 the valentine paradigm by emily sherwood the ink of my newly penned new year resolutions has barely dried and already i m being bombarded by that most dreaded of holidays valentine s day christmas is still warm on the commercial operating table yet valentine s is already creeping into the waiting room of the bereaved like some sort of hideous organ harvester unless you have a geniune reason to celebrate valentine s day it s a holiday that sucks on a scale of sucking i d put it somewhere in between spiderman 3 and the room so if you are considering taking your beau to the cinema this valentine s just don t because unless like me they enjoy seeing bruce willis yipiekayaying some unsavoury mothertruckers the chances are you re both going to be disappointed the last decade hasn t been great for valentine releases which begs the question why surely someone moderately sensible would have thought about it put two and two together and come up with something good who thought that daredevil star wars the phantom menace 3d or god help us justin bieber s never say never would have the lovedup public flocking to the cinema who could fail to envisage a romantic evening watching inside deep throat yes its about porn or final destination 3 the notion it seems of a good romantic film on valentine s day has definitely escaped the powers that be thankfully all is not lost if you fancy awooing with a good film you re spoilt for choice as long as you step back a few years there are so many fantastic romantic films out there to choose from and here are just some of the best  when harry met sally  1989 billy crystal meg ryan and that diner scene a film about how sex can make or break a friendship and how it very nearly does one of norah ephron s greatest screenplays annie hall  1979 the ever neurotic comedian alvy singer woody allen falls madly in love with equally ditsy annie hall diane keaton a testament to love in 70s new york and a very nervous romance indeed say anything  1989 ione sky stars as the lovely valedictorian with john cusack they fall in love over the summer before she starts college a great film from the trench coat the ghetto blaster and the line i want to be with your daughter i m good at it  you re got mail  1998 another norah ephron classic two business rivals joe fox and kathleen kelly tom hanks and meg ryan hate each other but fall for one other over the internet thank god for aol and a good book pretty in pink  1986 the choices poor molly ringwald has to make who to choose the rich boy blane andrew mccarthy or childhood sweetheart with amazing hair duckie john cryer did i mention the superb soundtrack  as good as it gets  1997 i might be the only person on the face of the earth that knows you re the greatest woman on the earth grumpy author jack nicholson sassy waitress helen hunt and gay artist greg kinnear make this a romcom classic an affair to remember  1957 from europe back to nyc by sea deborah kerr and cary grant fall in love and vow to meet each other six months later at the empire state building sleepless in seattle fans will love this cue a heart wrenching plot twist and a film widely considered to be one of the most romantic notting hill  1999 everyone loves 90s hugh grant with his flustering and his floppy hair and notting hill does not disappoint he owns a book shop julia roberts is the famous film actress on location and a relationship develops in amongst grant s oddball crew of friends written by richard curtis and featuring a stellar british cast it s a valentine s staple city lights  1931 before you roll your eyes at a silent film give it a chance chaplin plays the tramp who goes through all manners of misadventures to give a blind girl her eyesight back the fact there s no dialogue is so worth those last final minutes when the two are reunited and the look on chaplin s face when she realises who he is is priceless walle  2008 don t laugh i have a soft spot for animated films and this pixar great is no exception walle is a little robot with a pet cockroach designed to clean up earth and make it habitable again he falls in love with robot eve and they go on adventures through the universe changing the destiny of man amélie  2001 for those sophisticated international film buffs or lovers of audrey tautou amélie is all about a lonely waitress with a big imagination discovering love and doing good to those around her in french with subtitles it won 4 césar awards including best film why not opt for this french fancy jerry maguire  1996 precrazy tom cruise stars as a highflying sports agent he also ends up falling for renee zellweger and the film contains possibly one of the most recognisable quotes all time shut up just shut up you had me at hello  the ghost and mrs muir  1947 having had enough of her insufferable inlaws young widower lucy muir gene tierney finds a new lease of life in gull cottage however the cottage also comes with the ghost of captain daniel gregg rex harrison and together they make quite the unlikely duo then children s author miles fairley george sanders comes to town if you don t cry at the end then we ll presume you have no soul issue 1 emily sherwood 