Another year, another Valentine's Day and whether you pay ode to the martyr St. Valentine or not, here are our top picks of romantic classics and comedies for a cosy - and economical - night in front of your favourite screen, with your favourite person, snacks or blankie.
Showmax
Remember Me
Tyler (Robert Pattinson) has had a strained relationship with his father (Pierce Brosnan) since a family tragedy. Rebellious and troubled, he thinks no one can understand his pain, then he meets Ally (Emilie de Ravin). Her warmth and spirit soon begin to heal him, and they fall in love. But just when Tyler begins to rediscover happiness and meaning in his life, emerging secrets threaten their romance.
Cold Mountain
In this classic story of love and devotion set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, a wounded Confederate soldier named W.P. Inman (Jude Law) deserts his unit and travels across the South, aiming to return to his young wife, Ada (Nicole Kidman), who he left behind to tend their farm. As Inman makes his perilous journey home, Ada struggles to keep their home intact with the assistance of Ruby (Renée Zellweger), a mysterious drifter sent to help her by a kindly neighbour.
The Five-Year Engagement
On their one-year anniversary, sous chef Tom Solomon (Jason Segel) plans to surprise his girlfriend, Violet Barnes (Emily Blunt), with an engagement ring. The lovers do end up engaged, but the fact that the proposal does not go exactly as planned proves to be a harbinger of things to come. Each time they try to set a date, various obstacles stand in their way. As more and more time passes, Tom and Violet begin to wonder if perhaps their marriage is not meant to be.
Die Windpomp
A 17 year-old arrives on the doorstep of a retirement village where he is taken under the wing of a kind, elderly neighbour. He meets a mysterious girl and is immediately smitten. But not everything is at it seems.
Notting Hill
William Thacker (Hugh Grant) is a London bookstore owner whose humdrum existence is thrown into romantic turmoil when famous American actress Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) appears in his shop. A chance encounter over spilled orange juice leads to a kiss that blossoms into a full-blown affair. As the average bloke and glamorous movie star draw closer and closer together, they struggle to reconcile their radically different lifestyles in the name of love.
PS. I Love You
When Gerry (Gerard Butler), the husband of Holly Kennedy (Hilary Swank), dies from an illness, she loses the love of her life. Knowing how hard Holly will take his death, Gerry plans ahead. Beginning on her 30th birthday, she receives the first in a series of letters written by him, designed to ease her grief and encourage her to move forward to a new life.
Grease
Experience the friendships, romances and adventures of a group of high school kids in the 1950s. Welcome to the singing and dancing world of "Grease," the most successful movie musical of all time. A wholesome exchange student (Olivia Newton-John) and a leather-clad Danny (John Travolta) have a summer romance, but will it cross clique lines?
Netflix
Bridget Jones's Baby
Breaking up with Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) leaves Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) over 40 and single again. Feeling that she has everything under control, Jones decides to focus on her career as a top news producer. Suddenly, her love life comes back from the dead when she meets a dashing and handsome American named Jack (Patrick Dempsey). Things couldn't be better, until Bridget discovers that she is pregnant. Now, the befuddled mom-to-be must figure out if the proud papa is Mark or Jack.
Crazy Stupid Love
Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) is living the American dream. He has a good job, a beautiful house, great children and a beautiful wife, named Emily (Julianne Moore). Cal's seemingly perfect life unravels, however, when he learns that Emily has been unfaithful and wants a divorce. Over 40 and suddenly single, Cal is adrift in the fickle world of dating. Enter, Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling), a self-styled player who takes Cal under his wing and teaches him how to be a hit with the ladies.
Friends With Benefits
Jamie (Mila Kunis) is a New York-based executive recruiter who entices Dylan (Justin Timberlake), an art director from Los Angeles, to take a job at the New York office of GQ magazine. Finding that they have much in common, the two become fast friends. Feeling jaded by a number of broken romances, Dylan and Jamie decide that they are ready to quit looking for true love and focus on having fun. However, complications unfold when the two best pals add sex to their relationship.
Life As We Know It
After a disastrous first date, the only things Holly Berenson (Katherine Heigl) and Eric Messer (Josh Duhamel) have in common are mutual dislike and their love for their goddaughter, Sophie. When they unexpectedly become her caretakers, Holly and Eric have to put aside their differences and learn to work together for the sake of the child. Juggling competing career and social commitments, Holly and Eric look for common ground while living under the same roof.
The Notebook
After a disastrous first date, the only things Holly Berenson (Katherine Heigl) and Eric Messer (Josh Duhamel) have in common are mutual dislike and their love for their goddaughter, Sophie. When they unexpectedly become her caretakers, Holly and Eric have to put aside their differences and learn to work together for the sake of the child. Juggling competing career and social commitments, Holly and Eric look for common ground while living under the same roof.
Catching Feelings
The lives of a formerly-famous writer and his wife are disrupted when a famous and very self-indulgent author comes to stay with them.
Think Like A Man
For one reason or another, friends Dominic (Michael Ealy), Jeremy (Jerry Ferrara), Michael (Terrence J) and Zeke (Romany Malco) just can't seem to seal the deal with the women in their lives. When their lovely ladies buy a book by comic Steve Harvey and start to apply its advice to their relationships, this band of brothers gets all shook up. Learning that they have been betrayed by one of their own, Dominic and his friends conspire to use the book's teachings to turn the tables.
Earn some brownie points with small talk:
St. Valentine of Rome was supposedly a temple priest who was executed on 14 February AD 269 near Rome by the anti-Christian Emperor Claudius II. The crime? Helping Roman soldiers to marry when they were forbidden to by the Christian faith at the time.
The Feast of Saint Valentine, also known as Saint Valentine's Day, was established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496 to be celebrated on February 14 in honour of the Christian martyr.