Valentine's Day Movies

This is romance week! Whether you have a special someone, or are all alone and dreaming of your prince or princess, here are what I consider some great movies to watch on Valentine's Day.

A Hazard Of Hearts was written by Barbara Cartland, but the movie is so much better. Sir Giles Staverley has a gambling problem. After he loses his entire estate and money to the evil Lord Wrotham, Sir Giles thinks he has one more chance to win and gambles away the only thing valuable he has left. His only daughter Serena. Of course, he loses again, and unable to bring himself to tell his daughter, he commits suicide. Lord Justin Vulcan who sees the whole thing, decides to help the poor young woman he doesn't know, and later in the story you will know why he sympathized with her. After Lord Vulcan challenges Lord Wrotham to a dice game, Justin wins, happy that he saved someone from the evil Lord Wrotham. He doesn't even think about the bet until one evening his friend, Lord Peter Gillingham says they should go see the prize he's won. Once Lord Vulcan sees Serena Staverley, he immediately falls in love with her. The gorgeous actor Marcus Gilbert plays Lord Vulcan, and a very young Helena Bonham Carter plays Serena Staverley.

Ever After is another version of the Cinderella story. In this fairytale, Danielle de Barbarac 's father dies when she was a child, leaving her with her wicked stepmother, the Baroness and two step-sisters, one evil, the other kind of nice. Danielle is made a servant. The Baroness spends a lot of her fathers money and got rid of a servant. One day, dressed in her mothers clothes, Danielle pretends to be a courtier to save the beloved servant from going to America. Prince Henry seeing her, is intrigued and strikes up a conversation. She runs away, but time and again she keeps running into the prince and they fall in love. I love this version, because Danielle has a friend in the youngest sister Jacqueline. Dougray Scott plays Prince Henry and Drew Barrymore as Danielle.

Howl's Moving Castle in an anime movie by Studio Ghibli. A Hayao Myazaki was the director and wrote the screenplay, although the author is Diana Wynn Jones. The book was kinda all over the place when it came to the plot, but I admit, it was a good addicting read. The movie, just like in A Hazard of Hearts, in many ways, is better than the book. Sophie Hatter, works in her deceased fathers hat shop, and one day on the way to visit her sister, meets the famous, yet mysterious wizard Howl, who is known to eat girls hearts. He literally sweeps her off her feet. The Witch of the Waste who wants Howl for herself, puts a curse on Sophie making her old and unable to tell anyone who did it. So she runs away and befriends a scarecrow named "Turnip Head" and chances on entering Howl's castle and entering a bargain with the source of Howl's problem, Calcifer. The next morning, when the wizard comes back home, Sophie announces herself as the new cleaning lady, but I know that Howl knows who she is. Christian Bale is Howl's voice in the English version, and young Sophie is Emily Mortimer.

Pride & Prejudice (2005) I love Jane Austen's books, and this is one of my favorites. Five sisters, Jane, Elizabeth, Kitty, Lydia and Mary in Georgian England. All single. When Wealthy bachelor's Mr. Bingley and his best friend Mr. Darcy shows up, the excitement begins! I love the conflict between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy! Love seeps through the relationship until Darcy surprises Elizabeth with a marriage proposal, that's when the sparks really fly! Matthew Macfadyen plays Mr. Darcy, and Keira Knightly as Elizabeth Bennet.

Seven Brides For Seven Brothers
A rough, and tough backwoodsman Adam Pontipee goes into town to get a wife. He finds the perfect match in Milly. She agrees to marry him , not really knowing who he is. She gets to his home to find his six other brothers, all with biblical names, that have absolutely no manners or good hygiene habits. Of course they all want a wife, so who better to teach them some manners and courting etiquette, than Milly? In this musical, Howard Keel is Adam, and Jane Powell is Milly.

Maid In Manhattan A hotel maid and a politician fall in love. Marisa is a single mother who has aspirations to be a hotel manager. Her and her friend are cleaning the room of a big shot socialite when she suggests Marisa tries on her clothes. She does and the politician, Christopher Marshall and her son who wants to walk his dog with him go to the socialites room to ask her for permission. He believes she's the socialite. Ralph Fiennes plays Christopher and Jennifer Lopez is Marisa.

Emma: A Victorian Romance This is another anime film about Emma, a maid who falls in love with William Jones, a member of the gentry. His father, and family members don't want him to associate with the lower classes. William is the eldest son of the wealthy Jones family, who is pressured to take on the family business, and marry someone from another wealthy family, and even higher social class. From the first moment he saw Emma, he had feelings for her. This is a two part film, taken from the manga series by the author Kaoru Mori. In the first part, Emma and William meet, and end up parting in sad circumstances. In part two, they are mysteriously brought together again, and William literally fights to be with her.

You can find all these films in your local library, if not Amazon has them, a few at great prices.