29 Romantic Movies That Ring True

Steve Carell, Julianne Moore star in winning romantic comedy

(NEWSER) - Critics largely enjoyed Crazy, Stupid, Love—and some have fallen head over heels for the romantic comedy with an all-star cast.

• In the Los Angeles Times , Betsy Sharkey gushes that the film “may well restore your faith in the very possibility of love, to say nothing of romantic comedies.” The “grand romantic gesture about grand romantic gestures conjures up the bittersweet magic of first loves, lasting loves, lost loves and all the loves in between.”
• "It’s the mild exception that makes, if not for a great movie, then at least for a pleasant surprise," writes Rick Groen in the Globe and Mail .

Sorry, Transformers fans

(NEWSER) - The summer blockbuster: proof that, when it comes to movies, budget is often inversely proportional to quality. In Time , Everett Rosenfeld and Gilbert Cruz reflect on the worst of the worst:

1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Director Michael Bay’s only priority: explosions.
2. Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace: “This is the story of a man with too much power and the terrible things he did”—that is, George Lucas.
3. Sex and the City 2: Our heroes go to the Middle East and “proceed to act closed-minded and condescending.”

Amazon looks to rom-com, Barry White sales

(NEWSER) - Seeking a romantic getaway this Valentine’s Day? Love is in the air (and perhaps the water supply) in Amazon ’s 20 most romantic cities in America. The firm compiled the list with an eye on key sales data: romance novels, rom-coms, and, of course, Barry White albums. The winners:

1. Alexandria, Va. (for the second year in a row)
2. Knoxville
3. Orlando
4. Miami

'Jaws' takes top honors, but some surprises make the list

(NEWSER) - Summer is all about the beach and blockbusters, and Time Out New York set out on a big mission: To rank the 30 best. It set a few restrictions—films had to hit theaters between May and August, had to gross more than $100 million globally, and couldn't be surprise hits, a la The Blair Witch Project. Highlights:

1. Jaws, 1975: This wasn't just a nail-biter, it was a trailblazer, the first flick to use a "wide-release" strategy, which no doubt helped make it the first film to rake in more than $100 million.

4. Ghostbusters, 1984: An action-sci-fi hybrid dosed with SNL-style humor, it proved that something-for-everyone mash-ups can make a smash at the box office.

Sappy, predictable rom-com a guilty-pleasure only

(NEWSER) - Critics aren't exactly head-over-heels for Letters to Juliet, a predictable romantic comedy about a young woman helping an older one reconnect with a lost love, but it has its charms. Here's what they're saying:

• “Letters will hardly go down as the funniest or sharpest caper of the year,” writes Mary Elizabeth Williams of Salon , but it's a “breathtakingly refreshing change” from the “flinty females and douche-bag dudes” that populate most recent rom-coms.