Best Movies Of 2014

Posted on December 23, 2014 by The Sloth — No Comments ↓

Another year is drawing to a close, bringing cold sweats and minor existential crises: where is our life going? Is Kim’s bum REALLY that big? Can we ever learn to like eggs when they smell like farts but are such a good source of protein? To distract our feverish (and slightly drunk – it is Xmas party season) mind, we’ve drawn up our traditional Top 10 Movies Of The Year list. Without further ado, in (hic) reverse order:

10. 2 Days 1 Night. Gotta love the French: “J’ai une idée! We will mek a moral drama about le socialism and les workers rights! In a Belgian factory! Wiv a mother ‘ou is getting ze sack!” “Ah, but zat is not bleak enough, no?” “OK, zen ze mother ‘ou is getting ze sack, ‘ow about she es sick wiv ze depression as well?” “Ah oui! C’est magnifique!” And then they went and cast Marion Cotillard, so the dullest cinematic prospect ever conceived was amazing.

9. Frank. We salute it for various reasons. Primarily for the most ostentatiously cavalier use of Michael Fassbender, ever. Hire one of the most talented actors of his generation then hide him under a giant papier-mâché heid. For virtually the entire film. Respect.

8. Mr Turner. Logic says you couldn’t win Best Actor at Cannes with a performance based primarily on grunts. Logic be damned. Timothy Spall channelled his best Gloucester Old Spot to take home the gong in Mike Leigh’s utterly charming, witty biopic.

7. Maps To The Stars. We love it when Hollywood bites the hand that feeds it. Maps To The Stars bares its bleached white teeth and shellac coated claws to swipe mercilessly at La La Land’s narcissism and egoism. All the more cutting with the recent, unfortunate expose of catty emails from Sony execs…

6. Under The Skin. Scarlett Johansson. As a man-eating alien. Driving a white van. In Glasgow. The Sloth can only presume the idea emerged during a game of Boggle. And it was every bit as strange, original, unsettling and downright barking mad as you’d expect.

5. The Lunchbox. We’re not a particularly sentimental animal but occasionally we make exceptions. The Lunchbox was one such sweet, emotional and poignant exception, set against a rich and vivid portrayal of downtown Mumbai. Viewer Warning: overwhelming cravings for curry experienced at your own risk.

4. Guardians Of The Galaxy. Talking raccoons! Talking trees! Sony Walkmans! Green aliens! This is what we want! Join The Sloth in giving praise and thanks to the someone, somewhere, who remembered that movies are supposed to be fun.

3. Boyhood. You’ve heard the critics salivating over this. 12 years in the making…astonishing director’s vision…incredible achievement, yadda yadda. What really got The Sloth was it draws you unsettlingly back on a journey through your own past 12 years. History flashing before your eyes.

2. Nightcrawler. This looked so mouth-wateringly fabulous on paper – Jake Gyllenhaal as a manic sociopath in a dark media satire, with the always-terrific Riz Ahmed on the side – we thought we would only be disappointed. We weren’t. We’ve not watched the News At Ten since. Shudder.

1. Whiplash. We emerged from the press screening with our head spinning and cheers ringing in our ears. Cheers! From miserable, unimpressible, been-there-done-that, grumpy journos! A dark, exhilarating, 100 mins of sheer adrenalin.

Agree? Disagree? Cor blimey, That Sloth doesn’t have a clue what they’re talking about? Tell us – what made your list?

Top five classic romantic movies to snuggle up to

Posted on December 2, 2014 by The Sloth

Please welcome back The Sloth’s special guests Lovestruck.com who are in festive mood.

It’s that time of the year when all we want to do is dive onto the sofa, lock the door and snuggle up with our other halves with a glass of mulled wine in one hand and a mince pie – or three (ahem) – in the other. With Christmas just around the corner there are a host of classic love flicks showing on the TV and plenty to be watched on demand. Here at Lovestruck.com, we love a good love story and here are our top winter warmers:

Love Actually (2003). No list of festive rom coms would be complete without Richard Curtis’ classic, which features the intertwining love stories of multiple characters played by a seriously top notch cast (including High Grant, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy and Alan Rickman) over the Christmas season. From the Prime Minister, to the boy with a crush on his classmate, there is something for everyone to relate to – and it will leave you feeling on a festive high. Our top quote – Prime Minister: “If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling that love is actually all around.”

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). This American comedy, starring Audrey Hepburn as the awesome Holly Golightly, is an all time gem and we’re pretty sure you must have seen it already (and it’s always worth revisiting) but if you haven’t – this is one for as soon as you have a film-sized window in your diary. Ditsy and delightful Holly charms the whole of New York including her neighbour: struggling writer Paul Varjak (George Peppard). One of the most iconic movie kisses of all time sees them embrace down a rainy New York alley at the end. Our top quote – Paul: “People do fall in love. People do belong to each other, because that’s the only chance that anyone’s got for true happiness.”

Beauty and The Beast (1991). They say Disney films are for kids but quite frankly, this is right up there with our fave romantic flicks of all time. Paige O’Hara voices the sassy and smart Belle, who is captured and kept imprisoned by the brutish Beast (voiced by Robby Benson), a prince magically transformed into a monster as punishment for his arrogance. As they spend time together, Bells starts to see beyond his looks to the man beneath. This was the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture Oscar and it dazzles with fabulous tunes and stunning visuals. Our top quote – Gaston: “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you had feelings for this monster Belle.” Belle: “He’s no monster Gaston, you are.”

Gone With The Wind (1939). Still the highest grossing movie of all time, this flick tells of the tempestuous coupling between Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) and strong-willed Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh). We’d be open-mouthed if you’d not seen it already and, even if you have, we’re sure it’s time for another showing because more than 70 years on, it still sweeps you up into the golden age of Hollywood. This is one love story to seriously get your teeth stuck into. Our top quote – Rhett: ”Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

The Holiday (2006). A dead cert to get you into the holiday spirit. When two women, played by Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz, swap homes on a whim for the holiday season after bad break-ups with their boyfriends, they discover more about themselves and find love on the way. With an awesome cast (also featuring Jude Law and Jack Black), it never fails to disappoint. Our top quote – Miles: “It’s Christmas Eve and we’re going to celebrate being young and being alive.”

What other films would you add to our list? Do you have festive classics that you watch every year? Tell us @lovestruck

5 Creepy Movie Characters

Posted on November 26, 2014 by The Sloth

The Sloth didn’t sleep well last night. Something went bump at 1.30am, waking us in panic. We grabbed the nearest improvised weapon to hand (a wooden puppet with a wobbly head – admittedly of limited use, but we’d left our Kalashnikov in the garage) and crept downstairs, ruing the fact our phone was out of charge.

The reason for our terror? We’d been watching The Fall pre-bedtime so were convinced a balaclavaed Jamie Dornan was sniffing our pants in the kitchen. An interesting image for two reasons i) such an image could as easily apply to Mr Dornan’s upcoming turn as Christian Grey in 50 Shades – clearly not a man afraid of typecasting and ii) it highlighted a proliferation of unsavoury types currently parading across our screens. From Dornan’s own personal Gallery of Miscreants to Jake Gyllenhaal’s skin-crawling Nightcrawler, Louis Bloom; to Rosamund Pike’s Amazing Amy, whose morals and sanity have long Gone Girl, we’re loving Hollywood’s current turn to The Dark Side. Here are 5 more memorable movie creepsters from the past.

1) Seymour Parrish, One Hour Photo. The much missed Robin Williams is primarily remembered for his services to comedy, but The Sloth most admired his turn as an obsessive stalker preying on a suburban family. It’s always the quiet ones…

2) Anton Chigurh, No Country For Old Men. King of the bad haircut, Javier Bardem’s uber-villain simply has to stand and stare with his bolt gun and a thousand shivers run down a thousand spines. A technique partially reprised later for his white fright-wigged Silva in Skyfall.

3) Frank Booth, Blue Velvet. Were we a lazy Sloth (oh, IRONY!) we could simply list 5 David Lynch films and leave this post there. But we’re not, so we’ll nominate Dennis Hopper’s gas mask wearing psychopath as a sadistically disturbed highlight.

4) Frank T McCay, Magnolia. Creepsters don’t always hide their light under a bushel. In arguably his best ever performance, Tom Cruise’s megalomaniac, misogynistic self-help guru dispensing seminars of ladykilling ‘advice’ to wannabe pick-up artists becomes even more disturbing after recent news stories surrounding Julien Blanc.

5) Frank, Donnie Darko. (NB Are you sensing some kind of pattern emerging? No? Just us?) Frankly (there it is again…), the entire film is essentially one long, surreal nightmare, but the intermittent, hallucinogenic images of Frank (gaahhh!!!!) the pyscho-bunny should come with a government mental health warning. Watch at your sanity’s peril.

Who are your favourite creepsters? Let us know.

London Film Festival 2014 – Our Top 5

Posted on October 19, 2014 by The Sloth

The BFI London Film Festival is finally over for another year. After 2 weeks permanently parked on a movie theatre pew, The Sloth’s eyes are bloodshot and we have callouses around our nether regions. Never mind that, we hear you cry, what was good? Drum roll please. In reverse order, here’s our top 5 to look forward to in months to come:

5 Kelly & Cal. WHY DOES JULIETTE LEWIS NOT GET MORE WORK? IT’S A DISGRACE! The Sloth LOVES Juliette, so we were delighted to see her in this bittersweet dramedy of an unlikely friendship between two outsiders. A small film with a very big heart. Seek it out.

4 Foxcatcher. Arriving with more critical fanfare than a trumpeter’s convention, frankly this was never going to live up to the hype. But it’s a cool, mesmeric, understated psychological drama with terrific turns from Channing Tatum (potential contender for The Sloths’ New Favourite Actor – how did Mr Step Up suddenly get so good?) and Steve Carrell.

3 Mr Turner. A biopic of the acclaimed painter sounds, let’s be honest, somewhat dull. But in the hands of Mike Leigh this is unexpectedly witty, warm and wonderfully entertaining. Add in Timothy Spall’s marvellously bestial, grunting, porcine performance and you’ve got a winner.

2 White God. Dog pound strays turn nasty on their human captors. Mad as a bucket of frogs metaphorical critique of state oppression that starts out as Lassie and ends up 28 Days Later meets Planet Of The Apes. Nutty and sublime in equal measures. Deservedly won canine star Hagen the Palme Dog. We’re wondering how the director explained his motivation.

1 Whiplash. Does what it says on the tin. A thrilling, demonic, whirlwind tale of musical obsession with terrifyingly good (and downright terrifying) performances from stars JK Simmons and Miles Teller. It drew not only applause but cheers at the press screening. Stonking.

Most Romantic Films That Make You Want To Travel…

Posted on June 17, 2014 by The Sloth

Please welcome back The Sloth’s regular guest bloggers Lovestruck.com, who are in holiday mood.

With the summer holidays now firmly in our sites and our sunnies and shorts dug out from the back of our wardrobes, here at Lovestruck.com, we couldn’t help thinking of romance and more specifically, the most romantic films of all time set in foreign climes. Here are our top choices:

Amelie (2001). Location: Paris.
How we love, love, love this French flick about a Parisian waitress (played by Audrey Tatou), who wants to make other peoples’ lives better, while struggling with her own loneliness. Cute and delicate, Amelie is funny, touching and has the most fabulous backdrop. The film is set in the 18^th district and makes us want to hop on the Eurostar right this second and go and drink wine in the sunshine on one of the cobbled streets. Our top quote: “A woman without love wilts like a flower without sun.”

Under The Tuscan Sun (2003). Location: Tuscany
Do you ever consider jacking it all in and heading off somewhere beautiful and starting all over? In this film, a recently divorced writer (played by Diane Lane) impulsively buys a dilapidated Tuscan villa where she begins a romance with the Italian local Marcello. And while that romance doesn’t last, she eventually meets an American on holiday proving that love can strike at a time when you least expect it to. Our top quote: “Signora. Please stop being so sad. If you continue like this, I will be forced to make love to you. And I’ve never been unfaithful to my wife.”

Before Sunrise (1995). Location: Vienna
This romantic drama, directed by Richard Linklater follows a young American man named Jesse (played by Ethan Hawke) and a French woman Celine (played by Julie Delpy) who meet on a train and get off in Vienna. They spend the night wondering around the city, getting to know each other. Witty and poignant, it is an unabashed look at romantic love.
Our top quote: “Isn’t everything we do in life the way to be loved a little bit more?“

Lost In Translation (2003). Location: Tokyo.
This is a study of two lost souls who come together and spend a few days together in Tokyo. Bob (played by Bill Murray) is a jaded, ageing actor and Charlotte (played by Scarlett Johansson) is beautiful and bored waiting for her husband. The pair form an unlikely bond and realise their friendship might be something more. Beautifully shot, the film also balances humour and poignancy. Our top quote: “The more you know who you are and what you want, the less you let things upset you.”

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). Location: Barcelona.
Woody Allen helms this flick about best friends played by Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson, who travel to Barcelona and become enamoured with the same man. Things get much more complicated when his unstable ex then comes to stay. Anyone who needs some escapism (and to see some beautiful views of the city) needs to check this out pronto. Our top quote: “If you don’t start undressing me soon, this is going to turn into a panel discussion.”

What do you think of our choices? Do you have some of your own? Tell us @lovestruck

5 Cannes Film Festival Movies We Can’t Wait To See. And 1 We Can.

Posted on June 4, 2014 by The Sloth

The 2014 Cannes Film Festival is finally over and what a couple of weeks it was. The hoary old Exependables drove a tank down the Croisette, Nicole Kidman’s Grace of Monaco toppled Naomi Watt’s Diana for title of Most Vilified Portrait Of A Royal and Conchita’s beard worked the red carpet.

But what about the movies? There appear to be some corkers coming up. Here’s what The Sloth is most excited about.

1) Foxcatcher. A curious true story of an eccentric millionaire whose mentorship to two wrestling brothers took a sinister turn. Roundly lauded for its performances, led by Steve Carrell playing majorly against type, supported by Channing Tatum (how much has Channing blossomed since his early days as beefcake brawn? Good work, son!) and Mark Ruffalo, WE NEED TO SEE IT NOW!! WE’LL PAY GOOD MONEY!!

2) Maps To The Stars. It stars Julianne Moore, what other reason do you need? Oh, allright then. This satirical skewring of Hollywood, from David Croenberg, also features Robert Pattinson as a chauffer / actor wannabe thinking of converting to Scientology ‘as a career move’. Convinced?

3) Clouds of Silas Maria. Juliette Binoche, Chloe Grace Moritz and Kirsten Stewart all in the same film? In a tale of up and coming starlet vs. older actressy diva? We’ve not felt so much overwhelming girl power sass since Geri pinched Prince Charles’ bum.

4) The Rover. From David Michôd who directed the fabulous Animal Kingdom. Guy Pearce gets bloodied and beaten up in a distopian Australian outback. The ‘roos are the least of his worries.

5) Two Days, One Night. Yes, it’s a depressing French social realist drama, but it stars the ever-fabulous Marion Cotillard doing her best to look dowdy. And the Oscars do love dowdy…

So now for the one we’re not so fussed about:

1) Winter Sleep. It won the Palme D’Or, so such a declaration of sacrilege will doubtless get us hunted down by the French Film Police. We’re sure it’s very good, really we are, but 3 HOURS 16 MINUTES LONG?? That’s way beyond numb bum, that’s entering DVT territory. A trip to the movies should not necessitate flight socks and in-seat yoga. Doors to manual, The Sloth is leaving.

What catches your eye? Let The Sloth know.

Lovestruck’s Top Five Summer Date Movies

Posted on April 19, 2014 by The Sloth

Popcorn? Check. Drink? Check? Hot date? Check. Here at Lovestruck.com, we know that the cinema doesn’t make a particularly great first date because you don’t get to talk much. However fast forward to dates two or three and who doesn’t enjoy sitting next to someone they like in a dimly lit room, watching a film they have been dying to view for ages?

We have picked out our top five choices for films coming out in the coming months:

Godzilla
Release date: May 16
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche

Lovestruck Lowdown: This project, a reboot of the movie-monster franchise has been years in the making and promises incredible special effects. Helmed by Gareth Edwards, and with a stellar A-List cast, we have high hopes. The added bonus is research shows that scary films will bring you close to your date, so don’t be afraid to grab them during the frightening parts!

Edge of Tomorrow
Release date: May 30
Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Jeremy Piven, Bill Paxton

Lovestruck lowdown: Tom Cruise is back with a follow-up to 2013’s “Oblivion” with another futuristic sci-fi flick about a soldier caught in a time loop ending with his death each time. Directed by Doug Lima and adapted from the Japanese novel “All You Need is Kill”, we expect this to be one more for the boys, but high drama often makes a great date flick.

The Fault In Our Stars
Release date: June 20
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Willem Dafoe, Natt Wolff

Lovestruck Lowdown: It’s going to be a weepy one, so make sure you have some tissues at the ready! Two years after publication on John Green’s love story, which was a bestseller in the young adult fiction market, the film has been adapted to the big screen. It tells the story of two cancer sufferers who meet and fall in love at a support group. We did warn you…

Jersey Boys
Release date: June 20
Starring: Christopher Walken, Freya Tingley, Jeremy Luke, Katherine Narducci

Lovestruck Lowdown: More than eight years after it first premiered on Broadway in the US, the musical account of the life of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons heads to the big screen, under the direction of the legendary Clint Eastwood. If you haven’t seen the stageshow this looks set to be a great flick, although not for musical-haters (for obvious reasons!)

Sex Tape
Release date: September 5
Starring: Jason Segal, Cameron Diaz, Jack Black

The Lovestruck lowdown: Director Jake Kasdan reunites with Diaz and Segal (who he worked with on “Bad teacher” for a crazy tale of a married couple who decide to add the spark back into their romance by making a sex tape. The plan goes horribly wrong when Jay, played by Segal, syncs it to his cloud, meaning that all their friends will be able to view it on the iPads they gave them for Christmas. We expect this to be a laugh-a-minute, fun date film.

Any other films you are looking forward to seeing on a date night?
Tell us @lovestruck

Top 10 Pieces Of Dating Advice From Films

Posted on March 13, 2014 by The Sloth

Dating is a complicated business, no? But once in a while, as well as a good laugh and entertainment value, films will offer some useful dating advice, whatever your love story. Lovestruck.com have ‘pick n mixed’ their top 10 love quotes from the films we all know and love…

1. Settling for anything but Mr or Mrs Right:

“I don’t want to be someone you’re settling for. I don’t want to be someone anyone settles for… Marriage is hard enough without bringing such low expectations into it. Isn’t it? – Walter (Bill Pullman) Sleepless in Seattle.

2. When you’re starting a long-distance relationship:

“It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be really hard. We’re going to have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want to be with you. I want all of you, forever, you and me, every day.” – Noah (Ryan Gosling) in The Notebook

3. Worrying before a first date:

Katniss “How do you make people like you?”
Cinna: “Well, you made me like you.”
Katniss: “That’s different, I wasn’t trying.”
Cinna: “Exactly. Just be yourself.” – Cinna (Lenny Kravitz) and Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) in The Hunger Games

4. For accepting your partner, warts and all:

“When you love someone, you love all of them… you gotta love everything about them, not just the good things, but the bad things too. The things that you find lovable and the things you don’t.” – Estelle (Shirley MacLaine) in Valentine’s Day

5. Why it’s important to take risks:

“I’m scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I’m with you.” – Baby (Jennifer Grey) in Dirty Dancing

6. On getting over a break-up:

“Only time can heal your broken heart, just as only time can heal his broken arms and legs.” – Miss Piggy in The Muppets

7. Thinking positively about your love life:

“Sometimes despite your best efforts otherwise, life will give you lemons…when that happens, you have two choices friend, you can wear a sour face or make lemonade.” Burke (Aaron Eckhart) in Love Happens

8. When you are treated badly:

“We accept the love we think we deserve.” Bill (Paul Rudd) in the Perks of Being A Wallflower

9. When he doesn’t call:

“If a guy doesn’t call you – he doesn’t want to call you… no exceptions.”- Alex (Justin Long) He’s Just Not That Into You

10. Why it’s important to keep it real:

“In desperate love, we always invent characters of our partners, demanding they be what we need of them, and then feeling devastated when they refuse to perform a role we created in the first place.” – Elizabeth (Julia Roberts) in Eat, Pray, Love

Do you find a quote to suit? Do you have any to add? Tell us @lovestruck

Need date movie ideas? Check out The Sloth’s latest recommendations Cuban Fury and Her.

Never Mind The Oscars, It’s The Slothcars

Posted on March 2, 2014 by The Sloth

It’s Oscar time again! Cue big frocks, cringeworthy speeches and Jack Nicholson letching over the new young starlet du jour. Eew.

What a stonking year. So stonking that numerous films which surely would have been Oscar front runners in any other year have been shunted aside. To rectify this, The Sloth is awarding our very own Slothcars to the unlucky but deserving few whose nominations presumably got lost in the post. Please don your dickie bows as the red carpet is lined with paparazzi and the limos are arriving, bearing The Cumberbatch fighting off a selection of Cumberbitches, Lady Gaga wearing her own intestine and Gwynneth, who is already tearfully thanking God and Mumsnet. Oh, and Emma Thompson started too early and is chucking up in the loo.

Cue drum roll…

Best Actor: Michael Douglas, Behind The Candelabra
We’ve already roundly sounded off about the homophobic disgrace that is Hollywood refusing to release this theatrically. Thankfully the UK saw sense. Douglas’ warts and all turn as the King of Camp is hilarious, tragic and totally devoid of vanity.

Best Actress: Adèle Exarchopoulos, Blue Is The Warmest Colour
The year’s most controversial film until that canny Mr Von Trier showed up. The tabloids devoted sweaty column inches to the flesh pressing, overshadowing her remarkably natural and uninhibited performance. Bonus points awarded for impressively snotty crying scenes.

Best Director: J.C. Chandor, All Is Lost
“So J, you’ve got a boat and you’ve got Robert Redford who doesn’t talk. Make that last 100 minutes”. Would you have wanted that brief? Hats off to Mr Chandor for keeping every single one of those 100 minutes nail bitingly gripping.

Best Song: Please Mr Kennedy, Inside Llewyn Davis
We nearly ate our own toes when this wasn’t nominated, apparently due to some ridiculous Oscar small print rules. When Trousersnake busted this out we simultaneously sung along and laughed like a drain, resulted in a near-death-by-popcorn-experience.

Best Film: Rush
Tension, drama, humour, tragedy, thrills, spills. What more could you want from 90 minutes in a cinema? What’s that? Racing cars? Bingo, you got them too. Why this exceptional film received ZERO nominations is a travesty of the highest order. Makes us proper cross.

So that’s it. What do you think was overlooked? Let us know. In the meantime, all that stomping about the stage has left us starving so we’re off for a kebab with SJP. Laters.

Want more? Read The Sloth’s thoughts on the BAFTAs here.

Does sharing the same taste in films create better harmony in a relationship?

Posted on February 24, 2014 by The Sloth

Asks Lovestruck.com’s Emma Draper.

Please welcome The Sloth’s special guests lovestruck.com, who will be bringing you thought provoking articles on love and film.

So she loves dreamy rom coms that end with a big fat happily-ever-after and you adore action thrillers, with a bit of sci-fi thrown in for good measure? He worships the world of Woody Allen, while you think Steven Spielberg is the best director in Hollywood? Here at Lovestruck we know that many things can make or break a relationship but just how important is film taste?

My friend, let’s call her ‘Susie’, started to get serious doubts over a chap she was seeing ‘Mike’ when he talked about wanting to see The Human Centipede. When he then admitted that he thought the film sounded like ‘a laugh’, she winced, made her excuses and promptly dumped him the next day.

‘I mean there’s nothing wrong with a bit of horror, but seriously, “a bit of a laugh” – this is a film where people are SEWED together,’ she ranted down the phone.

Me? I’m not so bothered about my boyfriend’s film tastes, which vary from thrillers to period dramas and everything in between. Basically whatever gets good reviews, wins awards and is recommended by friends. But for some people film is a more important part of their identity and there are even a number of online dating sites specifically for film lovers. Will you end up dating a Trekkie or Lord of the Rings lover? Who knows?

Watching films together (presumably you have to agree what you watch first) has surprising benefits to existing couples. Just this week a study at the University of Rochester concluded that couples that watch romantic movies together then analyse them have 50 per cent a lower divorce and separation rate than those who don’t.

Ronald D. Rogge, an associate professor of psychology said: “A movie is a nonthreatening way to get the conversation started. It’s really exciting because it makes it so much easier to reach out to couples and help them strengthen their relationships on a wide scale.”

However, not all studies are on-board with this idea. A poll in Australia said that romantic comedies should be avoided because they give couples unrealistic views of relationships. One in four Australians said they were now expected to know what their partner was thinking while one in five of those polled said it made their partners expect gifts and flowers “just because”.

“It seems our love of rom-coms is turning us into a nation of ‘happy-ever-after addicts.’ Yet the warm and fuzzy feeling they provide can adversely influence our view of real relationships,” said Australian relationship counsellor, Gabrielle Morrissey.

What do you think? Are films an important part of your relationship? Do you look for someone with similar tastes in films to you? Let us know @Lovestruck

Want more from lovestruck? Check out their top 10 movies with dating advice.