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9 Good and Bad Romance Films Since 2010

Romance. Over the years, there are many kinds of romance films: those that made you teared up, those that warm your heart, those that made you think back of your own sweet memories with loved ones, those that tickle your balls and those that made you cringe with overwhelming cliches. It is one of those genre of films that is fast running out of creativity; you can't have one without feeling that it's near identical to the other you seen days or weeks ago. 

Now, let's take a look at 9 of the best and worst cheesiest romance films of late, in no specific order whatsoever. 

1. The Vow


It is one of the most talked-about romance film in 2012 starring Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum. The Vow tells the story of a woman who suffered amnesia after an unfortunate accident and has no recollection of her life shared with her just-married husband. It is a heart-warming tale and though I didn't end up crying a river, I am certainly emotionally moved by Tatum and McAdams' solid and impactful performance in telling the story of how pure love can be, even when the other sees you as complete stranger.

2. Blue Valentine


One of Ryan Gosling's best, alongside The Notebook. Sometimes if a person is not careful enough, loving a person too much can lead to obsession. That is when your partner feels you're too stressful to be with. Also starring Michelle Williams, it's a heart-wrenching tale of how a love so strong that brought two people together eventually became the downfall of their marriage. As Gosling's and Williams' marriage is breaking down to pieces, we get to see how they begin in the first place, how intense their love was for each other before everything went blue.

3. About Time


Not the first (Time Traveller's Wife) but a pretty unusual romance film involving time travelling. Domhnall Gleeson plays a man named Tim, who discovered he has the ability to travel in time to any point of his life as he chooses and decides to use it to get himself a girlfriend. When he meets Mary (Rachel McAdams) he know he has found the right one; but a series of unfortunate events made Tim realize that getting the love of his life is not as easy as it seems, and not even time traveller has all the time in the world. 

With a balance of love, drama, humour and wits, I am surprised, entertained and moved by this piece.

4. Ruby Sparks



Not highly publicised nor promoted, Ruby Sparks is a romantic film with many, many unexpected realism about love and relationships. There is so much honesty and cuteness in this that left me laughing and crying towards the end. A story of how a socially-awkward Calvin (Paul Dano) wrote the "perfect girlfriend" Ruby Sparks for his upcoming book and gets the shock of his life when he find Ruby (Zoe Kazan) suddenly shows up in his living room one day. 

It is an uncommon love story and have many beautiful quotes throughout. 

5. Don Jon


Joseph Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut is also another love story with abundance honesty. There is no attempt to make it Holly-cheesy and the strong performance of its casts made it my personal pick as the best rom-com of 2013. Just when Jon thinks watching porn is better than any real sex, he meets two very different women that turns his world upside down.

6. Upside Down


One of those romance film who decided to go 'out-of-the-box' but didn't get it quite far off. Set in a world parallel to ours with dual gravity, Upside Down tells the story of  star-crossed lovers Adam and Eden (oh the names!) who must go against the very force of nature (and government) to be together. Visually stunning and beautiful yet falls short in terms of narrative. Interesting concept but with poor execution. 

7. Safe Haven


I like how it's sort of a thriller-romance hybrid and the gloomy settings of the film help give it some kind of tragic feel. Sadly, those didn't work too well. Not enough suspense to even place it as an average thriller. Not to mention the film is packed with overwhelming cliches (the rain while canoeing, really?) The beauty of it really goes to the chemistry between Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough but everything else is just too cheesy that I cringe everytime the characters exchange love dialogues. 

8. This Means War



This Means War is anything but funny and romantic. It is so badly written that Sean Connery will have gotten 10 years older watching  this. Looking at Reese Witherspoon deciding who is the hotter guy between Chris Pine and Tom Hardy is certainly less than enticing. I feel trapped and nauseated listening to her rambling on life-turning dilemmas and oh the plot twist at the end? Even my 8 year old nephew will see that coming. 

9. Love and Other Drugs


There's a lot to laugh at and weep about in this film, but what sold it to me was the impeccable chemistry between Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hatthaway. The authenticity of their love in midst of a series of misfortunes is enough to move the spirits of even the emotionally sturdy ones. I especially love rom-com that is brutally honest about reality.

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