic, all of which finishes pleasantly with a tender morsel — err, moral. It’s about as sophisticated as chocolate, which is not very sophisticated, so “Chocolat” is as easily digested as it is open [...]

“Marley & Me” does not prey entirely on our soft side for dogs, nor does it aim for laughs caused by animal hi-jinx. It’s a touching film with a warm spirit that manages to shake off any tearjerker stereotypes that most people would be quick to slap it with. That’s better than at least 75 [...]

I was surprised to learn that “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day” was based on Winifred Watson’s novel. That’s because it feels so much like a play. It wears all the charms of a play or musical with a high-society cast of people involved in music or theatre and whimsical characters bearing distinctive traits. Even [...]

Brave are the filmmakers who go out and try to capture the plight of the middle class, aka relationship drama. James L. Brooks’ “Broadcast News” is a romance twisted up with a career that’s all about constantly proving yourself and rising to the top. In reality, it’s just co-worker romance with the heated pressure of [...]

As a movie-lover, I had to see what all the fuss was about, so I watched “Twilight” despite minimal knowledge of Stephenie Meyer’s books. I didn’t like it, but felt it could be done better, so with Catherine Hardwicke switched out for Chris Weitz, I decided to see if the franchise could back-up its hundreds [...]

Side Note: Check out the next Julie Powell of Chicago cuisine, my friend Stephanie, and her  blog “Stephanie Eats Chicago.” She was featured on WGN Radio this morning, plus if you click you might find pictures of puppies amidst her food-pegs. “Julie & Julia” is not about food so much as it is about setting [...]

The ’60s was the decade of the movie musical with “West Side Story,” “The Sound of Music,” “My Fair Lady,” and “Oliver!” all taking home Best PIcture. It’s fair to say “Funny Girl” might’ve been on that list had it not came out the same year as “Oliver!” But the Academy had it right in [...]

I come from the group that has never read the Stephenie Meyer books and knew little about them other than the general idea of love and vampires and such. I had put off watching “Twilight” based on reviews, what I heard and my gender, but finally — nearly a year later — gave in to [...]

If there was an ultimate and absolute antonym for “Moulin Rouge!” it would be the adjective “shy.” Hundreds of gorgeous costumes, lavish studio sets, a digitally reproduced city of Paris and an abrupt and cartoonish comedic style make this movie musical a one-of-a-kind spectacle. From the very first musical mash-up number in the Moulin Rouge [...]

Kathleen Turner stars as a romance adventure novelist who ends up on a romantic adventure of her own in “Romancing the Stone.” Naturally, fans of romance adventures will most enjoy this one, but to its credit there’s a good balance of action to make this film enjoyable for just about everyone. “Romancing the Stone” is [...]