Have the time? Binge some movie trilogies
With the momentous occasion of Valentine's Day around the corner, couples across the country have commenced planning their respective outings for the special day. Although wining and dining in an overpriced restaurant is the classic option, some of you may have gotten all the wiser; who wants to contend with sizable crowds, lengthy queues, limited parking and all around Valentines-induced mayhem? This doesn’t sound too romantic. Instead, consider staying in, cooking your significant other's favorite meal (or ordering something on Grab), opening a bottle of supermarket red wine and spending the day binge watching quality movie trilogies. Consistently good movie trilogies are hard to come by; typically, they tend to fade in quality after the first movie or two. But here are three of the best trilogies for you and your significant other to binge on this Valentine’s Day.
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The Lord Of The Rings trilogy
I think it's safe to say that Peter Jackson’s LOTR trilogy is the GOAT of movie trilogies. Other than the end of Return Of The King, which dragged on a few minutes too long, this trilogy is near perfect—unlike other trilogies or TV series (cough, GOT) that run out of steam or force contrived ideas. The LOTR keeps the quality high for the entirety of its cumulative nine-hour runtime. It is as epic as it gets, doing JRR Tolkein’s book justice—from the quaintness of the shire to the snowcapped mountains and the frightening hellishness of Mount Doom, the LOTR is epic in every sense of the term—effectively becoming the standard of fantasy screen productions for generations to come.
It’s hard to believe that it was released two decades ago; the movies remain timeless and unmatched in terms of scale of fantasy epic-ness. To stay in theme, lovebirds needn’t worry because there is a beautiful love story throughout the three films between ranger of the north, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), and the immortal half-elf Arwen (Liv Tyler)—something like a Middle-Earth version of Romeo and Juliet.
Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight
On paper, six hours of dialogue doesn’t seem particularly appealing, but with Richard Linklater’s Before movies, he managed to create one of the most poignant onscreen love stories in modern cinema history.
American adventurer Jesse and Parisian Celine meet on a train traveling across Northern Europe. They hit it off and decide to explore Vienna together. It becomes evident that the pair are in fact kindred spirits. Unfortunately, they lose touch. Seven years later, the second movie outlines them serendipitously running into each other in Paris and the fire is still very much alive. They walk across the Seine River and sparks fly once again. This time, however, Jesse is now a successful author and willingly misses his flight back to the US to make up for lost time with his French flame. In the third installment (Before Midnight) the pair are now happily married with twin daughters and are vacationing in an idyllic seaside town in Greece. But like many marriages, their relationship is strained, though they do eventually resolve their issues. The Before trilogy blurs the line between reality and fairy tale, and we’re always here for it.
The Godfather I, II & III
Francis Ford Coppola’s epic trilogy depicts the Corleone mob family led by Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando). When the don's youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino), hesitantly joins the crime family, he becomes immersed in the toxic cycle of murder and betrayal. And while Michael tries to maintain a good relationship with his loving wife, Kay (Diane Keaton), he is drawn deeper into the family business.
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The first two films are some of the greatest movies ever, the third not so much but still worth watching for Al Pacino, Andy Garcia and veritable nepo-baby Sofia Coppola. Spend the day cuddled up with your partner and pizza and watch the masterpiece that is the Godfather trilogy—we can think of worse ways to spend Valentine’s Day.
Words Art Vandelay
Art Macky Arquilla
