Romance Challenge (Official, August 2019)

[72allinncallme]

Romance Challenge




Goal:
Watch as many romantic movies as possible (from August 1, 2019 to August 31, 2019).


Rules:
- All movies tagged as romance on IMDb are eligble.
- A feature film (anything 40 minutes or over) counts as one entry.
- A total of 60 minutes of short films count as one entry.
- For Mini-Series (40 minute episodes or longer) each episode counts as an entry.
- For Mini-Series with shorter episodes, the 60 minute rule applies.
- Rewatches allowed.
- NO TV.


Stuck for ideas of what to watch? Look no further:

Official iCM list:
IMDb's Romance Top 50
TimeOut's 100 Best Romantic Movies
AFI's 100 years...100 passions


Unofficial iCM lists
All Women Stalk's 60 Most Romantic Movies

AFI’s Top 10 Romantic Comedy: The Nominations

Time Out New York 50 Most Romantic Movies

BuzzFeed: 58 Romantic Comedies You Need To See Before You Die
The Hollywood Romantic Comedy
Screwball: Hollywood's Madcap Romantic Comedies


Movies tagged as romance you haven't seen yet (in order of official toplists):
v2
BETA


Not sure how to format your post? Check out the Basic rules thread.


Participants:
01. albajos 81
02. jeroeno 43
03. hurluberlu 35
04. sebby 27
04. Simba63 27
06. wowwee123 22
07. sol 19
08. AB537 18
08. jdidaco 18
10. 72allinncallme 15
11. max-scl 13
12. flavo5000 12
13. blocho 10
13. VincentPrice 10
15. 3eyes 9
15. mathiasa 9
15. vortexsurfer 9
18. cinephage 8
18. frbrown 8
18. maxwelldeux 8
18. shugs 8
22. Coryn 6
22. zzzorf 6
24. Tarris1 5
25. allisoncm 4
25. ororama 4
27. sheikofhyrule 2
27. weirdboy 2
29. connordenney 1
29. nimimerkillinen 1

[albajos]

50/105 of the BFI Flare list also fit, and probably a couple more where we can safely add the genre. So about half.

[jeroeno]

In as always.
For those who don't know, this is the link that shows you the romantic films you haven't seen yet (in order of official toplists): https://www.icheckmovies.com/movies/unc ... re:romance

[albajos]

Yes, but I recommend using beta for that, as it manage to add more genres to the titles.
https://beta.icheckmovies.com/movies/un ... iciallists

For me Flesh and the Devil are 25th on the beta, but 22nd on other. So beta adds 3 more titles.

[3eyes]

Flesh and the devil (1926) is hilarious. Do watch it.

I'm in as much as I ever am these days, but it isn't my favorite genre. Plenty of doubles & triples, though.

[72allinncallme]

@ jeroeno and albajos: Thanks. Added both links to the OP.

[Tarris1]

In. I'll try to finish all of the three official lists: 1 in TimeOut, 15 in AFI and 8 IMDB, but I also want to get a lot of <400 checks romances done so might not be able to. Aiming for an overall of more than 30 films

Might want to add these rom-com lists to the OP:
https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/the+ ... /panunzio/
https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/scre ... yormovies/

[Coryn]

There are still 18 movies with a romance tag on +20 official toplists that I haven't seen.

Of course most of these came out prior to 1965.

I don't know how far I'll get but I will try to focus on these, only watching old romance movies will be too monotone for me though.

[albajos]

only watching old romance movies will be too monochrome for me though.

fixed it

[Coryn]

only watching old romance movies will be too monochrome for me though.

fixed it

[VincentPrice]

Sure

[max-scl]

I'm in, it's been a while since I last participated in a challenge. I hope to watch at least 30 romance films of different kinds.

[sol]

It starts! First in.

1. Yesterday (2019)



A whimsical comedy from Richard Curtis and Danny Boyle with a cute idea with lots of fun to be had in his song covers and some of the baffled reactions to lyrics that he cannot explain. Himesh Patel makes for an appealing lead too and there are some fun supporting turns from Kate McKinnon and an unrecognisable Robert Carlyle. The film only has the most obvious of messages though and a pretty dry romance. The story's internal logic did not really work for me either, with a lot of other iconic things other than The Beatles disappearing simply for the sake of a few cheap laughs here and there.

[Simba63]

I may try and knock out the official list. About 1 a day would do it for me.

[max-scl]

1. Design for Living (1933, Ernst Lubitsch - USA) in 3 official lists
I had only seen Trouble in Paradise from Lubitsch before, which I liked a lot, so this was a mild dissapointment, but I still liked it. It's a pre-code film, and I am no expert in these period at all but one can tell this movie is kind of different from what came after in it's themes and jokes. It was fun and the characters were interesting. 6/10

2. Cute Girl (1980, Hou Hsiao Hsien - Taiwan) in 2 official lists
This debut film by Hou (which he seems to dislike) was a very by the numbers comedy romance. What surprised me was that it was starred by signer Feng Fei Fei, which I knew but wasn't aware that she made films, it featured some of her songs and hats (she was known for wearing many different hats). Very conventional but watchable, and beautifully filmed in Taipei (which isn't a city known for being pretty) and in the countryside. I like seeing the economic boom of parts of Asia in older movies, and this deals with those themes to some extent. 6/10

[Simba63]

1. Weekend (2011) - 5/10

[72allinncallme]

1. La casa del sorriso (1991)

[72allinncallme]

Might want to add these rom-com lists to the OP:
https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/the+ ... /panunzio/
https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/scre ... yormovies/

Thanks, added.

[albajos]

01. A House in the Hills (1993) USA | Luxembourg 7 checks [double]
02. Carry on Cruising (1962) UK 170 checks [triple]
03. Carry on Cabby (1963) UK 153 checks [triple]
04. Carry On Jack (1964) UK 138 checks [triple]


!seen 4

[max-scl]

3. Ugly Me (2006, Claudio Dabed - Chile) in 0 offical lists
A terrible Chilean romantic comedy about a beautiful girl that turns ugly on purpose in order to not have problems with men anymore. But weirdly the attention shifts to the male protagonist (who is the stereotypical Argentinian bullshitter) who is a womanizer but ends up falling in love with the girl. Bad 3/10.

SpoilerShow

1. Design for Living (1933, Ernst Lubitsch - USA) in 3 official lists
2. Cute Girl (1980, Hou Hsiao Hsien - Taiwan) in 2 official lists
3. Ugly Me (2006, Claudio Dabed - Chile) in 0 offical lists

[wowwee123]

1. Mad Love aka Fou d'amour (2015)
2. Illuminata (1998)
3. The Last Days of Frankie the Fly (1996)
4. The Rules of Attraction (2002)

[hurluberlu]

1. Far from the Madding Crowd (Thomas Vinterberg, 2015) 6+
2. Devdas (Sanjay Leela Bhansali, 2002) 6

[ororama]

1. Paterson (2016) 118 min.

Loved this at least as much the second time as the first.

[AB537]

Looks like I'll be in for this one more than I originally thought - a surprising amount of stuff on my PVR qualifies, and lots of doubles with UK/Ireland.

1. Dark Victory (Edmund Goulding, 1939) 6/10 ... As usual, a great performance from Bette Davis, but it feels a bit wasted with a dry and predictable story.

[max-scl]

4. My life without me (2003, Isabel Coixet - Spain/Canada) in 1 official list
Terminal illness drama with some romance thrown in. I wasn't very interested in this at all. 4/10

5. His Girl Friday (1940, Howard Hawks - USA) in 19 official lists
Good but too much dialogue (and too fast and loud) for my taste. 6/10

SpoilerShow

1. Design for Living (1933, Ernst Lubitsch - USA) in 3 official lists
2. Cute Girl (1980, Hou Hsiao Hsien - Taiwan) in 2 official lists
3. Ugly Me (2006, Claudio Dabed - Chile) in 0 offical lists
4. My life without me (2003, Isabel Coixet - Spain/Canada) in 1 official list
5. His Girl Friday (1940, Howard Hawks - USA) in 19 official lists

[jeroeno]

01. Les nuits de la pleine lune (1984)
02. The Elusive Pimpernel (1950)
03. Klaani: Tarina Sammakoitten suvusta (1984)
04. Forget Paris (1995)
05. Kit Kat (1991)

[vortexsurfer]

1. Lovewrecked (Randal Kleiser, 2005)

[maxwelldeux]

04. Forget Paris (1995)

Agreed - love that one.

[Tarris1]

1. Lazybones (1925) 8/10
2. Tonight or Never (1931) 7/10

[albajos]

05. Follow That Camel (1967) UK 136 checks [triple]
06. Carry on Loving (1970) UK 131 checks [triple]
07. Carry on Henry (1971) UK 171 checks [triple]
08. Carry on Girls (1973) UK 147 checks [triple]
09. 9 Songs (2004) UK 2 official lists 1 502 checks [double]
10. Det kunne vært deg (1952) Norway 4 checks [double]

The heart pumps 2,000 gallons of blood every dayShow

01. A House in the Hills (1993) USA | Luxembourg 7 checks [double]
02. Carry on Cruising (1962) UK 170 checks [triple]
03. Carry on Cabby (1963) UK 153 checks [triple]
04. Carry On Jack (1964) UK 138 checks [triple]

!seen 10

[72allinncallme]

2. Sininen viikko (1954)

SpoilerShow

1. La casa del sorriso (1991)
2. Sininen viikko (1954)

[Coryn]

1. Rebecca (1940)

[wowwee123]

SpoilerShow

1. Mad Love aka Fou d'amour (2015)
2. Illuminata (1998)
3. The Last Days of Frankie the Fly (1996)
4. The Rules of Attraction (2002)

5. Blue Juice (1995)
6. Marty (1955)

[Simba63]

2. The Sheik (1921) - 6/10

[AB537]

2. Divorzio all'italiana - Divorce Italian Style (Pietro Germi, 1961) 9/10

[3eyes]

1-4. The way we live now (UK 01, mini, 4 eps)- triple

[sebby]

01 faithful heart 1923 7/10

[sol]

In the Mood for LoveShow

1. Yesterday (2019)

2. The Ugly Truth (2009)



This romantic comedy only features the most obvious of character trajectories and many gags are predictable, and yet the film sort of works. Heigel's comedic gifts are a big help with a memorable restaurant scene. Butler also has some bright moments as he plays Cyrano to Heigel as she tries to court one of her neighbours. Butler has a difficult character to warm to at first with all his misogynistic diatribes, but I liked him okay at the end of the day.

[hurluberlu]

3. The Bubble / Ha-Buah (Eytan Fox, 2006) [<400 checks] 7-
4. Road to Eldorado (Bibo Bergeron, Don Paul, 2000) 5-
5. Cleopatra (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Rouben Mamoulian, 1963) 7-

love is in the spoilerShow

1. Far from the Madding Crowd (Thomas Vinterberg, 2015) [UK/Ireland] 6+
2. Devdas (Sanjay Leela Bhansali, 2002) 6

[max-scl]

6. If Beale Street Could Talk (2018, Barry Jenkins - USA) in 1 official list
I like beautifully shot movies, who doesn't, but here every single shot is so hyper-stylized and designed that it becomes too artificial.
And also every scene is so solemnly acted and every word spoken is so "poetic" that it becomes exhausting.
I still give this my approval rting of 6/10

7. Early Rain [Choyeon] (1966, Jin-Woo Jeong - South Korea) in 1 official list
This is surprisingly good, I mean, I have seen some korean movies from the 60's but non looked so gorgeous like this one which was recently restored and made available in HD version in youtube. It also portrays the frustrations and desires of the younger lower classes in a booming economy (Seoul looks nice too), which I always find interesting.
It has some twists in tone that worked very well too. 7/10

SpoilerShow

1. Design for Living (1933, Ernst Lubitsch - USA) in 3 official lists
2. Cute Girl (1980, Hou Hsiao Hsien - Taiwan) in 2 official lists
3. Ugly Me (2006, Claudio Dabed - Chile) in 0 offical lists
4. My life without me (2003, Isabel Coixet - Spain/Canada) in 1 official list
5. His Girl Friday (1940, Howard Hawks - USA) in 19 official lists
6. If Beale Street Could Talk (2018, Barry Jenkins - USA) in 1 official list
7. Early Rain [Choyeon] (1966, Jin-Woo Jeong - South Korea) in 1 official list