Happy Tuesday everyone! Hope you all are having great weeks so far. I know that there are many of you gearing up for San Diego Comic Con this weekend (so jealous!) and I am so excited for you guys. My best friend is getting MARRIED this Friday, which is just too crazy to even believe, and I am so excited! I am in the wedding too, along with my boyfriend, so it should be a seriously fun time!

And since there is so much romance in the air this week, at least for me, I decided to make this week’s Tuesday Top Ten with a little bit of romance. That and my dad said he’s tired of all the book top tens haha!

So here it is: my ten personal favorite movies with the best romances in them!

10. Dirty Dancing

Come on! “Nobody puts Baby in the Corner”! One of my absolute favorite lines EVER. Francis, also known as “Baby”, goes to a swanky little country club type resort, where she runs into the bad boy with a heart of gold, Johnny. When Johnny’s dancing partner is under the weather (an illegal abortion), Baby steps in to take her place and summer love ensues, despite the differences in social classes. Its so cheesy, and ridiculous and one of those movies that gets over played over the years but I can’t…I love the dancing and the silliness of Jennifer Grey and the sexiness of Patrick Swayze, and the whole story of it. I am addicted to those kind of movies with music and dancing, and this has both of them. You really don’t get better than that.

9. Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice is one of the BEST romantic books ever to exist in the history of literature so it would only make sense that it would be one of my favorite movies. I know most people would mention the Colin Firth adaptation of the movie, and while I definitely enjoy that one, I was thoroughly impressed by the Keira Knightley one. I have watched that one so much, I could probably quote it, and I really enjoyed that they quote the book quite often at times. I think Keira makes a really good Elizabeth Bennet and the guy who plays Mr. Darcy whose name escapes me at this time is so hot and believable as Mr. Darcy. The story of two people who absolutely loathe each other falling in love is just so addicting and you’re cheering and blushing and jumping up and down when they both finally realize and they have that moment where you just know they are going to live happily ever after. The character of Mr. Darcy is especially my favorite too because he accepts his attractive WAY before Lizzie and you just watch him struggle with it, and agh, its just so GOOD.

8. Titanic

I don’t care what anyone says, I know this movie is cheesy and dramatic but it has been one of my favorite movies since I first saw it when I was 9 years old. One, I’ve always been ridiculously obsessed with the Titanic. I know, that’s kind of a morbid obsession to have but its true. I read every book, every article, watched movies and documentaries and all of that. I was obsessed with it. I wanted to write a novel set on the Titanic for a long time but I felt like I was just writing a rewrite of this movie. Granted I was thirteen when I was attempting this. I really wanted to try again but we’ll see. I do love the love story of the movie, rich and unattainable Rose, wanting to break out of her restrictive world, falling in love with the exciting but poor, Jack. You don’t get any cheesier than that. But I love the background of the Titanic and the history that they weaved into it. Of course, a lot of the history is exaggerated and embellished but still. I love this movie. I will watch it every time it comes on TV, even if it takes me five hours.

7. Sixteen Candles

You know what I remember every time I think of this movie? I think of me and my parents getting in trouble because we watched this movie at my very first sleepover, when I was ten years old, and apparently it was rated R and yeah, my friends’ parents were all so pissed off. I don’t even know; apparently its Rated R because whats-her-face is naked in the beginning of the movie, in the locker room. Whatever. Anyway, this is the best teen movie ever made, and I loved that Jake Ryan (oh Jake Ryan) is totally smitten with dorky but super pretty Samantha Baker. The hilarity that ensues and the amount of actors in that movie that go on to do bigger things like Joan and John Cusack and Anthony Michael Hall, its just all great. I love that they are so many one-liners in that movie. I quoted this movie on a daily basis when I was about sixteen years old and it still remains one of my favorites :)

6. The Princess Bride

The funniest, romantic movie that I have ever watched in my life. I watched this movie when I was a kid and it still remains a favorite. I finally got it on Blu-Ray this past Christmas (thanks dad!) and I’ve watched it so many times. This is actually, also, one of those few instances where I’ll say that the movie was better than book. I know, I know. The book WAS great, I’m not going to lie but this movie is just such a classic. I love the ridiculous fantasy element of it, and the hilarity of it, and all the actors that are in it. I like it because its a beautiful romance story but with the added awesome of humor, and action and all of that. Its a great movie for kids. Its got that fairy tale, the one we are all so familiar with because of Cinderella and Snow White or whatever, but with a twist. This is also a movie I tend to quote a ridiculous amount of times.

5. The Apartment

I LOVE this movie. I watched this movie for the first time with Jon and it took us MONTHS to do it. We would always start watching it really late at night, and its a fairly long movie, and we’d always fall asleep. Not to say that its a boring movie, because it DEFINITELY is not. Its sweet, funny, and one of those romances that’s all about the build up. You don’t need overly sweet lines and over-the-top make out scenes to create a romance. The simple exchanges between John Lemmon as Baxter and Shirley MacClaine as Fran creates the brilliant romance between them, especially when Fran is staying in Baxter’s infamous apartment. The ridiculousness of all the managers taking their mistresses to Baxter’s apartment, and the way he really wins in the end, its so beautiful. Its such a classic and awesome movie. It won five Oscars for a reason, for many reasons. And Shirley MacClaine was such a beautiful woman, and a talented actress and John Lemmon was a comedic genius. Sigh.

4. Wall.E

This is one of the most beautiful love stories that I have ever seen in a movie and its between two robots that barely say anything else besides their own names. Wall.E and EVE are ROBOTS for goodness sake, and yeah the movie is ultimately about the earth, and not abandoning it and taking care of it, and it does get a little preachy but I love that. But in between all that, is the beautiful love story of two robots, two very different robots who band together on a single mission and as this goes on, they fall in love. Its just such a beautiful thing. I think the simplicity of it is what makes me love it so much. And sure, the fact that its a movie my boyfriend and I both enjoy thoroughly does have something to do with it. We had been together…five months and he had come home from a tour with his band, and he was so incredibly tired, but he really wanted to see this movie with me. And we’ve seen every Pixar movie (excluding Cars 2) on the day its come out, as a tradition. So it sort of has an outside romantic connection as well.

3. Howl’s Moving Castle

Before Howl’s Moving Castle, my experience with anime was very limited to basically Pokemon. My sister loved it, and I kind of scoffed at it. But for my sister’s 8th grade graduation, I believe, in 2005, I went with her and my mom to go see this movie in the theaters and I was blown away by this truly amazing movie. I basically went home and ate up all of the Studio Ghibli movies, which are all so fantastic. And my quiet love for anime grew from there. But Howl’s Moving Castle…its not just one of my favorite romance movies, or my favorite animated movies, its one of my favorite MOVIES, period, of all time. I love the fantasy aspect of it, with the moving castle and the wizards and different airships and all that. I love the simple romance of it, between Howl and Sophie, the build up of it, to the moment when they finally can admit it to each other and to themselves. Its such a beautiful story, and such a beautiful movie. Hayao Miyazaki makes amazing movies. When I first showed this to my boyfriend, I was so afraid of him not liking it but he loves it and it is another movie that I am so happy we get to enjoy together. Also Christian Bale as Howl? Josh Hutcherson as Markl? My nerd heart loves it.

2. Up

I know, technically this is NOT a romance movie, since most of the movie is about the adventure that Carl and Russell have together to get the house to Paradise Falls. But I consider it in my top ten because this movie told one of the most beautiful, most heartwarming and heartbreaking love stories in a matter of minutes. The “Married Life” scene in the beginning of the movie, where you see Carl and Ellie meet for the first time, and become friends, and then marry and live their life together? I’m getting teary eyed just THINKING about it. Its exactly what a love story SHOULD be. Its exactly how a life with someone you love should be. It should be about this lasting love, a friendship that is strong, where you’re able to go on adventures, but also do simple things like clean the house and read together and still be so incredibly happy. Carl spends so much time in regret for not giving Ellie the adventures that she’s always wanted but in the end, her life with him was the best adventure she could have. How does that not make you tear up? That is just too beautiful for words and its the reason its one of my favorite movies, the reason that Jon and I have seen it so many times that we could quote it on a daily basis (and do!) and why its so high on this list.

1. Gone with the Wind

I can’t even remember how old I was when I first watched this movie but it is such an important part of my childhood. My mom is a huge fan of the book and the movie, as well as her two sisters, and it was a huge part of my life. I first read the book when I was thirteen years old, all 1000+ pages, which was a hefty read for a girl that young. But I remember this movie, and continue to as one of the best love stories ever told because it is a love story that goes so terribly wrong, and gets so insanely messed up and isn’t that the truth? Scarlett O’Hara knows what she wants but what she wants is what is so precisely wrong for her. The man that was made for her, that will love her for her strengths and her flaws, for her attitude and her selfishness and her ambition and determination is Rhett Butler and she screws it up so badly. She makes all the wrong decisions and all the wrong moves and in the end, she is left alone, without the man she loves, because she has realized it way too late. She is heartbroken and you are heartbroken and you’re grabbing a pint of Cherry Garcia and you want to hand it through the television to Scarlett with a box of tissues while you yell at her, through your sobbing, for being so incredibly stupid and blind. It is also one of the most amazing movies ever made and remains the highest grossing movie of all time, when adjusted for inflation.

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I hope you all enjoyed this week’s edition of the Tuesday Top Ten and don’t forget to check out previous lists!

Don’t forget to enter my Tammara Webber giveaway!

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I’d also like to say a HUGE congratulations to my best friend, Allison Holley, and her husband (on Friday!) Aaron Lane. I am so incredibly happy for you guys. Its been an up and down journey, a long journey but you guys have made it this far and you will continue to make it because you guys love each other, and you are best friends, and you have a wonderful relationship. I can’t wait to stand next to you two on Friday when you say your vows :) I love you guys!

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